S&P Global

None of the warning signs we check for were found.

We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.

We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 11 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 28 Jul 2026 and 11 later 8-Ks.

Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.

Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.

• The planned separation of our Mobility business into an independent, publicly traded company is contingent upon the satisfaction of a number of conditions, may not be completed on the currently contemplated timeline, or at all, and may not achieve the intended benefits.

  Could happen

  On April 29, 2025, we announced our intent to pursue a separation of our Mobility business through a spin-off to our shareholders. The proposed separation is subject to various conditions, is complex in nature, and may be affected by unanticipated developments. The separation is intended to qualify as a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. There can be no assurance regarding the ultimate timing of the separation or that such separation will be completed. Unanticipated developments could delay, prevent or otherwise adversely affect the separation, including but not limited to disruptions in general or financial market conditions or potential problems or delays in satisfying required conditions. Such developments could cause the separation to occur on terms or conditions that are less favorable than anticipated. In addition, we may not be able to achieve the full strategic and financial benefits that we anticipate to result from the separation, or such benefits may be delayed or not occur at all. The anticipated benefits of the separation are based on a number of assumptions, some of which may prove incorrect. We also expect to incur significant expenses in connection with the separation, certain of which will be incurred even if the separation is not completed. Executing the separation will continue to require significant resources, time and attention from our senior management and employees, which could divert attention and resources away from other projects and the day-to-day operation of our business. We may experience negative reactions from financial markets if we do not complete the separation in a reasonable time period. Following the proposed separation, the combined value of the shares of the two publicly-traded companies may not be equal to or greater than what the value of our shares would have been had the separation not occurred. The above factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or the price of our shares.

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• Our inability to adequately obtain, protect and maintain our intellectual property and other proprietary rights could impact our competitive position.

  Could happen

  • We have filed for patents in the U.S. and in certain international jurisdictions, but such protections can be expensive and may not be available in all countries in which we operate or in which we seek to enforce such rights, or may be difficult to enforce in practice. We have filed for trademark registrations and participated in trademark enforcement and trademark oppositions in the U.S. and certain international jurisdictions to protect our brand, good will and reputation. These efforts cannot ensure registrations will be issued, our trademark rights will be enforced, or violations of our trademark rights will be appropriately resolved. We do business in a number of countries included on the Priority Watch List and/or Watch Lists maintained by the Office of the United States Trade Representative which are currently thought to afford less protection to intellectual property rights generally than some other jurisdictions. The lack of strong patent and other intellectual property protection in jurisdictions in which we operate increases our vulnerability regarding unauthorized disclosure or use of our intellectual property and undermines our competitive position. In addition, even in jurisdictions where there are strong protections for intellectual property rights, our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights may be impacted by the number of competitors or other third parties attempting to infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property, and the time and resources required to defend against such unauthorized uses.

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• Changes and increased enforcement in the global privacy, data localization, operational resilience, and data protection legislative, regulatory, and commercial environments in which we operate may materially and adversely impact our ability to collect, compile, use, and publish data, require us to disclose information about our security environment, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

  Could happen

  • These laws and regulations are wide-ranging in scope and impose numerous requirements on entities that process certain data, including personal data, such as requirements relating to processing sensitive data, obtaining consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates in certain circumstances, providing information to individuals regarding data processing activities, implementing safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of personal data, providing notification of data breaches and taking certain measures when engaging third-party processes that will have access to personal data. These laws and regulations are increasing in complexity and number, sometimes change, and can conflict among the various jurisdictions in which we operate. It is possible that we could be prohibited or constrained from collecting or disseminating certain types of data or from providing certain products or services as a result of such laws and regulations. For example, we may not be able, or we may fail, to obtain appropriate third-party consent where consent is required to collect or use certain types of data for certain purposes in our business. Moreover, if our business fails to comply with these laws or regulations, we could be subject to significant litigation and civil or criminal penalties (including monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions or fines) in one or more jurisdictions, as well as reputational damage that could result in the loss of data, brand equity and business. For example, a failure to comply with the GDPR or U.K. GDPR could result in fines up to the greater of €20 million (or £17.5 million under the U.K. GDPR) or 4% of annual global revenues. Additionally, in the case of a DPPA violation, U.S. courts may award liquidated damages of $2,500 per individual’s personal information. Furthermore, any inquiries or investigations, or any other governmental actions, regarding our data processing practices could require significant management time and attention, and may result in negative publicity and subject us to increased costs, as well as demands or orders that we modify our existing business practices. Enforcement of these laws and regulations may increase as enforcement programs mature and better tooling enhances identification of compliance issues.

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• Our inability to adequately obtain, protect and maintain our intellectual property and other proprietary rights could impact our competitive position.

  Could happen

  • There can be no assurance that any future patent, trademark, or other intellectual property registrations will be issued for our pending or future applications or that any of our current or future patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights will be valid, enforceable, sufficiently broad in scope, provide adequate protection of our technology or other proprietary rights, or provide us with any competitive advantage. Any additional investment in protecting our intellectual property rights through additional trademark, patent or other intellectual property filings could be time consuming and expensive, both in terms of application and maintenance costs. We make business decisions about whether and where to seek patent, copyright, and trademark protection for a particular technology and when to rely upon trade secret protection, and the approach we select may ultimately prove to be inadequate. Businesses we acquire may also have intellectual property portfolios which increase the complexity of managing our intellectual property portfolio and protecting our competitive position. Failure to obtain, protect and maintain our intellectual property adequately could harm the value of, and revenue generated by, such assets as well as harm our reputation and affect our ability to compete effectively.

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• Our size, scale and role in the global markets increases our exposure to cyber attacks and other cyber-security risks. Our information systems and networks and those of our third-party service providers are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity and protection of confidential information, including material non-public information, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

  Could happen

  • The cyber threats we and our third-party service providers (including our vendors, data partners and distribution partners) face are rapidly evolving and are becoming increasingly sophisticated and include denial of service attacks, ransomware, spyware, misinformation, phishing/smishing/vishing attacks, business compromise attacks, typosquatting, automated attacks, employee errors, negligence or malfeasance, the use of malicious codes or worms, payment fraud, and other unauthorized occurrences on, or conducted through, our or our third-party service providers’ (including our vendors’, data partners’ and distribution partners’) information systems and networks, originating from a wide variety of sources, including criminals, terrorists, state-sponsored actors, financially motivated actors, internal actors, and external service providers. The cyber risks the Company faces range from cyber attacks common to most industries, to more sophisticated and targeted attacks, including attacks carried out by state-sponsored actors, intended to obtain unauthorized access to certain information or information systems or networks due in part to our prominence in the global marketplace, such as our ratings on debt issued by sovereigns and corporate issuers, our impending methodology changes in our benchmarks businesses, or the composition of our indices. Our third-party service providers, including our vendors, data partners and distribution partners, are also the subject of a variety of cyber attacks, including attacks carried out by state-sponsored actors.

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