S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) FY 2021 MD&A

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following Management's Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) provides a narrative of the results of operations and financial condition of S&P Global Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The MD&A provides information of factors that we believe are important in understanding our results of operations and comparability and certain other factors that may affect our future results. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”).

The MD&A includes the following sections:

•Overview

•Results of Operations

•Liquidity and Capital Resources

•Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information

•Critical Accounting Estimates

•Recent Accounting Standards

Certain of the statements below are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, any projections of future results of operations and cash flows are subject to substantial uncertainty. See Forward-Looking Statements on page 4 of this report.

OVERVIEW

We are a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. The capital markets include asset managers, investment banks, commercial banks, insurance companies, exchanges, trading firms and issuers; and the commodity markets include producers, traders and intermediaries within energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture.

Our operations consist of four reportable segments: S&P Global Ratings ("Ratings"), S&P Global Market Intelligence ("Market Intelligence"), S&P Global Platts ("Platts") and S&P Dow Jones Indices ("Indices").

•Ratings is an independent provider of credit ratings, research and analytics, offering investors and other market participants information, ratings and benchmarks.

•Market Intelligence is a global provider of multi-asset-class data, research and analytical capabilities, which integrate cross-asset analytics and desktop services.

•Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodity and energy markets.

•Indices is a global index provider maintaining a wide variety of valuation and index benchmarks for investment advisors, wealth managers and institutional investors.

Merger Agreement

In November of 2020, S&P Global and IHS Markit Ltd ("IHS Markit") entered into a merger agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, a subsidiary of S&P Global will merge with and into IHS Markit, with IHS Markit surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of S&P Global. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each share of IHS Markit issued and outstanding (other than excluded shares and dissenting shares) will be converted into the right to receive 0.2838 fully paid and nonassessable shares of S&P Global common stock (and, if applicable, cash in lieu of fractional shares, without interest), less any applicable withholding taxes. On March 11, 2021, S&P Global and IHS Markit shareholders voted to approve the merger agreement. As of December 31, 2021, IHS Markit had approximately 399.1 million shares outstanding. Subject to certain closing conditions, the merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

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Shareholder Return

During the three years ended December 31, 2021, we have returned approximately $4.3 billion to our shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and our quarterly dividends: we completed share repurchases of approximately $2.4 billion and distributed regular quarterly dividends totaling approximately $1.9 billion. Also, on January 26, 2022, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.77 per share. Following the expected closing of the merger with IHS Markit, the Board of Directors will revisit the dividend policy of the combined Company.

Key Results

1    % changes in the tables throughout the MD&A are calculated off of the actual number, not the rounded number presented.

2    2021 includes IHS Markit merger costs of $249 million, employee severance charges of $19 million, gain on dispositions of $11 million, a lease impairment of $3 million, Kensho retention related expense of $2 million, acquisition-related costs of $4 million and recovery of lease-related costs of $2 million. 2020 includes lease impairments of $120 million, employee severance charges of $66 million, IHS Markit merger costs of $24 million, a gain on dispositions $16 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $12 million, lease-related costs of $11 million and Kensho retention related expense of $11 million. 2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData and SPIAS of $27 million and $22 million, respectively, employee severance charges of $25 million, Kensho retention related expense of $21 million, lease impairments of $11 million and acquisition-related costs of $4 million.

2021

Revenue increased 11% with an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point from the net impact of recent acquisitions and dispositions, driven by increases at all of our reportable segments. Revenue growth at Ratings was driven by an increase in both transaction revenue and non-transaction revenue. Transaction revenue increased due to higher bank loan ratings revenue and structured finance revenue. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance, entity credit ratings, an increase in revenue at our CRISIL subsidiary and higher Ratings Evaluation Service (“RES”) revenue. Revenue growth at Market Intelligence was driven by subscription revenue growth in Market Intelligence Desktop products, Credit Risk Solutions and Data Management Solutions. Revenue growth at Indices was due to higher average levels of assets under management for exchange traded funds ("ETFs") and mutual funds and higher data subscription revenue, partially offset by lower exchange-traded derivative revenue. The revenue increase at Platts was primarily due to continued demand for market data and market insights products. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 17%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 1 percentage point. Excluding the unfavorable impact of IHS Markit merger costs in 2021 of 31 percentage points, partially offset by higher lease impairment charges in 2020 of 16 percentage points, higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 7 percentage points, higher amortization of intangibles from acquisitions in 2020 of 4 percentage points and higher technology-related impairment charges in 2020 of 2 percentage points, operating profit increased 15%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in occupancy costs, partially offset by higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs driven by additional headcount and annual merit increases.

2020

Revenue increased 11%, with a favorable benefit of 1 percentage point from the net impact of recent acquisitions and dispositions, driven by increases at all of our reportable segments. Revenue growth at Ratings was mainly driven by higher corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue and structured finance transaction revenues. Revenue growth at Market Intelligence was driven by subscription revenue growth in Market Intelligence Desktop products, Credit Risk Solutions and Data Management Solutions. Revenue growth at Indices was due to higher assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds, an increase in exchange-traded derivatives revenue and higher data subscription revenue. The revenue increase at Platts was primarily due to continued demand for market data, price assessment and analytics products. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

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Operating profit increased 12%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 1 percentage point. Excluding the impact of a higher lease impairment charges in 2020 of 3 percentage points, higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 1 percentage point, a higher gain on dispositions in 2019 of 1 percentage point primarily related to the sale of RigData and Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC ("SPIAS") and IHS Markit merger costs in 2020 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 18%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount.

We are continuing to closely monitor the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on all aspects of our business as the pandemic and associated macroeconomic impacts continue to evolve. While COVID-19 did not have a material adverse effect on our reported results for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we are unable to predict the ultimate impact that it may have on our business, future results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Our Strategy

We are a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. Our purpose is to provide the intelligence that is essential for companies, governments and individuals to make decisions with conviction. We seek to deliver on this purpose in line with our core values of integrity, excellence and relevance.

In 2018, we announced the launch of Powering the Markets of the Future to provide a framework for our forward-looking business strategy. Through this framework, we seek to deliver an exceptional, differentiated customer experience by enhancing our foundational capabilities, evolving and growing our core businesses, and pursuing growth via adjacencies. In 2022, we will strive to deliver on our strategic priorities in the following key areas:

Finance

•Meeting or exceeding year 1 cost and revenue synergy targets from our merger commitments as well as our organic revenue growth and EBITA margin targets;

•Continuing to fund key growth areas - Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG"), Energy Transition, China, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise/Private Markets, Credit and Risk Management, Distribution and Multi-asset, Thematic and Factor Indices - and support with disciplined organic, inorganic and partnership strategies; and

•Demonstrating active leadership in ESG disclosure through advocacy, best-in-class SPGI disclosure and meaningful progress against our stated environmental sustainability targets.

Customer

•Accelerating Sustainable1's growth and market position with a specific focus on Energy transition, Climate and on improving market share in ESG Data/Scores and ESG Indices;

•Continuing to grow and defend the core and delivering our key initiatives, while leveraging the combined company's extended capabilities; delivering our products across multiple channels, e.g., feeds and Application Programming Interfaces, aligned to our customer's needs;

•Responding to evolving customer needs and driving innovation leveraging our data, technology, and deep industry expertise by developing a digital ecosystem strategy with collaboration across customers, vendors and technology partners;

•Differentiating through innovative solutions including data science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and next generation tools to unlock the power of our data and insights; and

•Growing S&P Global's brand through an integrated marketing and communications strategy while protecting our reputation.

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Operations

•Delivering on the key integration projects that help transform the company and delivering on merger commitments;

•Enhancing the tools and processes our people use to better service our customers, expand intelligence and analytics capabilities, support data-driven decisions and improve end-user productivity;

•Reimagining and implementing the future hybrid office model by standardizing our technology to reshape where we work, how we work and how we serve;

•Advancing our technical capabilities, data transformation and building the next generation of products and services using the combined entity's data, technology & expertise; and

•Maintaining our commitment to risk management, control and compliance and strengthening engagement and partnership across the company.

People

•Rolling out and embedding our new purpose and values to unify and combine S&P Global;

•Encouraging career mobility and career development through career coaching and Thrive;

•Improving diverse representation through hiring, advancement and retention, while continuing to raise awareness through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion education; and

•Attracting and retaining our people through recognition programs, learning opportunities and fair compensation.

There can be no assurance that we will achieve success in implementing any one or more of these strategies as a variety of factors could unfavorably impact operating results, including prolonged difficulties in the global credit markets and a change in the regulatory environment affecting our businesses. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Further projections and discussion on our 2022 outlook for our segments can be found within “ – Results of Operations”.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Consolidated Review

N/M- Represents a change equal to or in excess of 100% or not meaningful

Revenue

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2021

Revenue increased 11% as compared to 2020. Subscription revenue increased primarily from growth in Market Intelligence's average contract values and continued demand for Platts proprietary content. Higher data subscription revenue at Indices also contributed to subscription revenue growth. Non-subscription / transaction revenue increased due to an increase in bank loan ratings revenue and higher structured finance revenue at Ratings. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance, entity credit ratings, an increase in revenue at our CRISIL subsidiary and higher RES revenue at Ratings. Asset linked fees increased reflecting higher average levels of assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds at Indices. The decrease in sales usage-based royalties was primarily driven by lower exchange-traded derivative revenue at Indices. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

The favorable impact of foreign exchange rates increased revenue by less than 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year.

2020

Revenue increased 11% as compared to 2019. Subscription revenue increased primarily from growth in Market Intelligence's average contract values and continued demand for Platts proprietary content. Higher data subscription revenue at Indices also contributed to subscription revenue growth. Non-subscription / transaction revenue increased due to an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue and structured finance transaction revenues at Ratings. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance revenue, royalty revenue, and higher RES activity. Asset linked fees increased due to the impact of higher average levels of assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds at Indices. The increase in sales-usage based royalties was primarily driven by higher exchange-traded derivative volumes at Indices. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

The favorable impact of foreign exchange rates increased revenue by less than 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year.

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Total Expenses

The following tables provide an analysis by segment of our operating-related expenses and selling and general expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

N/M - Represents a change equal to or in excess of 100% or not meaningful

1     In 2021, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $3 million and recovery of lease-related costs of $4 million. In 2020, selling and general expenses include a technology-related impairment charge of $11 million, lease-related costs of $5 million and employee severance charges of $4 million.

2    In 2021, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $3 million, acquisition-related costs of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million. In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $27 million and lease-related costs of $3 million.

3 In 2021, selling and general expenses include recovery of lease-related costs of $2 million. In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $11 million and lease-related costs of $2 million.

4 In 2021, selling and general expenses include recovery of lease-related costs of $1 million. In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $5 million, a lease impairment charge of $4 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million.

5 Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

6    In 2021, selling and general expenses include IHS Markit merger costs of $249 million, employee severance charges of $13 million, lease-related costs of $4 million, a lease impairment of $3 million, Kensho retention related expenses of $2 million and acquisition-related costs of $2 million. In 2020, selling and general expenses include lease impairments of $116 million, IHS Markit merger costs of $24 million, employee severance charges of $19 million, Kensho retention related expense of $12 million and a gain related to an acquisition of $1 million.

Operating-Related Expenses

Operating-related expenses increased by 5% as compared to 2020. Increases at Ratings, Indices and Platts were primarily driven by higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs due to additional headcount and annual merit increases. The increase at Market Intelligence was primarily due to an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth and higher incentive costs.

Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

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Selling and General Expenses

Selling and general expenses increased 11%. Excluding the unfavorable impact of IHS Markit merger costs in 2021 of 2 percentage points, offset by higher lease impairments in 2020 of 1 percentage point, higher employee severance charges in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point and higher lease-related costs in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point, selling and general expenses increased 11%. Increases at Ratings, Platts and Indices were primarily driven by higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs due to additional headcount and annual merit increases. The increase at Market Intelligence was primarily due to an increase in technology costs and higher incentive costs, partially offset by a decrease in compensation costs due to reduced headcount. These increases were partially offset by lower occupancy costs and a decrease in legal related costs at Indices.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization decreased $28 million, or 13%, compared to 2020 primarily due to a decrease in intangible asset amortization related to assets that became fully amortized, partially offset by an increase in amortization expense driven by the acquisitions of RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in January 2020 and February 2020, respectively.

The following tables provide an analysis by segment of our operating-related expenses and selling and general expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

N/M - Represents a change equal to or in excess of 100% or not meaningful

1     In 2020, selling and general expenses include a technology-related impairment charge of $11 million, lease-related costs of $5 million and employee severance charges of $4 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $11 million.

2    In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $27 million and lease-related costs of $3 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $6 million and acquisition-related costs of $4 million.

3 In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $11 million and lease-related costs of $2 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $1 million.

4 In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $5 million, a lease impairment charge of $4 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million.

5 Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

6    In 2020, selling and general expenses include lease impairments of $116 million, IHS Markit merger costs of $24 million, employee severance charges of $19 million, Kensho retention related expense of $12 million and a gain related to an acquisition of $1 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include Kensho retention related expense of $21 million, lease impairments of $11 million and employee severance charges of $7 million.

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Operating-Related Expenses

Operating-related expenses increased as compared to 2019 driven by increases at Market Intelligence and Ratings. The increase at Market Intelligence was primarily due to higher compensation costs driven by investments in growth initiatives and the acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, and higher incentive costs. The increase at Ratings was primarily driven by higher incentive costs. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19.

Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

Selling and General Expenses

Selling and general expenses increased 15%. Excluding the impact of higher lease impairment charges in 2020 of 9 percentage points, higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 3 percentage costs, lease-related costs in 2020 of 1 percentage point, IHS Markit merger costs in 2020 of 1 percentage point and a technology-related impairment charge of 1 percentage point, partially offset by higher Kensho related retention expense in 2019 of 1 percentage point, selling and general expenses increased 1%. This increase was primarily driven by an increase at Market Intelligence due to higher compensation costs driven by investments in growth initiatives and the acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, and higher incentive costs, and an increase at Indices driven by an increase in legal related costs. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 and lower rental expense from a reduction in the Company's real estate footprint.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased $2 million, or 1%, compared to 2019 due to an increase in depreciation expense related to assets that began being depreciated in the second half of 2019 and an increase in amortization expense driven by the acquisitions of RobecoSAM, Greenwich Associates LLC and 451 Research, LLC in January 2020, February 2020 and December 2019, respectively.

Gain on Dispositions

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we completed the following dispositions that resulted in a pre-tax gain of $11 million, which was included in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income:

•During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $8 million ($6 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of office facilities in India.

•During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $3 million ($3 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC ("SPIAS"), a business within our Market Intelligence segment, that occurred in July of 2019.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we completed the following dispositions that resulted in a pre-tax gain of $16 million, which was included in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income:

•In January of 2020, Market Intelligence entered into a strategic alliance to transition S&P Global Market Intelligence's Investor Relations ("IR") webhosting business to Q4 Inc. ("Q4"). This alliance integrated Market Intelligence's proprietary data into Q4's portfolio of solutions, enabling further opportunities for commercial collaboration. In connection with transitioning its IR webhosting business to Q4, Market Intelligence received a minority investment in Q4. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $11 million ($6 million after-tax), respectively, in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of IR.

•In September of 2020, we sold our facility at East Windsor, New Jersey. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $4 million ($3 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of East Windsor.

•During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $1 million ($1 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of SPIAS, a business within our Market Intelligence segment, in July of 2019.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we completed the following dispositions that resulted in a pre-tax gain of $49 million, which was included in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income:

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•In July of 2019, we completed the sale of RigData, a business within our Platts segment, to Drilling Info, Inc. RigData is a provider of daily information on rig activity for the natural gas and oil markets across North America. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $27 million ($26 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of RigData.

•In March of 2019, we entered into an agreement to sell SPIAS to Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("GSAM"). SPIAS provides non-discretionary investment advice across institutional sub-advisory and intermediary distribution channels globally. On July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS to GSAM. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $22 million ($12 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPIAS.

Operating Profit

We consider operating profit to be an important measure for evaluating our operating performance and we evaluate operating profit for each of the reportable business segments in which we operate.

We internally manage our operations by reference to operating profit with economic resources allocated primarily based on each segment's contribution to operating profit. Segment operating profit is defined as operating profit before Corporate Unallocated expense. Segment operating profit is not, however, a measure of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, and may not be defined and calculated by other companies in the same manner.

The table below reconciles segment operating profit to total operating profit:

1    2021 includes a gain on disposition of $6 million, employee severance charges of $3 million and recovery of lease-related costs of $4 million. 2020 includes a technology-related impairment charge of $11 million, lease-related costs of $5 million and employee severance charges of $4 million. 2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $10 million, $7 million and $2 million, respectively.

2    2021 includes acquisition-related costs of $2 million. 2021and 2020 include employee severance charges of $3 million and $27 million, respectively, a gain on dispositions of $3 million and $12 million, respectively, and lease-related costs of $1 million and $3 million, respectively. 2019 includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million, employee severance charges of $6 million and acquisition-related costs of $4 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $65 million, $76 million and $75 million, respectively.

3 2021 includes recovery of lease-related costs of $2 million. 2020 includes employee severance charges of $11 million and lease-related costs of $2 million. 2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million and employee severance charges of $1 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $8 million, $9 million, and $12 million.

4    2021 includes recovery of lease-related costs of $1 million. 2020 includes employee severance charges of $5 million, a lease impairment charge of $4 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $6 million.

5    2021 and 2020 includes IHS Markit merger costs of $249 million and $24 million, respectively. 2021, 2020, and 2019 include employee severance charges of $13 million, $19 million and $7 million, respectively, lease impairments of $3 million, $116 million and $11 million, respectively, and Kensho retention related expenses of $2 million, $12 million, and $21 million, respectively. 2021 includes lease-related costs of $4 million, acquisition-related costs of $2 million and a gain on disposition of $2 million. 2020 includes a gain related to an acquisition of $1 million. Additionally, 2021, 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million, $26 million, and $28 million.

2021

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Segment Operating Profit — Increased $711 million or 18% as compared to 2020. Excluding the impact of higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 2 percentage points and higher lease-related costs of 1 percentage point in 2020, segment operating profit increased 15%. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in occupancy costs, partially offset by higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs driven by additional headcount and annual merit increases. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

Corporate Unallocated Expense— Corporate Unallocated expense includes costs for corporate functions, select initiatives, unoccupied office space and Kensho, included in selling and general expenses. Corporate Unallocated expense increased 33% compared to 2020. Excluding the unfavorable impact of IHS Markit merger costs in 2021 of 45 percentage points, higher lease-related costs in 2021 of 1 percentage point and higher acquisition-related costs in 2021 of 1 percentage point, partially offset by higher lease impairments in 2020 of 23 percentage points, higher amortization of intangibles in 2020 of 4 percentage points, higher Kensho retention related expense in 2020 of 2 percentage points and higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 1 percentage point, Corporate Unallocated expense increased 16% primarily due to higher incentive costs.

Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact on operating profit of 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons and the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities. Constant currency impacts are estimated by re-calculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year. Remeasurement impacts are based on the variance between current-year and prior-year foreign exchange rate fluctuations on assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the individual businesses functional currency.

2020

Segment Operating Profit — Increased $498 million, or 14% as compared to 2019. Excluding the impact of higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 1 percentage point, a higher gain on dispositions in 2019 of 1 percentage point primarily related to the sale of RigData and SPIAS, a technology-related impairment charge in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point and lease-related costs in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point, segment operating profit increased 17%. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount.

Corporate Unallocated Expense — Corporate Unallocated expense includes costs for corporate center functions, select initiatives and unoccupied office space and Kensho, included in selling and general expenses. Corporate Unallocated expense increased by $107 million or 50% as compared to 2019. Excluding the impact of higher lease impairment charges in 2020 of 53 percentage points, IHS Markit merger costs in 2020 of 12 percentage points and higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 6 percentage points, partially offset by lower Kensho retention related expense in 2020 of 6 percentage points and a gain on disposition in 2020 of 2 percentage points, Corporate Unallocated expense decreased 12% primarily driven by lower rental expense from a reduction in the Company's real estate footprint, a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses and lower professional fees, partially offset by contributions to the S&P Global Foundation made in 2020.

Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact on operating profit of 1 percentage point. The foreign exchange rate impact refers to constant currency comparisons and the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities. Constant currency impacts are estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year. Remeasurement impacts are based on the variance between current-year and prior-year foreign exchange rate fluctuations on monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the individual business' functional currency.

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Other (Income) Expense, net

Other (income) expense, net primarily includes the net periodic benefit cost for our retirement and post retirement plans. Other income, net for 2021 and 2020 was $62 million and $31 million, respectively, and other expense, net for 2019 was $98 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, lump sum withdrawals exceeded the combined total anticipated annual service and interest cost of our U.K. pension plan, triggering the recognition of a non-cash pre-tax settlement charge of $3 million. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased a group annuity contract under which an insurance company assumed the Company’s obligation to pay pension benefits to approximately 4,600 retirees and beneficiaries. This purchase eliminates all future investment or mortality risk associated with these retirees. The purchase of this group annuity contract was funded with pension plan assets. As a result, the Company’s outstanding pension benefit obligation was reduced by approximately $370 million, representing approximately 24% of the total obligations of the Company’s qualified pension plans. In connection with this transaction, the Company recorded a pre-tax settlement charge of $113 million, reflecting the accelerated recognition of a portion of unamortized actuarial losses in the plan. Excluding these charges, other income, net was $62 million, $34 million and $14 million for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase in other (income) expense, net in 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily due to a higher gain on investments in 2021 and the increase in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to a higher loss on investments in 2019.

Interest Expense, net

Net interest expense for 2021 decreased $22 million or 16% compared to 2020, primarily due to lower interest expense resulting from the refinancing of a series of our senior notes in August of 2020. Net interest expense for 2020 remained relatively unchanged compared to 2019, increasing less than 1%.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

The year ended December 31, 2020 includes $279 million related to the redemption fee on the early retirement of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and 4.5% senior notes due in 2048 in the third quarter of 2020. The year ended December 31, 2019 includes $57 million of costs associated with the early repayment of our 3.3% Senior Notes and a portion of our 6.55% Senior Notes.

Provision for Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate was 21.6%, 21.5% and 21.4% for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase in 2021 was primarily due to a change in the mix of income by jurisdiction. The increase in 2020 was primarily due to a decrease in the recognition of excess tax benefits associated with share-based payments in the statement of income.

Segment Review

Ratings

Ratings is an independent provider of credit ratings, research, and analytics to investors, issuers and other market participants. Credit ratings are one of several tools investors can use when making decisions about purchasing bonds and other fixed income investments. They are opinions about credit risk, and our ratings express our opinion about the ability and willingness of an issuer, such as a corporation or state or city government, to meet its financial obligations in full and on time. Our credit ratings can also relate to the credit quality of an individual debt issue, such as a corporate or municipal bond, and the relative likelihood that the issue may default.

Ratings disaggregates its revenue between transaction and non-transaction. Transaction revenue primarily includes fees associated with:

•ratings related to new issuance of corporate and government debt instruments, as well as structured finance debt instruments; and

•bank loan ratings.

Non-transaction revenue primarily includes fees for surveillance of a credit rating, annual fees for customer relationship-based pricing programs, fees for entity credit ratings and global research and analytics at CRISIL. Non-transaction revenue also includes an intersegment royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings. Royalty revenue for 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $136 million, $128 million and $118 million, respectively.

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The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the years ended December 31:

1In the first quarter of 2021, we reevaluated our transaction and non-transaction presentation for Ratings which resulted in a reclassification from transaction revenue to non-transaction revenue of $8 million and $7 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

22021 includes a gain on disposition of $6 million, recovery of lease-related costs of $4 million, and employee severance charges of $3 million. 2020 includes a technology-related impairment charge of $11 million, lease-related costs of $5 million and employee severance charges of $4 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $10 million, $7 million and $2 million, respectively.

2021

Revenue increased 14%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 1 percentage point. Transaction revenue increased due to higher bank loan ratings revenue driven by increased M&A activity and an increase in structured finance revenue primarily driven by increased issuance of U.S. CLOs. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance, entity credit ratings, an increase in revenue at our CRISIL subsidiary and higher RES revenue driven by increased M&A activity. Transaction and non-transaction revenue also benefited from improved contract terms across product categories.

Operating profit increased 18%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 1 percentage point. The impact of revenue growth and lower occupancy costs was partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs due to annual merit increases, additional headcount and human capital investments, as well as the ramp up of technology and strategic initiatives.

2020

Revenue increased 16% including a favorable benefit of 1 percentage point from the impact of recent acquisitions. Transaction revenue grew due to an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue primarily driven by higher corporate bond issuance in the U.S. mainly resulting from borrowers’ need for increased liquidity in light of the pandemic-related economic downturn, historically low borrowing costs, and central bank lending actions initially announced at the end of the first quarter of 2020, partially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue and structured finance revenues. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance revenue, royalty revenue, and higher RES activity driven by increased M&A activity in the fourth quarter of 2020. Transaction and non-transaction revenue also benefited from improved contract terms across product categories. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point. Revenue was favorably impacted by the acquisitions of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in January of 2020 and February of 2020, respectively. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial

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statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Operating profit increased 25%, with a 2 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the impact of a technology-related impairment charge in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point, lease-related costs in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point and higher amortization of intangible assets in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point, partially offset by higher employee severance charges in 2019 of less than 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 25%. The impact of revenue growth was partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs due to annual merit increases and additional headcount, partially offset by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19.

Market Issuance Volumes

We monitor market issuance volumes regularly within Ratings. Market issuance volumes noted within the discussion that follows are based on where an issuer is located or where the assets associated with an issue are located. Structured Finance issuance includes amounts when a transaction closes, not when initially priced and excludes domestically-rated Chinese issuance. The following tables depict changes in issuance levels as compared to the prior year based on data from SDC Platinum for Corporate bond issuance and based on a composite of external data feeds and Ratings' internal estimates for Structured Finance issuance.

*     Includes Industrials and Financial Services.

•High-yield issuance was up in both the U.S and Europe as issuers were taking advantage of historically low borrowing costs. Investment-grade issuance was down in both the U.S. and Europe reflecting comparisons against a strong prior year period as a number of large financing transactions contributed to the increase in investment-grade issuance in the U.S. and Europe in 2020.

** Represents no activity in 2021 and 2020.

•ABS issuance increased in the U.S. and Europe primarily driven by growth across all sub asset classes led by Credit Cards, Student Loans, Autos and Esoterics.

•CLO issuance increased in the U.S. and European structured credit markets driven by growth in leveraged loans due to strong M&A activity and investor demand for high risk adjusted yield.

•CMBS issuance was up in the U.S. reflecting increased market volume in large single-asset single-borrower (SASB) as market conditions improved from early in the pandemic. CMBS issuance in Europe was also up, although from a low 2020 base.

•RMBS issuance was up in the U.S. and Europe reflecting increased market volume due to an improved housing market.

•Covered bond (debt securities backed by mortgages or other high-quality assets that remain on the issuer's balance sheet) issuance in Europe increased in 2021 driven by improved market conditions.

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Industry Highlights and Outlook

Revenue increased in 2021 primarily driven by an increase in bank loan ratings revenue, structured finance transaction revenues and non-transaction revenue. In 2021, Ratings continued to focus on developing key product offerings in ESG and launched new Social and Sustainability products. ESG initiatives and international expansion in China continues to be areas of focus for Ratings.

CRISIL revenue increased across all segments, primarily driven by Global Benchmarking Analytics and Global Research & Risk solutions from the recovery of the banking sector and increased focus on sustainability, credit risk and model validation projects. This growth is expected to extend into 2022 led by the financial research and research & analytics businesses.

Continued focus on maintaining an effective analytical workforce with targeted hiring and a competitive compensation structure. Technology investments from the expansion and improvements in the cloud infrastructure, as well as enhancements to the delivery and value add of the Ratings content to customers.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

General

Ratings and many of the securities that it rates are subject to extensive regulation in both the U.S. and in other countries, and therefore existing and proposed laws and regulations can impact the Company’s operations and the markets in which it operates. Additional laws and regulations have been adopted but not yet implemented or have been proposed or are being considered. In addition, in certain countries, governments may provide financial or other support to locally-based rating agencies. For example, governments may from time to time establish official rating agencies or credit ratings criteria or procedures for evaluating local issuers. We have reviewed the new laws, regulations and rules which have been adopted and we have implemented, or are planning to implement, changes as required. We do not believe that such new laws, regulations or rules will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Other laws, regulations and rules relating to credit rating agencies are being considered by local, national, foreign and multinational bodies and are likely to continue to be considered in the future, including provisions seeking to reduce regulatory and investor reliance on credit ratings, remuneration and rotation of credit rating agencies, and liability standards applicable to credit rating agencies. The impact on us of the adoption of any such laws, regulations or rules remains uncertain, but could increase the costs and legal risks relating to Ratings’ rating activities, or adversely affect our ability to compete and/or our remuneration, or result in changes in the demand for credit ratings.

In the normal course of business both in the U.S. and abroad, Ratings (or the legal entities comprising Ratings) are defendants in numerous legal proceedings and are often the subject of government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries. Many of these proceedings, investigations and inquiries relate to the ratings activity of Ratings and are or have been brought by purchasers of rated securities. In addition, various government and self-regulatory agencies frequently make inquiries and conduct investigations into Ratings’ compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Any of these proceedings, investigations or inquiries could ultimately result in adverse judgments, damages, fines, penalties or activity restrictions, which could adversely impact our consolidated financial condition, cash flows, business or competitive position.

U.S.

The businesses conducted by our Ratings segment are, in certain cases, regulated under the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 (the “Reform Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd Frank Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and/or the laws of the states or other jurisdictions in which they conduct business. The financial services industry is subject to the potential for increased regulation in the U.S.

S&P Global Ratings is a credit rating agency that is registered with the SEC as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”). The SEC first began informally designating NRSROs in 1975 for use of their credit ratings in the determination of capital charges for registered brokers and dealers under the SEC’s Net Capital Rule. The Reform Act created a new SEC registration system for rating agencies that choose to register as NRSROs. Under the Reform Act, the SEC is given authority and oversight of NRSROs and can censure NRSROs, revoke their registration or limit or suspend their registration in certain cases. The rules implemented by the SEC pursuant to the Reform Act, the Dodd Frank Act and the Exchange Act address, among other things, prevention or misuse of material non-public information, conflicts of interest, documentation and assessment of internal controls, and improving transparency of ratings performance and methodologies. The public portions of the current version of S&P Global Ratings’ Form NRSRO are available on S&P Global Ratings’ website.

European Union

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In the European Union ("EU"), the credit rating industry is registered and supervised through a pan-European regulatory framework which is a compilation of three sets of legislative actions. In 2009, the European Parliament passed a regulation (“CRA1”) that established an oversight regime for the credit rating industry in the EU, which became effective in 2010. CRA1 requires the registration, formal regulation and periodic inspection of credit rating agencies operating in the EU. Ratings was granted registration in October of 2011. In January of 2011, the EU established the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”), which, among other things, has direct supervisory responsibility for the registered credit rating industry throughout the EU.

Additional rules augmenting the supervisory framework for credit rating agencies went into effect in 2013. Commonly referred to as CRA3, these rules, among other things:

•impose various additional procedural requirements with respect to ratings of sovereign issuers;

•require member states to adopt laws imposing liability on credit rating agencies for an intentional or grossly negligent failure to abide by the applicable regulations;

•impose mandatory rotation requirements on credit rating agencies hired by issuers of securities for ratings of resecuritizations, which may limit the number of years a credit rating agency can issue ratings for such securities of a particular issuer;

•impose restrictions on credit rating agencies or their shareholders if certain ownership thresholds are crossed; and

•impose additional procedural and substantive requirements on the pricing of services.

The financial services industry is subject to the potential for increased regulation in the EU.

Other Jurisdictions

Outside of the U.S. and the EU, regulators and government officials have also been implementing formal oversight of credit rating agencies. Ratings is subject to regulations in most of the foreign jurisdictions in which it operates and continues to work closely with regulators globally to promote the global consistency of regulatory requirements. This includes the UK, which has established a credit rating agencies oversight regime similar to that in place in the EU, and where Ratings was granted registration with the Financial Conduct Authority on January 1, 2021. Regulators in additional countries may introduce new regulations in the future.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Ratings business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment in our Ratings business, see Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Market Intelligence

Market Intelligence's portfolio of capabilities is designed to help investment professionals, government agencies, corporations and universities track performance, generate alpha, identify investment ideas, understand competitive and industry dynamics, perform valuations and assess credit risk.

In December of 2021, as part of our Sustainable1 investments, we completed the acquisition of The Climate Service, Inc. ("TCS"), which has developed a climate risk analytics platform assisting corporates, investors and governments with assessing physical climate risks. Sustainable1 is S&P Global's single source of essential sustainability intelligence, bringing together S&P Global's resources and full product suite of data, benchmarking, analytics, evaluations and indices that provide customers with a 360-degree view to help achieve their sustainability goals. The acquisition will add capabilities to S&P Global's leading portfolio of essential ESG insights and solutions for its customers. Through this acquisition, S&P Global will be able to offer its clients even more transparent, robust and comprehensive climate data, models and analytics. We accounted for the acquisition using the purchase method of accounting. The acquisition of The Climate Service, Inc. is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In December of 2021, S&P Global entered into an agreement to sell CUSIP Global Services ("CGS") business, included in our Market Intelligence segment, to FactSet Research Systems for $1.925 billion, with the agreement subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The agreement represents continued progress toward completing the pending merger of S&P Global and IHS Markit, and the divestiture is dependent on expected closing of the merger with IHS Markit and other customary conditions. We have also pledged to divest our Leveraged Commentary and Data (“LCD”) business, included in our Market Intelligence segment, along with a related family of leveraged loan indices as a condition for regulatory approval. Under the European Commission's conditional approval of the merger of S&P Global and IHS Markit, execution of an agreement to sell the LCD business can occur after the closing of the merger. The divestitures remain subject to further review and approval by antitrust regulators. Subject to certain closing conditions, the merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

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In January of 2020, Market Intelligence entered into a strategic alliance to transition S&P Global Market Intelligence's IR webhosting business to Q4, a third party provider of investor relations related services. This alliance integrated Market Intelligence's proprietary data into Q4's portfolio of solutions, enabling further opportunities for commercial collaboration. In connection with transitioning its IR webhosting business to Q4, Market Intelligence received a minority investment in Q4. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $11 million ($6 million after-tax), respectively, in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of IR.

In March of 2019, we entered into an agreement to sell SPIAS, a business within our Market Intelligence segment, to GSAM. SPIAS provides non-discretionary investment advice across institutional sub-advisory and intermediary distribution channels globally. On July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS to GSAM. During 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $22 million ($12 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPIAS. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $3 million ($3 million after-tax) and $1 million ($1 million after-tax), respectively, in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPIAS in July of 2019.

See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.

Market Intelligence includes the following business lines:

•Desktop — a product suite that provides data, analytics and third-party research for global finance professionals, which includes the Market Intelligence Desktop (which are inclusive of the S&P Capital IQ and SNL Desktop products);

•Data Management Solutions — integrated bulk data feeds and application programming interfaces that can be customized, which includes Compustat, GICS, Point In Time Financials; and

•Credit Risk Solutions — commercial arm that sells Ratings' credit ratings and related data, analytics and research, which includes subscription-based offerings, RatingsDirect® and RatingsXpress®, and Credit Analytics.

Subscription revenue at Market Intelligence is primarily derived from distribution of data, analytics, third-party research, and credit ratings-related information primarily through web-based channels, including Market Intelligence Desktop, RatingsDirect®, RatingsXpress®, and Credit Analytics. Non-subscription revenue at Market Intelligence is primarily related to certain advisory, pricing and analytical services.

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The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the years ended December 31:

12021 includes employee severance charges of $3 million, a gain on disposition of $3 million, acquisition-related costs of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million. 2020 includes employee severance charges of $27 million, a gain on dispositions of $12 million and lease-related costs of $3 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $65 million, $76 million and $75 million, respectively.

2021

Revenue increased 7% driven by subscription revenue growth for RatingsXpress®, RatingsDirect®, certain Market Intelligence Desktop products, and certain data feed products within Data Management Solutions. Excluding the impact of recent dispositions favorably impacting Desktop revenue growth by 1 percentage point, revenue growth at Data Management Solutions, Credit Risk Solutions and Desktop was 11%, 8% and 5%, respectively. Both U.S. revenue and international revenue increased compared to 2021. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 19%, with an unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the impact from higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 6 percentage points and higher amortization of intangibles in 2020 of 3 percentage points, partially offset by the impact of a higher gain on the dispositions in 2020 of 3 percentage points, operating profit increased 13%. The impact of revenue growth and lower compensation costs due to reduced headcount was partially offset by an increase in cost of sales and intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth, increased technology costs and higher incentive costs.

2020

Revenue increased 8% and was favorably impacted by 1 percentage point from the net effect of the recent acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, offset by the disposition of SPIAS and the IR webhosting business. The increase in revenue was driven by growth in annualized contract values for RatingsXpress®, RatingsDirect®, our data feed products within Data Management Solutions and our Market Intelligence Desktop products. Excluding the impact of the acquisition and dispositions favorably impacting Desktop revenue growth by 3 percentage points, revenue growth at Credit Risk Solutions, Data Management Solutions and Desktop was 9%, 9% and 4%, respectively. Both U.S. revenue and international revenue increased compared to 2019. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of 1 percentage point.

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Operating profit increased 4%, with a 3 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the impact of higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 3 percentage points and a higher gain on dispositions in 2019 of 2 percentage points, operating profit increased 9%. The impact of revenue growth was partially offset by higher compensation costs primarily due to annual merit increases, an increase in incentive costs and higher technology costs, partially offset by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19.

Industry Highlights and Outlook

Market Intelligence continues to focus on developing key product offerings in growth areas such as ESG and growing new products and product features leveraging technology investments. Product launches and innovation continued at Market Intelligence in 2021 with the introduction of several new ESG related products and new products and product features leveraging technology investments.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

The market for research services is very competitive. Market Intelligence competes domestically and internationally on the basis of a number of factors, including the quality of its research and advisory services, client service, reputation, price, geographic scope, range of products and services, and technological innovation. For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Market Intelligence business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

European Union

The EU enacted a package of legislative measures known as MiFID II ("MiFID II"), which revises and updates the existing EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive framework, and the substantive provisions became applicable in all EU Member States as of January 3, 2018. MiFID II includes provisions that, among other things, require the unbundling of investment research and direct  how asset managers pay for research either out of a research payment account or from a firm’s profits. Although the MiFID II package is “framework” legislation (meaning that much of the detail of the rules will be set out in subordinate measures, including some technical standards yet to be adopted by the European Commission), the introduction of the MiFID II package may result in changes to the manner in which Market Intelligence licenses certain products. MiFID II may impose regulatory burdens on Market Intelligence activities in the EU, although the exact impact and costs are not yet known.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Market Intelligence business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment in our Market Intelligence business, see Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Platts

Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodity and energy markets. Platts provides essential price data, analytics, and industry insight enabling the commodity and energy markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency.

On July 31, 2019, we completed the sale of RigData, a business within our Platts segment, to Drilling Info, Inc. RigData is a provider of daily information on rig activity for the natural gas and oil markets across North America. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $27 million ($26 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of RigData. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K for further discussion.

Platts' revenue is generated primarily through the following sources:

•Subscription revenue — primarily from subscriptions to our market data and market insights (price assessments, market reports and commentary and analytics) along with other information products;

•Sales usage-based royalties — primarily from licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges; and

•Non-subscription revenue — conference sponsorship, consulting engagements, and events.

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The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the years ended December 31:

N/M- Represents a change equal to or in excess of 100% or not meaningful

12021 includes recovery of lease-related costs of $2 million. 2020 includes employee severance charges of $11 million and lease-related costs of $2 million. 2021, 2020, and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $8 million, $9 million, and $12 million, respectively.

2021

Revenue increased 8% primarily due to continued demand for market data and market insights products driven by expanded product offerings to our existing customers under enterprise use contracts. An increase in sales usage-based royalties from the licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges mainly due to increased trading volumes in Petroleum and LNG also contributed to revenue growth. Both U.S. revenue and international revenue grew compared to 2021. Petroleum continues to be the most significant revenue driver, followed by natural gas, power & renewables, petrochemicals, metals & agriculture, and shipping also contributing to revenue growth.

Operating profit increased 13% with an unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the impact of higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 3 percentage points and higher lease-related costs in 2020 of 1%, operating profit increased 9%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support business initiatives at Platts and an increase in incentive costs.

2020

Revenue increased 4% and was unfavorably impacted by less than 1 percentage point from the net effect of recent acquisitions of Enerdata and Live Rice Index and the disposition of RigData. Revenue increased primarily due to continued demand for market data and market insights products driven by both expanded product offerings to our existing customers combined with enhanced contract terms. Additionally, an increase in sales usage-based royalties from the licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges due to increased trading volumes in the first half of 2020 contributed to revenue growth. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in conference revenue as a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19. International revenue grew and U.S. revenue remained relatively unchanged compared to 2019 with the U.S revenue growth rate being unfavorably impacted by the disposition of RigData in July of 2019. Petroleum continues to be the most significant revenue driver, followed by natural gas, power & renewables, metals & agriculture and petrochemicals also contributing to revenue growth. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

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Operating profit remained relatively unchanged with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the unfavorable impact of the gain on disposition of RigData in 2019 of 6 percentage points and higher employee severance charges in 2020 of 2 percentage points, operating profit increased 8%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth combined with a reduction in expenses. Expenses decreased primarily due to a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, lower costs as a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19 and the favorable impact of a benefit resulting from one-time costs related to the discontinuation of a product line at Platts in 2019. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support business initiatives at Platts and higher incentive costs.

Industry Highlights and Outlook

In 2021, sustained demand for market data and market insight products, led by petroleum, continued to drive revenue growth. Platts introduced S&P Platts Dimension Pro in 2021 that provides a fully integrated user experience connecting pricing, market commentary, news and analytics. Additionally, Platts introduced several new ESG related products in 2021. Platts continues to focus on developing new product and product features leveraging technology investments and developing key product offerings in ESG.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Platts’ commodities price assessment and information business is subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny. As discussed below under the heading “Indices-Legal and Regulatory Environment”, the benchmarks industry is subject to the new regulation in the EU (the “EU Benchmark Regulation”) as well as potential increased regulation in other jurisdictions. Platts has obtained authorization and is now supervised by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets in the Netherlands under the EU Benchmark Regulation, will likely need to take similar steps in other jurisdictions including the United Kingdom when the transitional period under the EU Benchmark Regulation (and its UK equivalent) ends, as well as in jurisdictions outside of Europe if they pass similar legislation. For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Platts business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

European Union

The EU has enacted MiFID II, which revise and update the existing EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the substantive provisions became applicable in all EU Member States as of January 3, 2018. MiFID II includes provisions that, among other things: (i) impose new conditions and requirements on the licensing of benchmarks and provide for non-discriminatory access to exchanges and clearing houses; (ii) modify the categorization and treatment of certain classes of derivatives; (iii) expand the categories of trading venue that are subject to regulation; (iv) require the unbundling of investment research and direct  how asset managers pay for research either out of a research payment account or from a firm’s profits; and (v) provide for the mandatory trading of certain derivatives on exchanges (complementing the mandatory derivative clearing requirements in the E.U. Market Infrastructure Regulation of 2011). Although the MiFID II package is “framework” legislation (meaning that much of the detail of the rules will be set out in subordinate measures, including some technical standards yet to be adopted by the European Commission), the introduction of the MiFID II package may result in changes to the manner in which Platts licenses its price assessments. MiFID II and the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") may impose additional regulatory burdens on Platts activities in the EU over time, but they have not yet resulted in increased substantive impact or costs.

In October of 2012, IOSCO issued its Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies ("PRA Principles"), which are intended to enhance the reliability of oil price assessments referenced in derivative contracts subject to regulation by IOSCO members. Platts has aligned its operations with the PRA Principles and, as recommended by IOSCO in its final report on the PRA Principles, has aligned to the PRA Principles for other commodities for which it publishes benchmarks.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Platts business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment in our Platts business, see Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Indices

Indices is a global index provider maintaining a wide variety of indices to meet an array of investor needs. Indices’ mission is to provide transparent benchmarks to help with decision making, collaborate with the financial community to create innovative products, and provide investors with tools to monitor world markets.

Indices derives revenue from asset-linked fees when investors direct funds into its proprietary designed or owned indexes, sales usage-based royalties of its indices, and to a lesser extent data subscription arrangements. Specifically, Indices generates revenue from the following sources:

•Investment vehicles — asset-linked fees such as ETFs and mutual funds, that are based on the S&P Dow Jones Indices' benchmarks that generate revenue through fees based on assets and underlying funds;

•Exchange traded derivatives — generate sales usage-based royalties based on trading volumes of derivatives contracts listed on various exchanges;

•Index-related licensing fees — fixed or variable annual and per-issue asset-linked fees for over-the-counter derivatives and retail-structured products; and

•Data and customized index subscription fees — fees from supporting index fund management, portfolio analytics and research.

The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the years ended December 31:

12021 includes recovery of lease-related costs of $1 million. 2020 includes employee severance charges of $5 million, a lease impairment charge of $4 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $2 million and lease-related costs of $1 million. 2021, 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $6 million.

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2021

Revenue at Indices increased 16% primarily due to higher average levels of assets under management ("AUM") for ETFs and mutual funds and higher data subscription revenue, partially offset by lower exchange-traded derivative revenue. Average levels of AUM for ETFs increased 44% to $2.419 trillion and ending AUM for ETFs increased 40% to $2.796 trillion compared to 2020 while exchange-traded derivative activity was impacted by both lower average daily trading volume from reduced volatility and lower rates per trade from a shift in product mix in the first half of 2021. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 20%. Excluding the impact of employee severance charges in 2020 of 1 percentage point, a lease impairment charge in 2020 of 1 percentage point and higher lease-related costs in 2020 of less than 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 17%. The impact of revenue growth and lower legal related costs was partially offset by higher cost of sales, higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs driven by additional headcount and annual merit increases. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

2020

Revenue increased 8% primarily due to higher average levels of AUM for ETFs and mutual funds, an increase in exchange-traded derivatives revenue and higher data subscription revenue, partially offset by lower over-the-counter derivative revenue. Average levels of AUM for ETFs increased 12% to $1.681 trillion and ending AUM for ETFs increased 18% to $1.998 trillion compared to 2019.

Operating profit grew 5%. Excluding the impact of employee severance charges in 2020 of 1 percentage point and a lease impairment charge in 2020 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 7%. The impact of revenue growth was partially offset by an increase in compensation costs due to annual merit increases and additional headcount as well as professional costs, higher incentive costs and an increase in legal related costs, partially offset by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 and lower cost of sales. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Industry Highlights and Outlook

Indices continues to be the leading index provider for the ETF market space. In 2021, higher average levels of AUM for ETFs contributed to revenue growth. In 2021, Indices continued to launch new ESG ETFs and expand innovative index offerings with key index product launches. Indices continues to focus on developing key product offerings in ESG, multi-asset-class and factor indices and developing new product and product features leveraging technology investments.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Over the past four years the financial benchmarks industry has been subject to specific benchmark regulation in the European Union (the "EU Benchmark Regulation") and Australia (the "Australia Benchmark Regulation"). Other jurisdictions are also considering new regulation for financial benchmarks.

The EU Benchmark Regulation was published June 30, 2016 and included provisions applicable to Indices and Platts. Both Indices and Platts have established separate benchmark administrators in connection with their benchmark activities in Europe. The Indices and Platts entities are both based in Amsterdam and are authorized by the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (AFM). This legislation will likely cause additional operating obligations but they are not expected to be material at this time, although the exact impact remains unclear.

The Australian Benchmark Regulation was enacted in June of 2018 and included provisions applicable to Indices, designating the S&P ASX 200 a significant financial benchmark and therefore requiring Indices, as the administrator of the S&P ASX 200, to obtain a license from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”). Indices has obtained the relevant license. Although narrower in scope, the requirements of the Australian Benchmark Regulation are similar to those of the EU Benchmark Regulation. This legislation will likely cause additional operating obligations but they are not expected to be material at this time, although the exact impact remains unclear.

In July of 2013, the IOSCO issued Financial Benchmark Principles (IOSCO Principles), intended to promote the reliability of financial benchmark determinations. The IOSCO Principles address governance, benchmark quality and accountability mechanisms, including with regard to the indices published by Indices. Even though the IOSCO Principles are not binding law,

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Indices has taken steps to align its governance regime and operations with the IOSCO Principles and engaged an independent auditor to perform an annual reasonable assurance review of such alignment.

The markets for index providers are very competitive. Indices competes domestically and internationally on the basis of a number of factors, including the quality of its benchmark indices, client service, reputation, price, range of products and services (including geographic coverage) and technological innovation. Our Indices business is impacted by market volatility, asset levels of investment products tracking indices, and trading volumes of certain exchange traded derivatives. Volatile capital markets, as well as changing investment styles, among other factors, may influence an investor’s decision to invest in and maintain an investment in an index-linked investment product.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Indices business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment in our Indices business, see Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We continue to maintain a strong financial position. Our primary source of funds for operations is cash from our businesses and our core businesses have been strong cash generators. In 2022, cash on hand, cash flows from operations and availability under our existing credit facility are expected to be sufficient to meet any additional operating and recurring cash needs into the foreseeable future. We use our cash for a variety of needs, including but not limited to: ongoing investments in our businesses, strategic acquisitions, share repurchases, dividends, repayment of debt, capital expenditures and investment in our infrastructure.

Cash Flow Overview

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash were $6.5 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $2.4 billion as compared to December 31, 2020.

In 2021 and 2020, free cash flow remained unchanged at $3.3 billion. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and reflects our cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders. Capital expenditures include purchases of property and equipment and additions to technology projects. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information” below for a reconciliation of cash flow provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, to free cash flow.

Operating activities

Cash provided by operating activities remained unchanged at $3.6 billion compared to 2020 as higher operating results in 2021 were offset by the acceleration of payments to vendors, higher incentive compensation payments and higher income tax payments.

Cash provided by operating activities increased to $3.6 billion in 2020 as compared to $2.8 billion in 2019. The increase is mainly due to higher results from operations in 2020 and improved cash collections on accounts receivable in 2020.

Investing activities

Our cash outflows from investing activities are primarily for acquisitions and capital expenditures, while cash inflows are primarily proceeds from dispositions.

Cash used for investing activities decreased to $0.1 billion for 2021 as compared to $0.2 billion in 2020, primarily due to higher cash paid for acquisitions in 2020 for the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC.

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Cash used for investing activities increased to $0.2 billion for 2020 as compared to $0.1 billion in 2019, primarily due to cash used for the acquisitions of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in 2020.

Refer to Note 2 – Acquisitions and Divestitures to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Financing activities

Our cash outflows from financing activities consist primarily of share repurchases, dividends and repayment of short-term and long-term debt, while cash inflows are primarily inflows from long-term and short-term debt borrowings and proceeds from the exercise of stock options.

Cash used for financing activities decreased to $1.0 billion in 2021 from $2.2 billion in 2020. The decrease is primarily attributable to a decrease in cash used for share repurchases in 2021.

Cash used for financing activities increased to $2.2 billion in 2020 from $1.8 billion in 2019. The increase is primarily attributable to cash used for the redemption and extinguishment of the $900 million outstanding principal amount of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the outstanding principal amounts of our 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and our 4.5% senior notes due in 2048 in 2020, partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of senior notes in 2020. See Note 5 — Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.

During 2021, we did not use cash to purchase any shares. We expect to resume share repurchases following the expected closing of the merger with IHS Markit.

During 2020, we used cash to repurchase 4.0 million shares for $1,164 million. We entered into two accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreements with a financial institution on February 11, 2020 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million each. We repurchased a total of 1.7 million shares under each ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $292.13 per share.

During 2019, we received 5.9 million shares, including 0.4 million shares received in January of 2019 related to our October 29, 2018 ASR agreement, resulting in $1,240 million of cash used to repurchase shares. We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on August 5, 2019 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. We repurchased a total of 2.0 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $253.36 per share. We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on February 11, 2019 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. We repurchased a total of 2.3 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $214.65 per share.

On January 29, 2020, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of 30 million shares (the "2020 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 12% of the total shares of our outstanding common stock at that time. On December 4, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of 50 million shares (the "2013 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 18% of the total shares of our outstanding common stock at that time. Our purchased shares may be used for general corporate purposes, including the issuance of shares for stock compensation plans and to offset the dilutive effect of the exercise of employee stock options. As of December 31, 2021, 30 million shares remained available under the 2020 Repurchase Program and 0.8 million shares remained available under the 2013 repurchase program.

See Note 9 — Equity to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion related to our ASR agreements.

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Additional Financing

On April 26, 2021, we entered into a revolving $1.5 billion five-year credit agreement (our "credit facility") that will terminate on April 26, 2026. This credit facility replaced our revolving $1.2 billion five-year credit facility (our "previous credit facility") that was scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2022. The previous credit facility was canceled immediately after the new credit facility became effective. There were no outstanding borrowings under the previous credit facility when it was replaced.

We have the ability to borrow a total of $1.5 billion through our commercial paper program, which is supported by our credit facility. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, there was no commercial paper issued or outstanding, and we similarly did not draw or have any borrowings outstanding from the credit facility or the previous credit facility during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Commitment fees for the unutilized commitments under the credit facility and applicable margins for borrowings thereunder are linked to the Company achieving three environmental sustainability performance indicators related to emissions, tested annually. We currently pay a commitment fee of 9 basis points. The credit facility also includes an accordion feature which allows the Company to increase the total commitments thereunder by up to an additional $500 million, subject to certain customary terms and conditions. The credit facility contains customary affirmative and negative covenants and customary events of default. The occurrence of an event of default could result in an acceleration of the obligations under the credit facility.

The only financial covenant required under our credit facility is that our indebtedness to cash flow ratio, as defined in our credit facility, was not greater than 4 to 1, and this covenant level has never been exceeded.

Merger-Related Financing

On November 16, 2021, we launched an offer (the “Exchange Offer”) to exchange outstanding notes issued by IHS Markit for new notes issued by us and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC with the same interest rate, interest payment dates, maturity date and redemption terms as each corresponding series of exchanged IHS Markit notes and cash. The approximately $4.6 billion in aggregate principal amount of IHS Markit’s notes subject to the Exchange Offer range in maturities from 2022 to 2029. The Exchange Offer is conditioned upon closing of the Merger and we expect to extend the Exchange Offer until closing of the Merger. As of January 26, 2022, 95.83% of the IHS Markit notes had been tendered.

In conjunction with the Exchange Offer, we successfully solicited consents to amend each of the indentures governing the IHS Markit notes to, among other things, eliminate certain covenants, restrictive provisions, events of default and the obligation to offer to repurchase the IHS Markit notes upon certain change of control transactions. These amendments become operative upon the settlement of the Exchange Offer.

Following the Merger, we expect to raise additional capital, including by issuing new senior notes of various maturities, potentially ranging from 5 years to 40 years, in an aggregate principal amount up to $6 billion, portions of which we expect to use to refinance existing indebtedness. We also expect to exercise the accordion feature under our existing credit facility to increase the total commitments thereunder by an additional $500 million.

Merger-Related Costs

In 2022, we will continue to incur costs associated with the anticipated merger with IHS Markit including certain transaction costs upon completion of the merger that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Dividends

On January 26, 2022, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.77 per share. Following the expected closing of the merger with IHS Markit, the Board of Directors will revisit the dividend policy of the combined Company.

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Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information

The senior notes described below were issued by S&P Global Inc. and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, a 100% owned subsidiary of the Company. All senior notes have been registered with the SEC.

•On August 13, 2020, we issued $600 million of 1.25% senior notes due in 2030 and $700 million of 2.3% senior notes due in 2060.

•On November 26, 2019, we issued $500 million of 2.5% senior notes due in 2029 and $600 million of 3.25% senior notes due in 2049.

•On May 17, 2018, we issued $500 million of 4.5% senior notes due in 2048.

•On September 22, 2016, we issued $500 million of 2.95% senior notes due in 2027.

•On May 26, 2015, we issued $700 million of 4.0% senior notes due in 2025.

•On November 2, 2007 we issued $400 million of 6.55% Senior Notes due 2037.

The notes above are unsecured and unsubordinated and rank equally and ratably with all of our existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated debt. The guarantees are the subsidiary guarantor’s unsecured and unsubordinated debt and rank equally and ratably with all of the subsidiary guarantor’s existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated debt.

The guarantees of the subsidiary guarantor may be released and discharged upon (i) a sale or other disposition (including by way of consolidation or merger) of the subsidiary guarantor or the sale or disposition of all or substantially all the assets of the subsidiary guarantor (in each case other than to the Company or a person who, prior to such sale or other disposition, is an affiliate of the Company); (ii) upon defeasance or discharge of any applicable series of the notes, as described above; or (iii) at such time as the subsidiary guarantor ceases to guarantee indebtedness for borrowed money, other than a discharge through payment thereon, under any Credit Facility of the Company, other than any such Credit Facility of the Company the guarantee of which by the subsidiary guarantor will be released concurrently with the release of the subsidiary guarantor’s guarantees of the notes.

Other subsidiaries of the Company do not guarantee the registered debt securities of either S&P Global Inc. or Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC (the "Obligor Group") which are referred to as the “Non-Obligor Group”.

The following tables set forth the summarized financial information of the Obligor Group on a combined basis. This summarized financial information excludes the Non-Obligor Group. Intercompany balances and transactions between members of the Obligor Group have been eliminated. This information is not intended to present the financial position or results of operations of the Obligor Group in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Summarized results of operations for the year ended December 31 is as follows:

Summarized balance sheet information as of December 31 is as follows:

Contractual Obligations

We typically have various contractual obligations, which are recorded as liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets, while other items, such as certain purchase commitments and other executory contracts, are not recognized, but are disclosed herein. For example, we are contractually committed to contracts for information-technology outsourcing, certain enterprise-wide information-technology software licensing and maintenance.

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We believe that the amount of cash and cash equivalents on hand, cash flows expected from operations and availability under our credit facility will be adequate for us to execute our business strategy and meet anticipated requirements for lease obligations, capital expenditures, working capital and debt service for 2022.

The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of December 31, 2021, over the next several years. Additional details regarding these obligations are provided in the notes to our consolidated financial statements, as referenced in the footnotes to the table:

1Our debt obligations are described in Note 5 – Debt to our consolidated financial statement.

2See Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion on our operating lease obligations.

3Other consists primarily of commitments for unconditional purchase obligations in contracts for information-technology outsourcing and certain enterprise-wide information-technology software licensing and maintenance.

As of December 31, 2021, we had $147 million of liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits. We have excluded the liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits from our contractual obligations table because, until formal resolutions are reached, reasonable estimates of the timing of cash settlements with the respective taxing authorities are not practicable.

As of December 31, 2021, we have recorded $3,429 million for our redeemable noncontrolling interest in our S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC partnership discussed in Note 9 – Equity to our consolidated financial statements.  Specifically, this amount relates to the put option under the terms of the operating agreement of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, whereby, after December 31, 2017, CME Group and CME Group Index Services LLC ("CGIS") has the right at any time to sell, and we are obligated to buy, at least 20% of their share in S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. We have excluded this amount from our contractual obligations table because we are uncertain as to the timing and the ultimate amount of the potential payment we may be required to make.

We make contributions to our pension and postretirement plans in order to satisfy minimum funding requirements as well as additional contributions that we consider appropriate to improve the funded status of our plans. During 2021, we contributed $11 million to our retirement plans. Expected employer contributions in 2022 are $11 million and $3 million for our retirement and postretirement plans, respectively. In 2022, we may elect to make additional non-required contributions depending on investment performance and the pension plan status. See Note 7 – Employee Benefits to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

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RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and reflects our cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders. Capital expenditures include purchases of property and equipment and additions to technology projects. Our cash flow provided by operating activities is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to free cash flow.

We believe the presentation of free cash flow allows our investors to evaluate the cash generated from our underlying operations in a manner similar to the method used by management. We use free cash flow to conduct and evaluate our business because we believe it typically presents a more conservative measure of cash flows since capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders are considered a necessary component of ongoing operations. Free cash flow is useful for management and investors because it allows management and investors to evaluate the cash available to us to prepay debt, make strategic acquisitions and investments and repurchase stock.

The presentation of free cash flow is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Free cash flow, as we calculate it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. The following table presents a reconciliation of our cash flow provided by operating activities to free cash flow:

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities.

On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, pension plans, incentive compensation and stock-based compensation, income taxes, contingencies and redeemable noncontrolling interests. We base our estimates on historical experience, current developments and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under these circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that cannot readily be determined from other sources. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from those estimates.

Management considers an accounting estimate to be critical if it required assumptions to be made that were uncertain at the time the estimate was made and changes in the estimate or different estimates could have a material effect on our results of operations. Management has discussed the development and selection of our critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. The Audit Committee has reviewed our disclosure relating to them in this MD&A.

We believe the following critical accounting policies require us to make significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:

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Revenue recognition

Under ASC 606, revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. See Note 1 - Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements for further information.

Allowance for doubtful accounts

The allowance for doubtful accounts reserve methodology is based on historical analysis, a review of outstanding balances and current conditions, and by incorporating data points that provide indicators of future economic conditions including forecasted industry default rates and industry index benchmarks. In determining these reserves, we consider, amongst other factors, the financial condition and risk profile of our customers, areas of specific or concentrated risk as well as applicable industry trends or market indicators. The impact on operating profit for a one percentage point change in the allowance for doubtful accounts is approximately $17 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we incorporated the forecasted impact of future economic conditions into our allowance for doubtful accounts measurement process including the expected adverse impact of COVID-19 on the global economy. Based on our current outlook these assumptions are not expected to significantly change in 2022.

Accounting for the impairment of long-lived assets (including other intangible assets)

We evaluate long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Upon such an occurrence, recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to current forecasts of undiscounted future net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized equal to the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. For long-lived assets held for sale, assets are written down to fair value, less cost to sell. Fair value is determined based on market evidence, discounted cash flows, appraised values or management’s estimates, depending upon the nature of the assets.

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price and related costs over the value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets of businesses acquired. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the carrying value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets was $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment annually during the fourth quarter each year or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired.

Goodwill

As part of our annual impairment test of our four reporting units, we initially perform a qualitative analysis evaluating whether any events and circumstances occurred that provide evidence that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any of our reporting units is less than its carrying amount. Reporting units are generally an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Our qualitative assessment included, but was not limited to, consideration of macroeconomic conditions, industry and market conditions, cost factors, cash flows, changes in key Company personnel and our share price. If, based on our evaluation of the events and circumstances that occurred during the year we do not believe that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any of our reporting units is less than its carrying amount, no quantitative impairment test is performed. Conversely, if the results of our qualitative assessment determine that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any of our reporting units is less than its respective carrying amount we perform a quantitative impairment test. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, the difference is recognized as an impairment charge. For 2021, based on our qualitative assessments, we determined that it is more likely than not that our reporting units’ fair values were greater than their respective carrying amounts.

Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

We evaluate the recoverability of indefinite-lived intangible assets by first performing a qualitative analysis evaluating whether any events and circumstances occurred that provide evidence that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired. If, based on our evaluation of the events and circumstances that occurred during the year we do not believe that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired, no quantitative impairment test is performed. Conversely, if the results of our qualitative assessment determine that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired, a quantitative impairment test is performed. If necessary, an impairment analysis is performed using the income approach to estimate the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset. If the intangible asset carrying value exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. Significant judgments inherent in these analyses include estimating the amount and timing of future cash flows and the selection of appropriate discount rates, royalty rates and long-term growth rate assumptions. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value for this indefinite-lived intangible asset and could result in an impairment charge, which could be material to our financial

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position and results of operations.

We performed our impairment assessment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets and concluded that no impairment existed for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Retirement plans and postretirement healthcare and other benefits

Our employee pension and other postretirement benefit costs and obligations are dependent on assumptions concerning the outcome of future events and circumstances, including compensation increases, long-term return on pension plan assets, discount rates and other factors. In determining such assumptions, we consult with outside actuaries and other advisors where deemed appropriate. In accordance with relevant accounting standards, if actual results differ from our assumptions, such differences are deferred and amortized over the estimated remaining lifetime of the plan participants. While we believe that the assumptions used in these calculations are reasonable, differences in actual experience or changes in assumptions could affect the expense and liabilities related to our pension and other postretirement benefits.

The following is a discussion of some significant assumptions that we make in determining costs and obligations for pension and other postretirement benefits:

•Discount rate assumptions are based on current yields on high-grade corporate long-term bonds.

•The expected return on assets assumption is calculated based on the plan’s asset allocation strategy and projected market returns over the long-term.

Our discount rate and return on asset assumptions used to determine the net periodic pension and postretirement benefit cost on our U.S. retirement plans are as follows:

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $1.5 billion in pension benefit obligation. A 0.25 percentage point increase or decrease in the discount rate would result in an estimated decrease or increase to the accumulated benefit obligation of approximately $50 million and an increase or decrease in 2022 pension expense of approximately $1 million. An increase or decrease of 1 percentage point in the expected rate of return on plan assets would result in a decrease or increase of approximately $15 million to 2022 pension expense.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized over the requisite service period, which typically is the vesting period. Stock-based compensation is classified as both operating-related expense and selling and general expense in our consolidated statements of income. There were no stock options granted in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Income taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to be applied to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. We recognize liabilities for uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns. Accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits are recognized in interest expense and operating expense, respectively.

Judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and unrecognized tax benefits. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, the historical and projected financial performance of the operation that is recording a net deferred tax asset is considered along with any other pertinent information.

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions, and we are routinely under audit by many different tax authorities. We believe that our accrual for tax liabilities is adequate for all open audit years based on an assessment of many factors including past experience and interpretations of tax law. This assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of complex judgments about future events. It is possible that tax examinations will be settled prior to December 31, 2022. If any of these tax audit settlements do occur within that period, we would make any necessary adjustments to the accrual for unrecognized tax benefits.

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As of December 31, 2021, we have approximately $2.9 billion of undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries, of which $0.8 billion is reinvested indefinitely in our foreign operations.

Contingencies

We are subject to a number of lawsuits and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business. We recognize a liability for such contingencies when both (a) information available prior to issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements and (b) the amount of loss can reasonably be estimated. We continually assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes to our contingencies, as well as potential amounts or ranges of probable losses, and recognize a liability, if any, for these contingencies based on an analysis of each matter with the assistance of outside legal counsel and, if applicable, other experts. Because many of these matters are resolved over long periods of time, our estimate of liabilities may change due to new developments, changes in assumptions or changes in our strategy related to the matter. When we accrue for loss contingencies and the reasonable estimate of the loss is within a range, we record its best estimate within the range. We disclose an estimated possible loss or a range of loss when it is at least reasonably possible that a loss may have been incurred.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest

The fair value component of the redeemable noncontrolling interest in Indices business is based on a combination of an income and market valuation approach. Our income and market valuation approaches may incorporate Level 3 fair value measures for instances when observable inputs are not available. The more significant judgmental assumptions used to estimate the value of the S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture include an estimated discount rate, a range of assumptions that form the basis of the expected future net cash flows (e.g., the revenue growth rates and operating margins), and a company specific beta. The significant judgmental assumptions used that incorporate market data, including the relative weighting of market observable information and the comparability of that information in our valuation models, are forward-looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions.

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $3.4 billion in redeemable noncontrolling interest on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The ultimate amount paid for the redeemable noncontrolling interest in Indices business could be significantly different because the redemption amount depends on the future results of operations of the business.

As of December 31, 2021, the weighted average cost of capital used in the Company's income analysis to estimate the fair value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest was 9%. A 0.25 percentage point increase or decrease in the weighted average cost of capital would decrease or increase the redemption value by approximately $80 million. As of December 31, 2021, the terminal growth rate used in the Company's income analysis to estimate the fair value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest was 2.2%. A 0.25 percentage point increase or decrease in the terminal growth rate would increase or decrease the redemption value by approximately $50 million.

RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

See Note 1 – Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements for a detailed description of recent accounting standards. We do not expect these recent accounting standards to have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity in future periods.