MSCI Announces Upgrade to ‘BBB-’ Investment Grade Rating from S&P Global Ratings

Rhea-AI Summary

MSCI Inc. announced a credit rating upgrade from S&P Global Ratings to an investment grade of 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. This upgrade reflects MSCI's robust business scale, resilient financial model, and proven execution. The upgrade positions MSCI as an officially recognized investment-grade company, following a similar upgrade from another major credit agency. S&P maintains a stable outlook, suggesting continued investor confidence in MSCI's long-term growth potential. The CFO expressed pride in this recognition and the commitment to delivering client value.

Positive

• S&P upgraded MSCI's issuer credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'.
• MSCI is now classified as an investment-grade company by two major credit rating agencies.
• The upgrade reflects MSCI's growing business scale and resilient financial model.

Negative

• None.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MSCI Inc. (“MSCI” or the “Company”) (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today that S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) upgraded MSCI’s issuer credit rating to an investment grade rating of ‘BBB-’, previously from ‘BB+’, while maintaining a Stable outlook to the Company. S&P also upgraded ratings on MSCI’s unsecured debt to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’.

"We are proud of the investment grade rating upgrade from S&P, which is a recognition of the growing scale of our business, the incredible resiliency of our financial model, and MSCI’s strong track record of consistent execution,” said Andy Wiechmann, Chief Financial Officer.

“This execution reflects our laser commitment to deliver value to our clients day-in and day-out as we continue to pursue attractive opportunities to drive continued long-term growth.”

S&P’s upgrade marks the second major credit rating agency to assign MSCI an investment grade rating, officially making the Company an investment grade company. To review MSCI’s credit ratings click here.

About MSCI Inc.

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading, research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process.

To learn more, please visit www.msci.com. MSCI#IR

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond MSCI’s control and that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Other factors that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements can be found in MSCI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 10, 2023, and in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed or furnished with the SEC. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if MSCI’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from what MSCI projected. Any forward-looking statement in this press release reflects MSCI’s current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to MSCI’s operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. MSCI assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230227005212/en/

MSCI Inc.

Investor Inquiries

jeremy.ulan@msci.com

Jeremy Ulan +1 646 778 4184

jisoo.suh@msci.com

Jisoo Suh +1 917 825 7111

Media Inquiries

PR@msci.com

Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049

Julie Mansmann +1 917 815 6375

Calum MacDougall +44 7876 836 759

Tina Tan +852 2844 9320

Source: MSCI Inc.

FAQ

What did S&P Global Ratings announce for MSCI on February 27, 2023?

S&P Global Ratings upgraded MSCI's issuer credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BB+', marking it as investment grade.

How many rating agencies have given MSCI an investment-grade rating?

Two major credit rating agencies have assigned MSCI an investment-grade rating.

What is MSCI's current credit rating according to S&P?

MSCI's current credit rating from S&P is 'BBB-' with a stable outlook.

What factors contributed to MSCI's credit rating upgrade?

The upgrade was attributed to MSCI's growing business scale, resilient financial model, and consistent execution.

What does S&P's stable outlook imply for MSCI?

S&P's stable outlook suggests ongoing investor confidence in MSCI's financial health and growth potential.