MCO vs SPGI vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Moodys, S&P Global and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$488.83 +7.5% 1M +3.6% 1Y
Market cap
$87.31B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
3 wins
SPGI S&P Global Inc.
$460.50 +17.3% 1M -2.7% 1Y
Market cap
$138.35B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
7 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$105.60 +15.0% 1M +23.6% 1Y
Market cap
$60.52B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

S&P Global leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (S&P Global 7, Moodys 3, Nasdaq 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMCOSPGINDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.31B $138.35B $60.52B SPGI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.3x 27.7x 29.0x SPGI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.3x 24.4x 26.2x SPGI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +18.2% +11.5% SPGI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.3% 29.0% 22.8% MCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.9% 14.9% 10.5% MCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 1.2x 2.4x SPGI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% SPGI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.6% -2.7% +23.6% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.9%/yr -0.6%/yr +8.6%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.3% 30.6% 28.3% MCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 62/100 57/100 SPGI

Percentile Scorecard

MCOSPGINDAQ

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMCOSPGINDAQ
Valuation 19 #767 of 941 26 #700 of 941 42 #56 of 96
Growth 71 #178 of 615 76 #148 of 615 42 #38 of 65
Profitability 96 #24 of 586 93 #45 of 586 80 #14 of 65
Financial Health 55 #303 of 667 65 #233 of 667 48 #49 of 93
Shareholder Returns 61 #278 of 704 52 #336 of 704 72 #12 of 40
Overall 60 62 57
  • MCO ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • SPGI ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • NDAQ ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMCOSPGINDAQSPY
1 month +7.5%+17.3%+15.0% +0.7%
3 months +1.3%+11.0%+11.0% +3.7%
6 months +5.8%+6.8%+14.9% +7.1%
Year to date -4.3%-11.9%+8.7% +12.8%
1 year +3.6%-2.7%+23.6% +11.9%
3 years +59.6%+33.5%+115.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +16.9%+10.1%+29.3% +22.8%
5 years +21.0%-2.9%+50.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.9%-0.6%+8.6% +10.9%
10 years +383.2%+276.6%+394.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +17.1%+14.2%+17.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMCOSPGINDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.3%30.6%28.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.9%35.1%29.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.480.320.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.13-0.090.83 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.4%-40.2%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-15.7%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $539.61$546.35$105.60 $779.14
52-week low $412.23$386.35$76.85 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMCOSPGINDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 13.0x 26.9xmedian 13.0x 28.3xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.3xmedian 3.2x 7.8xmedian 3.2x 6.4xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 7.7x 15.8xmedian 7.7x 19.8xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.3xmedian 10.7x 22.9xmedian 10.7x 26.1xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 1.2x 6.7xmedian 1.2x 4.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.11median 0.90 0.90median 0.90 1.55median 0.48

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMCOSPGINDAQ
Revenue $8.18B $17.21B $9.15B
Gross profit $6.10B $12.21B $5.78B
Operating income $3.64B $7.77B $2.73B
Net income $2.89B $5.40B $2.08B
Free cash flow $2.98B $5.84B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $16.64 $17.10 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $1.51B $2.44B $365.00M
Total debt $6.91B $13.06B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 173.30M 291.60M 563.31M
Enterprise value $80.23B $128.21B $57.96B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMCOSPGINDAQ
P/E 29.3x 26.9x 28.3x
P/FCF 28.3x 22.9x 26.1x
P/Operating cash flow 25.3x 22.3x 23.2x
P/S 10.3x 7.8x 6.4x
P/B 24.7x 6.7x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 49.1x 16.9x 10.0x
EV/EBITDA 21.6x 15.8x 19.8x
EV/EBIT 24.6x 18.5x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 11.0x 8.4x 7.3x
EV/FCF 30.1x 24.7x 29.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.9x 24.0x 26.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.11 0.90 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMCOSPGINDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 18.2% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 11.9% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 19.7% 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 14.4% 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.0% 29.7% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.3% 26.4% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.5% 18.3% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 25.3% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 33.1% 23.4% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.5% 29.9% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% 18.5% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 19.8% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.1% 19.4% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 20.2% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMCOSPGINDAQ
Gross margin 74.6% 70.9% 63.2%
EBITDA margin 50.6% 53.1% 37.0%
Operating margin 44.6% 45.1% 29.8%
Pretax margin 45.2% 43.4% 28.5%
Net margin 35.3% 29.0% 22.8%
FCF margin 36.4% 33.9% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 40.7% 34.8% 27.8%
Return on equity 87.8% 21.0% 17.4%
Return on assets 19.6% 9.7% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 27.9% 14.9% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 31.8% 16.6% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.1x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% 1.2% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMCOSPGINDAQ
Debt / assets 46.6% 27.2% 31.9%
Debt / equity 2.0x 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 1.2x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 2.2x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 77.0% 58.7% 56.2%
Equity / assets 23.0% 41.3% 43.8%
Interest coverage – 24.0x 7.9x
Current ratio 1.3x 0.7x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 7.72 4.16 3.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMCOSPGINDAQ
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.8% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 3.5% 4.9% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 5.8% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 24.6% 21.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 23.8% 19.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.0% -1.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 0.2% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMCOSPGINDAQ
Forward P/E 27.3xFY2026 24.4xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.93FY2026 $18.86FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.0%FY2026 +11.9%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.5% +12.9% +11.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.69BFY2026 $15.46BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +0.8%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.0% +6.6% +13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMCOSPGINDAQ
Held by institutions 90.8% 87.5% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,405 2,003 1,083
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.6% +1.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 645 873 538
Institutions selling 522 876 398
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.00 1.35

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MCOSPGINDAQ
MCO 1.00 0.88 0.63
SPGI 0.88 1.00 0.66
NDAQ 0.63 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MCO, SPGI and NDAQ?

S&P Global (SPGI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Moodys (MCO) $87.31B, S&P Global (SPGI) $138.35B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $60.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, MCO, SPGI and NDAQ?

S&P Global (SPGI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Moodys (MCO) 30.3x, S&P Global (SPGI) 27.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, S&P Global (SPGI) is cheapest (Moodys (MCO) 27.3x, S&P Global (SPGI) 24.4x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 26.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

S&P Global (SPGI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, S&P Global (SPGI) +18.2%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Moodys (MCO) has the highest net margin (Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, S&P Global (SPGI) 29.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Moodys (MCO) leads (Moodys (MCO) 27.9%, S&P Global (SPGI) 14.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Moodys (MCO) +3.6%, S&P Global (SPGI) -2.7%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +23.6%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Moodys (MCO) +3.9%/yr, S&P Global (SPGI) -0.6%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

S&P Global (SPGI) has the highest dividend yield: Moodys (MCO) 0.01%, S&P Global (SPGI) 0.01%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%. Nasdaq (NDAQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Moodys (MCO) has been the steadiest (Moodys (MCO) 28.3%, S&P Global (SPGI) 30.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MCO, SPGI and NDAQ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, S&P Global (SPGI) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.