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# S&P Global's Share Count Shrinks Nearly 4% While Short-Term Debt Climbs To $2.4 Billion
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/s-and-p-globals-share-count-shrinks-nearly-4-while-short-term-debt-climbs-to-2-4-billion-e4a18bb4/
- Published: 2026-10-28T11:07:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T11:07:01.000Z
- Description: Buybacks of $4.1 billion in nine months lifted per-share earnings, while short-term debt rose to $2,448 million from $718 million at year-end.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, SPGI, Industry: Financials

[S&P Global](https://www.bullished.co/tag/spgi/), which provides benchmarks, data and analytics to capital, energy and commodity markets, cut its diluted share count to [291.6 million in the third quarter](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000058/spgi-20260930.htm?ref=bullished.co), from 304.5 million a year earlier, its 10-Q shows. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations rose 26% to $4.45 from $3.54, while short-term debt climbed to $2,448 million.

## Buybacks do part of the work

Income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders was $1,298 million, against $1,078 million a year earlier. The company's earnings release said the 26% EPS gain came from a 20% rise in net income and a 4% drop in diluted shares.

For the first nine months, S&P Global bought back 8.5 million shares for $4.1 billion, against 4.3 million shares for $2.5 billion in the same stretch of 2025\. Of the 2025 repurchase program, 23.4 million shares remained at September 30\. The prior quarter's 10-Q, per the draft's figure, showed 28.4 million left at June 30.

The $2.6 billion accelerated repurchase, begun July 29, finished October 26, after the quarter closed. It retired 6.3 million shares at an average $412.99 each, per the filing as printed. The company said in its [earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000053/spgi3q2026-earningsrelease.htm?ref=bullished.co) that it still expects to repurchase more than $7 billion of shares in 2026.

## Short-term debt more than triples

Short-term debt stood at $2,448 million at September 30, against $718 million at the end of 2025\. Long-term debt fell to $10,614 million from $12,370 million, and total debt was roughly flat at $13,062 million against $13,088 million.

Commercial paper outstanding was $700 million, down from $715 million. Interest expense for the quarter was $87 million, up from $79 million, which the filing attributes partly to commercial paper borrowing used to help finance the repurchase agreements.

Retained income fell to $16,481 million from $23,666 million at year-end. The statement of equity shows a $9,753 million reduction for the separation of Mobility Global.

## A smaller company after Mobility

S&P Global completed the spin-off of Mobility Global on July 1, 2026\. Mobility was still inside consolidated results in the [prior quarter's 10-Q](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000045/spgi-20260630.htm?ref=bullished.co), so this quarter's year-over-year comparisons are against a smaller business.

Third-quarter revenue rose 7% to $3,678 million. Operating profit rose 26% to $1,956 million, helped by a $200 million gain from selling Energy's subsurface and engineering software unit to SLB. Excluding that and other items, the filing puts the operating profit increase at 8%.

The company also announced a strategic review of Capital IQ and associated data businesses, including a potential separation. It completed the acquisition of OpenZeppelin on October 26.

The company's earnings release puts the 2026 buyback target above $7 billion, against the $4.1 billion spent through September.

### Sources

- [10-Q Filing — S&P Global (SPGI)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000058/spgi-20260930.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [10-Q Filing — S&P Global (SPGI), Q2 FY2026 filed 2026-07-28 (comparison basis)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000045/spgi-20260630.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [8-K Filing — S&P Global, filed 2026-10-23 (Items 8.01, 9.01)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000049/spgi-20261023.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Earnings release (8-K Item 2.02, spgi3q2026-earningsrelease.htm) — S&P Global, filed 2026-10-27](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000064040/000006404026000053/spgi3q2026-earningsrelease.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [S&P Global Beats Earnings Estimates. A Major Shake-Up Could Be Coming.](https://www.barrons.com/articles/sp-global-earnings-stock-price-26865571?ref=bullished.co) — Barron's
- [S&P Global (SPGI) Reports Q3 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/p-global-spgi-reports-q3-123003749.html?.tsrc=rss&ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance
- [S&P Global (SPGI) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/p-global-spgi-q3-earnings-114003150.html?.tsrc=rss&ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance
- [S&P Global Reports Third Quarter Results; Announces Strategic Review for Capital IQ and Associated Data Businesses - S&P Global](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2026/SP-Global-Reports-Third-Quarter-Results-Announces-Strategic-Review-for-Capital-IQ-and-Associated-Data-Businesses/default.aspx?ref=bullished.co) — investor.spglobal.com
- [S&P Global: Q3 Earnings Snapshot](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/p-global-q3-earnings-snapshot-112339201.html?ref=bullished.co) — Associated Press

### More on S&P Global

- [S&P Global's AI Customers Spend Far Faster, With API Calls Up More Than 4,000%](https://www.bullished.co/s-and-p-globals-ai-customers-spend-far-faster-with-api-calls-up-more-than-4-000-5013c5a8/)
- [S&P Global Weighs Splitting Off Capital IQ, And CFO Says NDAs Are Already Signed](https://www.bullished.co/s-and-p-global-weighs-splitting-off-capital-iq-and-cfo-says-ndas-are-already-signed-ec01defe/)
- [S&P Global Opens Review Of Capital IQ, Including A Possible Separation, As Revenue Rises 7%](https://www.bullished.co/s-and-p-global-opens-review-of-capital-iq-including-a-possible-separation-as-revenue-rises-aedc1a0a/)

[All S&P Global (SPGI) coverage →](https://www.bullished.co/tag/spgi/)