A U.S. based credit rating agency and financial services company located on 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. With operations in more than 20 countries, S&P provides the investment community with independent credit ratings on stocks, mutual funds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds. The company was established in 1860 and was acquired by McGraw-Hill a century later.

S&P is popularly known for its stock-market indices such as the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian S&P/TSX, the Italian S&P/MIB and India's S&P CNX Nifty. The company is one of three major credit-rating agencies, which also include Moody's Investor Service and Fitch Ratings.

S&P made history on August 5, 2011 by lowering the United States’ premier AAA credit rating to AA for the first time in history.