After SPGI’s 6.7% Single Day Slide, ICE Looks Like the Stronger Long-Term Play
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) offers superior revenue growth across key periods, better profitability, and relatively lower valuation vs S&P Global (SPGI), suggesting you may be better off investing in ICE
- ICE’s quarterly revenue growth was 15.3%, vs. SPGI’s 5.8%.
- In addition, its Last 12 Months revenue growth came in at 19.1%, ahead of SPGI’s 10.7%.
- ICE’s 3-year average margin is stronger: 38.6% vs. SPGI’s 35.2%.
SPGI provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions across global capital, commodity, and automotive markets to empower business and technical decision-making. ICE operates marketplaces for trading and clearing derivatives, offers fixed income data, analytics, execution, CDS clearing, and multi-asset class data and network services.
Valuation & Performance Overview
| SPGI | ICE | Preferred | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | |||
| P/EBIT Ratio | 26.9 | 21.5 | ICE |
| Revenue Growth | |||
| Last Quarter | 5.8% | 15.3% | ICE |
| Last 12 Months | 10.7% | 19.1% | ICE |
| Last 3 Year Average | 15.7% | 10.0% | SPGI |
| Operating Margins | |||
| Last 12 Months | 39.2% | 37.5% | SPGI |
| Last 3 Year Average | 35.2% | 38.6% | ICE |
| Momentum | |||
| Last 3 Year Return | 50.5% | 83.0% | ICE |
Note: For “Last 3 Year Return” metric, preferred stock is one with higher returns unless the returns are too high (>300%) which creates risk of sell off.
See more revenue details: SPGI Revenue Comparison | ICE Revenue Comparison
See more margin details: SPGI Operating Income Comparison | ICE Operating Income Comparison
But do these numbers tell the full story? Read Buy or Sell ICE Stock to see if Intercontinental Exchange’s edge holds up under the hood or if S&P Global still has cards to play (see Buy or Sell SPGI Stock).
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Historical Market Performance
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total [1] | Avg | Best | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Returns | |||||||||
| SPGI Return | 21% | 45% | -28% | 33% | 14% | 10% | 109% | <=== | |
| ICE Return | 26% | 20% | -24% | 27% | 17% | 16% | 102% | ||
| S&P 500 Return | 16% | 27% | -19% | 24% | 23% | 13% | 104% | ||
| Monthly Win Rates [3] | |||||||||
| SPGI Win Rate | 58% | 67% | 33% | 58% | 58% | 62% | 56% | ||
| ICE Win Rate | 58% | 50% | 42% | 67% | 50% | 62% | 55% | ||
| S&P 500 Win Rate | 58% | 75% | 42% | 67% | 75% | 62% | 63% | <=== | |
| Max Drawdowns [4] | |||||||||
| SPGI Max Drawdown | -30% | -7% | -39% | -3% | -7% | -12% | -16% | ||
| ICE Max Drawdown | -28% | -5% | -34% | -7% | -3% | -4% | -13% | ||
| S&P 500 Max Drawdown | -31% | -1% | -25% | -1% | -2% | -15% | -12% | <=== | |
[1] Cumulative total returns since the beginning of 2020
[2] 2025 data is for the year up to 9/18/2025 (YTD)
[3] Win Rate = % of calendar months in which monthly returns were positive
[4] Max drawdown represents maximum peak-to-trough decline within a year
No matter how good the numbers, stock investment is never a smooth ride. There is a risk you must factor in. Read SPGI Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has fallen and recovered in the past.