S&P Global (SPGI) Positioned to Unlock Growth Potential Amid AI Fears

S&P Global (SPGI) Positioned to Unlock Growth Potential Amid AI Fears

Wed, August 19, 2026 at 2:53 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• SPGI +1.83%

Pershing Square Holdings, an investment holding company, released its second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Pershing Square is an alternative asset manager that primarily manages capital in publicly traded investment vehicles, with 98% of its capital structure dedicated to such assets, including Howard Hughes Holdings. This capital permanency allows for long-term investments, fostering sustainable competitive advantages and yielding substantial market returns since 2018. The investment strategy focuses on acquiring high-quality companies at safe price points, anticipating significant annual EPS growth of 15% or more in the coming years. Additionally, reviewing the Fund's top five holdings could help identify its best picks for 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Pershing Square Holdings highlighted S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI). S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a financial services and analytics company that provides benchmarks, data, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, energy, commodity, and automotive markets. On August 18, 2026, S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) closed at $418.04 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $123.24 billion. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) posted a one‑month return of -2.57%, while its shares lost 20.66% over the past 52 weeks.

Pershing Square Holdings stated the following regarding S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"Earlier this year, we initiated a position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI), a business we have admired for decades and previously owned in 2017. S&P Global provides benchmarks, data, analytics, and workflow tools to 19 customers in the financial and energy markets. The business generates over 80% of profits from three dominant benchmark franchises: Ratings, Indices, and Platts. The remaining profits are derived from the sale of proprietary and non-proprietary data and insights delivered to customers across a range of channels, together with embedded, primarily desktop-based workflow and analytics tools. The company also previously owned an automotive data and analytics business, which was spun off into a separate public company in July 2026.

Our opportunity to invest in S&P Global arose amid concerns of AI disintermediation of the company's data offerings and workflow and analytics products, including Capital IQ. In February 2026, the stock declined more than 25% from peak-to-trough following Anthropic's launch of Claude Cowork and SPGI's release of 2026 organic growth guidance that was below the company's medium-term financial targets announced at their November 2025 Investor Day. As a result, the stock's valuation declined from 25 to 19 times earnings per share, the lowest valuation in the previous five years, and a bargain level for a company that is often cited as one of the world's highest-quality businesses..." (Click here to read the full text)

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 122 hedge fund portfolios held S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) at the end of the first quarter, up from 108 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) and highlighted beaten down stocks identified by Michael Burry and Bill Ackman. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.