SPGI vs MA vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

S&P Global, Mastercard and Nasdaq Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SPGI S&P Global Inc.
$481.62 +23.2% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$139.62B
P/E
28.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.21B
Div. yield
0.80%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
4 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$672.46 +19.1% 1M +21.7% 1Y
Market cap
$582.08B
P/E
35.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
0.52%
Payment Networks Financial Services
6 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$109.70 +19.0% 1M +27.8% 1Y
Market cap
$61.26B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
1.06%
Exchanges Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 6, S&P Global 4, Nasdaq 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSPGIMANDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $139.62B $582.08B $61.26B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.1x 35.0x 29.4x SPGI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.5x 32.0x 27.2x SPGI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.2% +15.3% +11.5% SPGI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 29.0% 46.7% 22.8% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.9% 56.6% 10.5% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.5x 2.4x MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.80% 0.52% 1.06% NDAQ
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.5% +21.7% +27.8% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.9%/yr +14.0%/yr +9.1%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 23.4% 28.5% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 51/100 53/100 SPGI

Percentile Scorecard

SPGIMANDAQ

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

AxisSPGIMANDAQ
Valuation 25 #720 of 963 14 #831 of 963 42 #60 of 103
Growth 75 #203 of 823 64 #297 of 823 39 #43 of 70
Profitability 91 #81 of 845 99 #12 of 845 77 #18 of 74
Financial Health 60 #356 of 896 53 #421 of 896 48 #52 of 99
Shareholder Returns 47 #390 of 731 25 #549 of 731 59 #17 of 40
Overall 60 51 53
  • SPGI ranked among 1,001 companies in Financial Services
  • MA ranked among 1,001 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

PeriodSPGIMANDAQSPY
1 month +23.2%+19.1%+19.0% -1.0%
3 months +17.5%+17.9%+16.0% -0.4%
6 months +13.7%+36.7%+23.0% +4.5%
Year to date -7.8%+17.8%+12.9% +12.4%
1 year -3.5%+21.7%+27.8% +13.6%
3 years +25.8%+74.2%+118.4% +76.4%
3 years, per year +8.0%+20.3%+29.8% +20.8%
5 years +4.6%+92.8%+54.6% +63.7%
5 years, per year +0.9%+14.0%+9.1% +10.4%
10 years +292.9%+552.7%+408.8% +267.7%
10 years, per year +14.7%+20.6%+17.7% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureSPGIMANDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%23.4%28.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.2%22.7%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.350.280.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.120.920.97 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.2%-28.6%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.8%0.0%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $546.35$672.46$109.70 $779.14
52-week low $386.35$471.55$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.

MultipleSPGIMANDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 13.8x 35.0xmedian 13.8x 29.4xmedian 29.7x
P/S now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 3.3x 16.0xmedian 3.3x 6.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 6.0x 23.7xmedian 6.0x 20.5xmedian 13.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 11.0x 36.2xmedian 11.0x 27.1xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 1.3x 86.2xmedian 1.3x 5.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.94median 0.95 1.91median 0.95 1.61median 0.55

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 monthsSPGIMANDAQ
Revenue $17.21B $36.29B $9.15B
Gross profit $12.21B – $5.78B
Operating income $7.77B $21.27B $2.73B
Net income $5.40B $16.96B $2.08B
Free cash flow $5.84B $16.08B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $17.10 $19.20 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $2.44B $10.15B $365.00M
Total debt $13.06B $23.94B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 291.60M 883.00M 563.31M
Enterprise value $134.82B $542.16B $58.70B

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
MetricSPGIMANDAQ
P/E 28.1x 35.0x 29.4x
P/FCF 23.9x 36.2x 27.1x
P/Operating cash flow 23.3x 34.5x 24.1x
P/S 8.1x 16.0x 6.7x
P/B 7.0x 86.2x 5.1x
P/Tangible book 17.7x 554.9x 10.4x
EV/EBITDA 16.4x 23.7x 20.5x
EV/EBIT 19.3x 28.0x 25.5x
EV/Revenue 8.7x 16.4x 7.6x
EV/FCF 25.7x 37.1x 30.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.1x 35.3x 27.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.94 1.91 1.61

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSPGIMANDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.2% 15.3% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 14.2% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% – 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 29.7% 18.6% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.4% 15.4% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.3% 19.0% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 25.3% 15.8% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.4% 22.0% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 29.9% 18.3% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.5% -3.5% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 15.5% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.4% -5.4% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.2% 15.2% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSPGIMANDAQ
Gross margin 70.9% – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 53.1% 69.2% 37.0%
Operating margin 45.1% 58.6% 29.8%
Pretax margin 43.4% 57.6% 28.5%
Net margin 29.0% 46.7% 22.8%
FCF margin 33.9% 44.3% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 34.8% 46.5% 27.8%
Return on equity 21.0% 274.4% 17.4%
Return on assets 9.7% 29.3% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 14.9% 56.6% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 16.6% 63.1% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.0x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.8% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSPGIMANDAQ
Debt / assets 27.2% 41.2% 31.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 3.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.5x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 1.5x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 88.4% 56.2%
Equity / assets 41.3% 11.6% 43.8%
Interest coverage 24.0x 26.2x 7.9x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.29 10.93 3.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSPGIMANDAQ
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.5% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 4.7% 2.6% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 5.5% 3.1% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 21.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 19.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -1.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusSPGIMANDAQ
Forward P/E 25.5xFY2026 32.0xFY2026 27.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.86FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.9%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.9% +14.7% +11.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.46BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.8%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.6% +0.4% +13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSPGIMANDAQ
Held by institutions 87.5% 87.5% 83.8%
Institutions holding 2,004 3,588 1,084
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.6% +0.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 873 1,590 539
Institutions selling 877 1,530 398
Buyers to sellers 1.00 1.04 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.

SPGIMANDAQ
SPGI 1.00 0.45 0.66
MA 0.45 1.00 0.41
NDAQ 0.66 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SPGI, MA and NDAQ?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: S&P Global (SPGI) $139.62B, Mastercard (MA) $582.08B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $61.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, SPGI, MA and NDAQ?

S&P Global (SPGI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (S&P Global (SPGI) 28.1x, Mastercard (MA) 35.0x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 29.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, S&P Global (SPGI) is cheapest (S&P Global (SPGI) 25.5x, Mastercard (MA) 32.0x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 27.2x). 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: S&P Global (SPGI) +18.2%, Mastercard (MA) +15.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (S&P Global (SPGI) 29.0%, Mastercard (MA) 46.7%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (S&P Global (SPGI) 14.9%, Mastercard (MA) 56.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: S&P Global (SPGI) -3.5%, Mastercard (MA) +21.7%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +27.8%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (S&P Global (SPGI) +0.9%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +14.0%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +9.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) has the highest dividend yield: S&P Global (SPGI) 0.80%, Mastercard (MA) 0.52%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 1.06%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (S&P Global (SPGI) 30.6%, Mastercard (MA) 23.4%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SPGI, MA 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, Mastercard (MA) leads on 6. 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.