S&P Global Inc. SPGI reported impressive first-quarter 2026 results, with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
SPGI’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.97 beat the consensus mark by 3.1% and rose 13.7% year over year. Total revenues came in at $4.2 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate by 2.6% and rising 10.4% from the year-ago quarter.
S&P Global Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
S&P Global Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | S&P Global Inc. Quote
Over the past year, SPGI shares have declined 11.1% compared with the industry's 2.6% decline. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has gained 32.9% in the said time frame.
Quarterly Details of S&P Global
Revenues from Marketing Intelligence were $1.29 billion, increasing 8% from the year-ago reported figure. Ratings revenues in the first quarter of 2026 grew 13% to $1.3 billion.
Revenues from Energy Organic were $652 million, up 7% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues from the Mobility and Indices segments saw year-over-year increases of 8% and 17% to $454 million and $519 million, respectively.
Adjusted operating profit was $2.15 billion, increasing 12% on a year-over-year basis. The adjusted operating profit margin was 51.8%, rising 100 basis points from the year-ago reported figure.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Figures
S&P Global exited the first quarter of 2026 with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $1.81 billion compared with $1.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. The long-term debt was $10.62 billion compared with $12.37 billion in the previous quarter.
SPGI generated $1 billion in cash from operating activities in the quarter. Capital expenditure was $27 million. The free cash flow was $919 million.
The company returned $1.2 billion to shareholders in the first quarter of 2026, including $288 million in dividends and $1.0 billion in share repurchases.
S&P Global’s 2026 Outlook
For 2026, SPGI expects adjusted EPS to be between $19.40 and $19.65. The midpoint ($19.525) is marginally higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.51. Revenue growth is anticipated to be in the range of 6.3-8.3%. Capital expenditure is expected to be in the range of $215-$225 million.
SPGI expects the full-year tax rate to be between 22% and 23%.
S&P Global currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Snapshot
Equifax Inc. EFX reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results. EFX’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.86 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.1% and increased 21.6% from the year-ago quarter. EFX’s revenues of $1.6 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 2.3% and improved 14.4% year over year.
Waste Connections, Inc. WCN posted impressive first-quarter 2026 results. WCN’s adjusted earnings of $1.23 per share outpaced the consensus mark by 3.4% and rose 8.9% from the year-ago quarter. WCN’s total revenues of $2.37 billion beat the consensus mark by 0.7% and increased 6.4% year over year.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).