S&P Global first-quarter profit beats estimates on strong product demand

(Reuters) - S&P Global on Thursday beat Street estimates for its first-quarter profit, as hopes of a "soft landing" spurred investors to spend more on data and analytics products

With growing expectations of the U.S. Federal Reserve avoiding a recession, investors are increasingly spending more on analytics and data-related products. This trend bodes well for companies like S&P Global who provide such offerings.

Revenue from S&P's Ratings segment, which provides credit ratings, research and analytics to investors, jumped 29% to $1.06 billion in the quarter from a year earlier. It helped the company post its record quarterly revenue of $3.49 billion.

The company reported an adjusted diluted profit of $4.01 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts' expectations of $3.66 per share.

The New York-based firm also raised its full-year revenue growth as well as adjusted profit forecast on growing optimism of a rebound in the economy and increased confidence in strong demand for its services.

The company now forecasts a full-year adjusted profit of $13.85 to $14.10 per share, compared with its earlier expectations of $13.75 to $14.00 per share.

It expects its revenue growth for 2024 to be between 6% to 8%, compared with 5.5% to 7.5% it forecast earlier.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)