New York, May 28, 2026, 18:04 EDT
- Morningstar shares gained 1.9% to $180.11 in late after-hours action. The stock traded between $175.26 and $183.18 earlier.
- Global asset owners in the latest update pointed to ongoing concerns about U.S. market concentration, policy uncertainty, climate data, and artificial intelligence, according to the company.
- MSCI climbed 3.8%. FactSet tacked on 1.3%. S&P Global was up 0.5%.
Morningstar Inc shares climbed Thursday, with the investment-data firm outperforming the broader U.S. market. Investors looked at its recent work on global asset owners and the company’s stronger earnings backdrop.
The stock traded 1.9% higher at $180.11 in late post-market action. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the S&P 500, was up 0.6%. About 390,600 Morningstar shares changed hands.
Stocks traded a full session in the U.S., with no holiday schedule in effect. Nasdaq’s regular hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, and after-hours go until 8 p.m. The 2026 holiday calendar shows markets closed for Memorial Day on May 25, with Juneteenth on June 19 as the next closure.
The timing is key as Morningstar holds positions in investment data, indexes, credit research, private-market data via PitchBook, and sustainable-investing research. When markets are moving higher and clients look again at risk, those businesses tend to get clearer feedback from investors.
Morningstar reported Wednesday that 25 top institutional asset owners in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific are still committed to the U.S. market, but say they are worried about the concentration in large tech names, geopolitics, unreliable climate data and the rise of AI software taking on human tasks. “The talks surfaced important issues and pressure points,” said Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional insights at Morningstar. Morningstar Newsroom
Morningstar’s push into indexes got a big boost with its February deal for CRSP. The company said adding CRSP Market Indexes means it now oversees benchmarks that track over $3 trillion in U.S. equities under the Morningstar Indexes umbrella.
Morningstar’s latest numbers gave a clearer look at its start to the year. First-quarter revenue came in at $644.8 million, up 10.8%. Organic revenue, which takes out changes from deals and currency, climbed 7.6%. Adjusted operating income increased 31.9%. Diluted earnings per share jumped 50% to $2.73. CEO Kunal Kapoor said Morningstar’s operating and adjusted operating income were both up “more than 30%.” Morningstar Newsroom
Morningstar reported a mixed performance. Credit revenue jumped 38.4%, Direct Platform was up 8.0%, and PitchBook added 5.3%. But Wealth revenue dropped 5.4%. The company said Sustainalytics revenue decreased, and Indexes revenue stayed about flat on an organic basis.
MSCI gained 3.8%, moving ahead of Morningstar in the information-services space. FactSet added 1.3%. S&P Global was up 0.5%. While each group handles a different combination of indexes, data, ratings, and software, investors still tend to compare these names to track interest in market data and analytics.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended at new highs Thursday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.91%, Reuters said. The move came after headlines around a draft U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension and fresh inflation data. Investors were focused more on earnings and the economy, calling both “relatively resilient,” according to Jitania Kandhari at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Reuters
Risks remain nearby. Morningstar’s latest filing listed questions about expected gains from the CRSP buyout, market moves, rules, cybersecurity, and AI-related legal or brand risks. The filing also flagged how debt could hit cash flow and flexibility. In Q1, free cash flow dropped 8.8% to $53.6 million, and debt climbed to $1.71 billion from $1.07 billion at the end of last year.
The next question is if shares keep the gains once the market rally slows down. Investors want to see if credit revenue stays strong, if PitchBook shows faster growth without margin squeeze, and if the CRSP tie-up makes the index unit a real profit engine—not just a side bet for Morningstar.
