Standard & Poor's Research Objectivity Policy is applied to all our equity research business on a global level. View PDF of this policy.
Our Methodologies
Standard & Poor's rigorous analysis, timely and objective opinions, and proprietary methodologies offer our clients the confidence they need to make better-informed decisions.
Standard & Poor's Equity Research analysts use both the qualitative (analyst-driven) and quantitative (model-driven) approaches to cover a very broad universe of equities.
Standard & Poor's Qualitative Methodologies
Standard & Poor's Equity Research Methodology
To learn how Standard & Poor's analysts conduct their qualitative analysis, view our new Equity Research Methodology Demo.
View a PDF version of our methodology.
Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS) Methodology
Under our proprietary STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), Standard & Poor's analysts rank stocks according to their individual forecast of a stock's future capital appreciation potential versus the expected performance of the S&P 500 index, based on a 12-month time horizon.
To learn more about STARS, see the "S&P STARS" link to the right.
Standard & Poor's Quantitative Methodology
Standard & Poor's Earnings & Dividend (Quality) Rankings
Our Earnings & Dividend rankings reflect S&P's appraisal of the growth and stability of a company's earnings and dividends.
Our Quality Trends Report focuses on identifying timely investment ideas which use Quality Rankings data.
To learn more about our ranking system, view a PDF of our Quality Ranking White Paper.
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