Recommended Free Tools
Standard & Poor’s, usually shortened to S&P, is the legacy name associated with today’s S&P Global and its credit-rating business, S&P Global Ratings. The name is also familiar because of the S&P 500, a stock-market index produced by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Those are related through the company’s history, but they do different jobs: a credit rating expresses an opinion about credit risk, while an index tracks a group of securities.
What does Standard & Poor’s mean today?
Standard & Poor’s was formed in 1941 when Standard Statistics and Poor’s Publishing merged. The company later became part of the modern S&P Global brand. Its ratings business is now called S&P Global Ratings; the former name, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, changed on April 27, 2016, according to the SEC’s NRSRO disclosure information.
S&P Global is a broader company, not just a ratings agency. Its official overview lists S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Energy, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Mobility as separate offerings. The name “S&P” can therefore mean different things in conversation; context matters.
The company’s timeline also distinguishes milestones in its history: Standard Statistics created its first stock market index in 1923, and Standard & Poor’s created the S&P 500 in 1957. S&P Global’s history timeline provides this chronology.
#1 Best Overall
What is an S&P credit rating?
S&P Global Ratings evaluates credit risk. Its ratings are opinions about an issuer’s general creditworthiness or the risk associated with a specific debt security or other financial obligation. The agency’s stated description is: “Credit Ratings are opinions about credit risk.” See S&P Global Ratings’ explanation of its work.
A rating is not a guarantee that a borrower will repay, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold an investment. It also does not cover every consideration relevant to an investor’s decision. For example, a credit rating does not by itself assess whether a security’s liquidity or interest-rate risk suits a particular investor.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
Ratings may cover public, private, or confidential issuers and individual issues. S&P Global Ratings reports more than 1 million credit ratings provided, more than 1,500 credit analysts worldwide, and ratings based on more than 150 countries. These are company-reported scale figures on its product page, accessed in 2026, rather than independently verified estimates. S&P Global Ratings’ product and service information describes its coverage.
In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission granted registration to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) on September 24, 2007. The SEC’s disclosure page records the later name change to S&P Global Ratings in 2016. SEC NRSRO disclosures provide the registration information.
How are S&P ratings different from the S&P 500?
The clearest distinction is what each one measures. A rating concerns the credit risk of an issuer or a particular obligation. The S&P 500 is a stock-market index: it tracks the performance of a defined group of securities under an index methodology. The index is not a credit rating, and it is not itself a fund.
| Feature | S&P credit rating | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| What it addresses | Credit risk of an issuer or debt obligation | Performance of a defined group of securities |
| Produced by | S&P Global Ratings | S&P Dow Jones Indices |
| Common use | Credit-risk analysis | Market-performance tracking and portfolio benchmarking |
| What it is not | A buy, sell, or hold recommendation | A fund or a credit rating |
S&P Dow Jones Indices describes indices as benchmarks used to track market performance, evaluate portfolios, and support investment products. Products linked to indices include mutual funds, ETFs, annuities, futures, and options. Those products are separate from the index itself. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ overview explains how indices are used.
Rank #4
How can you look up an S&P rating?
Use S&P Global Ratings’ official Find a Rating page. It supports searches by company name, ticker, CUSIP, CINS, ISIN, or keyword, and provides current ratings, outlooks, and related research.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
- Open the Find a Rating page and search using an issuer name or an identifier for the security.
- Confirm that the result is the correct company and, when relevant, the specific debt instrument. One issuer can have different ratings for different obligations.
- Review the rating alongside its outlook and related information. Do not treat the rating alone as a complete assessment of an investment’s risks or suitability.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →
