Morningstar, Inc.MORN
Morningstar, Inc. Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
Acquisitions, Goodwill, and Other Intangible Assets
2025 Acquisitions
Acquisition of the Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC (CRSP)
On September 23, 2025, we entered into an agreement to acquire CRSP, a provider of historical stock market data and indexes, from the University of Chicago. On February 2, 2026, we completed the acquisition. The transaction consideration included a cash payment at closing of approximately $365.0 million, subject to customary adjustments. CRSP will be included in the Morningstar Indexes operating segment. Refer to Note 20 for more information regarding the acquisition of CRSP.
Morningstar Credit Analytics (formerly Dealview Technologies Limited (DealX))
On March 1, 2025, we completed our acquisition of the remaining 65% equity interest in DealX, a provider of standardized US commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) and global collateralized loan obligation (CLO) data. We began consolidating the financial results of DealX in our consolidated financial statements as of March 1, 2025. DealX is included in the Morningstar Credit reportable segment.
The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination under the acquisition method of accounting pursuant to FASB ASC 805, Business Combinations (FASB ASC 805), which requires that assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. We finalized the purchase price allocation during the fourth quarter of 2025 and did not record any significant adjustments compared to the preliminary estimates.
The allocation of the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed includes $9.7 million of goodwill, which is not deductible for income tax purposes, and $13.1 million of acquired intangible assets, as follows:
| (in millions) | Weighted average useful life (years) | |||||||||||||
| Customer-related assets | $ | 0.6 | 10 | |||||||||||
| Technology-based assets | 12.5 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Total intangible assets | $ | 13.1 | ||||||||||||
Lumonic Inc. (Lumonic)
On March 3, 2025, we acquired Lumonic, a private credit portfolio monitoring and management platform. We began consolidating the financial results of Lumonic in our consolidated financial statements as of March 3, 2025. Lumonic is included in the PitchBook reportable segment.
The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination under the acquisition method of accounting pursuant to FASB ASC 805, which requires that assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. We finalized the purchase price allocation during the fourth quarter of 2025 and did not record any significant adjustments compared to the preliminary estimates.
The allocation of the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed includes $21.3 million of goodwill, which is not deductible for income tax purposes, and $10.6 million of acquired intangible assets, as follows:
| (in millions) | Weighted average useful life (years) | |||||||||||||
| Customer-related assets | $ | 1.4 | 15 | |||||||||||
| Technology-based assets | 9.1 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Intellectual property | 0.1 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Total intangible assets | $ | 10.6 | ||||||||||||
2024 Acquisitions
We did not make any acquisitions during 2024.
2023 Acquisitions
We did not make any significant acquisitions during 2023.
Goodwill
The following table shows the changes in our goodwill balances from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025:
| (in millions) | Morningstar Direct Platform | PitchBook | Morningstar Credit | Morningstar Wealth | Morningstar Retirement | Total Reportable Segments | Corporate and All Other | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2024 | $ | 605.5 | $ | 607.4 | $ | 108.6 | $ | 94.2 | $ | 93.5 | $ | 1,509.2 | $ | 69.6 | $ | 1,578.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Divestiture of Commodity and Energy Data business (See Note 10) | (3.9) | — | — | — | — | (3.9) | — | (3.9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | (7.6) | — | (3.4) | (1.5) | — | (12.5) | (0.4) | (12.9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | 594.0 | 607.4 | 105.2 | 92.7 | 93.5 | 1,492.8 | 69.2 | 1,562.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acquisition of DealX | — | — | 9.7 | — | — | 9.7 | — | 9.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acquisition of Lumonic | — | 21.3 | — | — | — | 21.3 | — | 21.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation and other | 14.6 | — | 4.7 | (2.4) | — | 16.9 | 0.9 | 17.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2025 | $ | 608.6 | $ | 628.7 | $ | 119.6 | $ | 90.3 | $ | 93.5 | $ | 1,540.7 | $ | 70.1 | $ | 1,610.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Refer to Note 6 for detailed segment information.
Intangible Assets
The following table summarizes our intangible assets:
| As of December 31, 2025 | As of December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | Gross | Accumulated Amortization | Net | Gross | Accumulated Amortization | Net | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Customer-related assets | $ | 583.9 | $ | (324.1) | $ | 259.8 | $ | 572.4 | $ | (281.1) | $ | 291.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology-based assets | 328.0 | (225.5) | 102.5 | 301.9 | (205.5) | 96.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intellectual property & other | 91.2 | (74.2) | 17.0 | 88.6 | (67.5) | 21.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total intangible assets | $ | 1,003.1 | $ | (623.8) | $ | 379.3 | $ | 962.9 | $ | (554.1) | $ | 408.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The following table summarizes our amortization expense related to intangible assets:
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Amortization expense | $ | 59.8 | $ | 64.5 | $ | 70.5 | ||||||||||||||
Based on acquisitions completed through December 31, 2025, we expect intangible amortization expense for each of the next five years and thereafter as follows:
| (in millions) | As of December 31, 2025 | |||||||
| 2026 | $ | 56.6 | ||||||
| 2027 | 49.9 | |||||||
| 2028 | 45.9 | |||||||
| 2029 | 42.7 | |||||||
| 2030 | 36.9 | |||||||
| Thereafter | 147.3 | |||||||
| Total | $ | 379.3 | ||||||
Our estimates of future amortization expense for intangible assets may be affected by future acquisitions, divestitures, changes in the estimated useful lives, impairments, and foreign currency translation.
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About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.