Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of Disaggregation of Revenue

The following table presents our revenue disaggregated by revenue type for the years ended December 31:

(in millions)	Ratings		Market Intelligence		Platts		Indices		Corporate		Intersegment Elimination 1			Total
	2018
Subscription	$	—	$	1,773	$	750	$	144	$	15	$	—		$	2,682
Non-transaction	1,506		—		—		—		—		(125		)	1,381
Non-subscription / Transaction	1,377		40		11		—		—		—			1,428
Asset-linked fees	—		20		—		522		—		—			542
Sales usage-based royalties	—		—		54		171		—		—			225
Total revenue	$	2,883	$	1,833	$	815	$	837	$	15	$	(125	)	$	6,258
Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time	$	1,377	$	40	$	11	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	1,428
Services transferred over time	1,506		1,793		804		837		15		(125		)	4,830
Total revenue	$	2,883	$	1,833	$	815	$	837	$	15	$	(125	)	$	6,258

(in millions)	Ratings		Market Intelligence		Platts		Indices		Corporate		Intersegment Elimination 1			Total
	2017 2
Subscription	$	—	$	1,614	$	704	$	136	$	—	$	—		$	2,454
Non-transaction	1,448		—		—		—		—		(110		)	1,338
Non-subscription / Transaction	1,540		46		$	13	—		—		—			1,599
Asset-linked fees	—		23		—		461		—		—			484
Sales usage-based royalties	—		—		57		131		—		—			188
Total revenue	$	2,988	$	1,683	$	774	$	728	$	—	$	(110	)	$	6,063
Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time	$	1,540	$	46	$	13	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	1,599
Services transferred over time	1,448		1,637		761		728		—		(110		)	4,464
Total revenue	$	2,988	$	1,683	$	774	$	728	$	—	$	(110	)	$	6,063

(in millions)	Ratings		Market Intelligence		Platts		Indices		Corporate		Intersegment Elimination 1			Total
	2016 2
Subscription	$	—	$	1,543	$	689	$	132	$	—	$	—		$	2,364
Non-transaction	1,357		—		—		—		—		(98		)	1,259
Non-subscription / Transaction	1,178		99		183		—		—		—			1,460
Asset-linked fees	—		19		—		381		—		—			400
Sales usage-based royalties	—		—		53		125		—		—			178
Total revenue	$	2,535	$	1,661	$	925	$	638	$	—	$	(98	)	$	5,661
Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time	$	1,178	$	99	$	183	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	1,460
Services transferred over time	1,357		1,562		742		638		—		(98		)	4,201
Total revenue	$	2,535	$	1,661	$	925	$	638	$	—	$	(98	)	$	5,661

¹  Intersegment eliminations mainly consists of a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

²  As noted above, amounts for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were not adjusted under the modified retrospective transition method applied to our revenue contracts with customers as of January 1, 2018.

Schedule of Components of Other Income, Net

The components of other income, net for the year ended December 31 are as follows:

(in millions)	2018			2017			2016
Other components of net periodic benefit cost	$	(30	)	$	(27	)	$	(28	)
Net loss from investments	5			—			—
Other income, net	$	(25	)	$	(27	)	$	(28	)

Schedule of Assumptions Used in Valuing the Options Granted

We use a lattice-based option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of options granted. The following assumptions were used in valuing the options granted:

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2018
Risk-free average interest rate	2.6 - 2.7%
Dividend yield	1.1		%
Volatility	21.8 - 22.0%
Expected life (years)	5.67 - 6.07
Weighted-average grant-date fair value per option	$	112.98

We use a lattice-based option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of options granted. The following assumptions were used in valuing the options granted:

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2018
Risk-free average interest rate	2.6 - 2.7%
Dividend yield	1.1		%
Volatility	21.8 - 22.0%
Expected life (years)	5.67 - 6.07
Weighted-average grant-date fair value per option	$	112.98