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Standard & Poor’s
- American firm
- Date of creation : 1 860
- Revenue: 12.497 billion USD
- Total assets : 60.589 billion USD
- Net income : 2.893 billion USD
- Total staff: 40 500 staff members worldwide
- Presence in 35 countries
S&P rating scale
Standard & Poor's uses a scale divided into two categories:
- The first category, "Investment", includes ratings ranging from AAA to BBB-. It groups together the ratings given to companies considered financially solid.
- The second category "Speculative" ranges from BB + to D. It concerns companies at risk.
Rating and grades
- The ratings are 12 in number. They range from AAA to D.
- The grades or notches/ranks specify the positions within a rating. These grades are represented by the signs + or - and are only assigned to ratings between AA and CCC.
Example BBB-, BB + and BB-.
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| Grade | Rating | Comments |
| Investment | AAA | Highest rating. Extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments |
| AA | Very strong capacity to meet financial commitments | |
| A | Strong capacity to meet financial commitments, but somewhat susceptible to adverse economic conditions and changes in circumstances | |
| BBB | Adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions | |
| BBB- | Considered lowest investment-grade by market participants | |
| Speculative | BB+ | Considered highest speculative-grade by market participants |
| BB | Less vulnerable in the near-term but faces major ongoing uncertainties to adverse business, financial and economic conditions | |
| B | More vulnerable to adverse business, financial and economic conditions but currently has the capacity to meet financial commitments | |
| CCC | Currently vulnerable and dependent on favorable business, financial and economic conditions to meet financial commitments | |
| CC | Highly vulnerable; default has not yet occurred, but is expected to be a virtual certainty | |
| C | Currently highly vulnerable to non-payment, and ultimate recovery is expected to be lower than that of higher rated obligations | |
| D | Payment default on a financial commitment or breach of an imputed promise; also used when a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken |
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