S&P Global Stock Price, News & Analysis

S&P Global's latest Look Forward research series predicts that emerging markets will contribute about 65% of global economic growth by 2035. The report, titled 'Emerging Markets: A Decisive Decade', highlights key findings:

- Emerging markets are expected to average 4.06% GDP growth through 2035, compared to 1.59% in advanced economies.
- Progress in increasing income levels will be uneven, with median GDP per capita in the largest emerging markets reaching only 31% of developed markets by 2030.
- Public debt is rising in most emerging sovereigns, but they are less vulnerable to global financial shocks than in previous decades.
- Emerging markets must invest in skills and manufacturing automation to compete globally.
- These markets are set to develop nearly 6,000 gigawatts of clean energy projects by 2040, requiring over US$5 trillion in investments.

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) has announced the appointment of Eric Aboaf as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective February 2025. Aboaf will oversee all aspects of the company's Finance function and report to Martina L. Cheung, S&P Global's incoming President and CEO. Aboaf joins from State Street (NYSE: STT), where he served as CFO for nearly eight years and Vice Chairman since 2022.

Aboaf brings extensive experience in financial services, having held CFO roles in multiple publicly traded companies. His background includes positions at Citizens Financial Group and Citigroup, as well as a partnership at Bain & Company. The appointment is part of S&P Global's leadership transition, with Cheung assuming her role as President and CEO on November 1, 2024.

The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index decreased to -0.43 in September, indicating the highest level of global supply chain spare capacity since July 2023. This rise in underutilized vendor capacity was driven by a further deterioration in global demand, with factory purchasing activity at its weakest year-to-date across all major continents.

Key findings include:

• North American supplier spare capacity increased significantly, with U.S. manufacturers lowering purchasing volumes aggressively
• Asian supply chain spare capacity rose to a year-to-date high, with China's factory procurement activity falling for the third straight month
• Europe's industrial recession intensified, reflecting challenges faced by major manufacturers
• Global transportation costs dipped to their lowest since July 2023
• Material shortages indicator fell to its lowest level since January 2020

S&P Global has launched the S&P Global Climate Center of Excellence, a group of world-class scientists and strategists aimed at advancing climate, environmental, and nature research. The center will collaborate with experts across all S&P Global divisions to ensure that climate and sustainability solutions are grounded in best-in-class science, data, and methodologies.

The center's mission includes tackling complex methodological challenges, supporting science-driven thought leadership, building external academic partnerships, and leveraging in-house expertise to drive transparency on critical climate and sustainability issues. It will also cultivate learning opportunities for S&P Global employees to elevate science-based thinking throughout the company.

Dr. Terence Thompson, Chief Science Officer of the center, emphasized the focus on complex data and modeling challenges to enable advancements in science-driven methodologies. Thomas Yagel, Chief Operating and Product Officer for S&P Global Sustainable1, highlighted the importance of collaboration with leading experts in the academic and scientific community.

S&P Global Market Intelligence has expanded its lending solutions suite to drive innovation across global lending markets. The enhanced solutions aim to enable operational scale, integrate best-in-class point solutions, digitize loan lifecycle management, increase efficiency, decrease risks, and enable faster loan settlement times. The comprehensive portfolio now supports the full lifecycle of broadly syndicated loans and direct lending instruments.

Key enhancements include:

• WSO and iLEVEL integration for private credit
• ClearPar Premium Reporting within Loan Platforms
• End-to-end connectivity across Onboarding, KYC, Tax Validation, and Loan Settlement
• CLO Solutions for new CLO managers
• Loan Credit Risk Analysis tools
• Loan pricing and analytics available via S&P Capital IQ Pro

The solutions currently support over 32,000 active loans, track $460 billion in private debt instruments, and service more than $1 trillion in loans.

S&P Dow Jones Indices reports that U.S. common indicated dividend payments increased by $9.5 billion in Q3 2024, although dividend growth has slowed. Key findings include:

- Q3 2024 dividend increases were $14.1 billion, down 31.1% from Q2 2024 and 21.9% from Q3 2023.
- Q3 2024 dividend decreases were $4.6 billion, up 3.9% from Q2 2024 but down 50.5% from Q3 2023.
- For the 12 months ending September 2024, the net indicated dividend increase was $55.3 billion, compared to $37.5 billion for the prior year.
- S&P 500 Q3 2024 dividend payments set a record at $18.68 per share, up 8.3% year-over-year.

Despite economic uncertainty, dividend growth is expected to continue selectively, with S&P 500 large caps projected to increase dividend payments by 6% in 2024.

S&P 500 Q2 2024 buybacks decreased 0.4% from Q1 2024 to $235.9 billion, but increased 34.9% from Q2 2023. The 12-month expenditure ending June 2024 rose 8.0% to $877.5 billion. Information Technology led buybacks, increasing spending by 19.3%, while Health Care and Communication Services reduced spending. The 1% buyback tax reduced Q2 2024 operating earnings by 0.45% and GAAP earnings by 0.49%. Apple dominated with a record $28.8 billion in Q2 buybacks. Despite increased spending, higher stock prices resulted in fewer shares repurchased, reducing the impact on EPS. Companies with strong cash flows are expected to continue buybacks, with potential increases due to recent interest rate cuts.

Hims & Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS) is set to join the S&P SmallCap 600 index, replacing Vector Group (NYSE:VGR), effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. This change is due to JT Group's pending acquisition of Vector Group. The addition of Hims & Hers Health to the index represents a shift in the Health Care sector, while Vector Group's deletion removes a Consumer Staples component.

The S&P SmallCap 600 is part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices, which is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data, and research. S&P Dow Jones Indices, a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), is known for iconic financial market indicators such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®.

automotiveMastermind, a leading automotive data and technology provider, has unveiled enhancements to its Behavior Prediction Score (BPS) solution and redesigned the Customer Deal Sheet interface. The updates include new machine learning and predictive data algorithms that offer deeper consumer insights. The enhanced BPS introduces three new scores: in-market status, vehicle details, and deal score. These improvements help dealers identify priority customers, preferred vehicles, and potential transaction types.

The redesigned Customer Deal Sheet organizes these new scores with talk tracks in an optimized workflow for sales communication. This update aims to empower sales teams to create timely and effective outreach to prospects most likely to be in the market. The expanded BPS intelligence solution and Customer Deal Sheet are available at no additional cost to all Mastermind customers.