Amidst changes in technology, in customer expectations and financial markets, S&P Global sees a global economy full of opportunity. To capitalize on these exciting opportunities, we know that the intelligence we provide—our data, benchmarks and analytics—needs to be relevant and delivered in a way that makes it essential to our customers and to the markets.

Since the acquisition of SNL Financial in 2015 and its integration with S&P Capital IQ, we have been working to realize the promise of these two businesses. Last year we completed a $100 million synergy program ahead of schedule, as all projects have been concluded or launched, and we showcased the clearest evidence yet of the potential of this powerful combination with the preview release of the Market Intelligence platform. The Market Intelligence platform unites the unique insights and user experience of the SNL desktop with S&P Capital IQ data, with additional functionality and content to be added over time. Data, news, research and analytics come together to form essential intelligence.

Essential intelligence—our fundamental data, research, price assessments and other offerings—enables companies, governments and individuals to make decisions with conviction when deep analytics and in-depth knowledge are applied to allow conclusions to be drawn.

S&P Global Platts Analytics exemplifies the way we harvest data and connect dots across markets, commodities and regions to provide a clear and complete view of a market.

When uncertainty is perhaps the greatest commercial challenge of our time, how do customers remove enough doubt to make a decision? S&P Global Platts Analytics helps customers not only through its ongoing assessments of transactional price but also its analysis of trade flows and future supply, demand and value.

Financial technologies, or fintech, hold the promise of delivering new value for customers and new growth opportunities for fast-moving companies that embrace profound change. Already these technologies have had an impact on global financial markets, and given rise to “robo-advisors” in wealth management, new e-payment systems and virtual currencies.

At S&P Global we are deeply engaged with the rapidly developing environment, taking steps to drive innovation and acquire the capabilities to better serve customers in the future. We have recently made investments in a number of early-stage businesses that specialize in machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics.

During the rest of 2018 and beyond, our essential intelligence will power the markets of the future. That creates a world of opportunities. Opportunities for growth. Opportunities for economic progress. Opportunities to build shareholder value.