Revenue

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue

Revenue

Disaggregation of Revenue

The following table presents our revenue disaggregated by revenue type. Sales and usage-based taxes are excluded from revenue.

	Year ended December 31,
(in millions)	2024		2023		2022
Revenue by type(1):
License-based	$	1,625.1	$	1,517.5	$	1,331.7
Asset-based	333.2		279.6		269.4
Transaction-based	316.8		241.5		269.5
Consolidated revenue	$	2,275.1	$	2,038.6	$	1,870.6

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(1) Starting with the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from PitchBook media sales product was reclassified from license-based to transaction-based. Starting with the quarter ended March 31, 2023, revenue from Morningstar Credit data products was reclassified from transaction-based to license-based. Prior periods have not been restated to reflect the updated classifications.

Contract liabilities

Our contract liabilities represent deferred revenue. We record contract liabilities when cash payments are received or due in advance of our performance, including amounts which may be refundable. The contract liabilities balance as of December 31, 2024 had a net increase of $19.2 million, primarily driven by cash payments received or payable in advance of satisfying our performance obligations. We recognized $480.5 million of revenue in 2024 that was included in the contract liabilities balance as of December 31, 2023.

We expect to recognize revenue related to our contract liabilities, including future billings, for 2025 and subsequent years as follows:

(in millions)	As of December 31, 2024
2025	$	1,068.0
2026	277.2
2027	75.3
2028	17.4
2029	4.6
Thereafter	19.0
Total	$	1,461.5

The aggregate amount of revenue we expect to recognize for 2025 and subsequent years is higher than our contract liability balance of $563.2 million as of December 31, 2024. The difference represents the value of future obligations for signed contracts that have yet to be billed.

The table above does not include variable consideration for unsatisfied performance obligations related to certain of our license-based, asset-based, and transaction-based contracts as of December 31, 2024. We are applying the optional exemption available under FASB ASC Topic 606, as the variable consideration relates to these unsatisfied performance obligations being fulfilled as a series. The performance obligations related to these contracts are expected to be satisfied over the next 1 to 3 years as services are provided to the client. For certain license-based contracts, variable consideration is received for services performed is based on the number of future users, which is not known until the services are performed. The variable consideration for this revenue can be affected by the number of user licenses, which cannot be reasonably estimated. For asset-based contracts, all the consideration received for services performed is based on future asset values, which are not known until the services are performed. The variable consideration for this revenue can be affected by changes in the underlying value of fund assets due to client redemptions, additional investments, or movements in the market. For transaction-based contracts, the consideration received for most Internet advertising services performed is based on the number of impressions, which is not known until the impressions are created. The variable consideration for this revenue can be affected by the timing and quantity of impressions in any given period and cannot be reasonably estimated.

As of December 31, 2024, the table above also does not include revenue for unsatisfied performance obligations related to certain of our license-based and transaction-based contracts with durations of one year or less since we are applying the optional exemption under FASB ASC Topic 606. For certain license-based contracts, the remaining performance obligation is expected to be less than one year based on the corresponding subscription terms or the existence of cancellation terms that may be exercised causing the contract term to be less than one year from December 31, 2024. For transaction-based contracts, such as new credit rating issuances and Morningstar-sponsored conferences, the related performance obligations are expected to be satisfied within the next 12 months.

Contract Assets

Our contract assets represent accounts receivable, less allowance for credit losses, and deferred commissions.

The following table summarizes our contract assets balance:

	As of December 31,
(in millions)	2024		2023
Accounts receivable, less allowance for credit losses	$	358.1	$	343.9
Deferred commissions	65.8		71.2
Total contract assets	$	423.9	$	415.1