Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) is a leading provider of financial information via Internet, software, and print-based products to individual, professional, and institutional investors. Its largest competitors in the financial information sector are Bloomberg, L.P., MarketWatch, Inc., and Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI).
Morningstar provides detailed financial data on more than 621,000 stocks, mutual funds, and other investment products for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers, and sponsors. It also delivers market data on more than 15 million indexes, equities, options, and commodities.
In delivering financial information to investors, Morningstar does business in the media, asset management, and publishing sectors. It is a respected and reliable source of investment analysis; it produces approximately 5,100 manager research analyst reports that are widely used by investors to determine the investment quality of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. More detailed information is available through a subscription service, which is available at many public libraries. Morningstar’s revenue in 2019 was $1.18 billion, a year-over-year increase of 15.6%.
Key Takeaways
- Morningstar publishes financial data for investors covering approximately 621,000 stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and other investment products.
- Three of Morningstar's key competitors are Bloomberg, L.P., MarketWatch, Inc., and Thomson Reuters Corp.
- Bloomberg is famous for its "Bloomberg Terminal," a computer interface and software system that helps large institutional investors track stock market activity and generate detailed reports.
- MarketWatch (which is owned by the same company that owns Barron's and The Wall Street Journal) caters to the individual investor with its wide array of portfolio building and tracking tools.
- Thomson Reuters' key strength is its ability to provide timely financial information and services to businesses and individual investors around the globe.
Bloomberg, L.P.
Bloomberg is a leader in the market for business media. In addition to its own syndicated news service and magazine, Bloomberg offers real-time financial news, market data, and analysis via Bloomberg Television, radio, and the Internet. In its analysis, the company targets certain areas of interest, namely the tech sector, politics, sustainability, and luxury. It's estimated the company generated more than $10 billion in revenue in 2019.
The Bloomberg Terminal, a platform that streams and integrates price data, financial information, and news to more than 325,000 customers worldwide as of 2020, accounts for a substantial contribution to Bloomberg’s revenue. With a service price upwards of $20,000, the typical customers for a Bloomberg Terminal are large institutional investors.
MarketWatch, Inc.
MarketWatch is a financial information site headquartered in New York City and is owned by Dow Jones & Company, which in turn is a property of News Corp. Dow Jones & Company also owns two well-known and respected financial publications, Barron's and The Wall Street Journal.
The MarketWatch website attracts more than 20 million visitors per month, making it among the most popular business website. In addition to business news, the site publishes original personal finance content. This includes stories, interviews, podcasts, videos, and market briefs. The site offers free investment data and portfolio management tools which allow investors to create online portfolios and track their favorite stocks. The tool includes an asset allocation chart and helps investors track performance on both a percentage and dollar basis. They also offer paid subscription products targeting retirement investing and ETF trading.
Thomson Reuters Corp.
In terms of market share, Thomson Reuters is one of Morningstar’s largest competitors. It is a market leader in the financial data sector, with a 2019 revenue of $5.9 billion. The company’s core strength is in providing financial information and services to businesses and individual investors across the world. Subscription sales numbering in the hundreds of thousands to its online financial services account for most of the company’s revenue. The company came into being in 2008 when Canadian information provider The Thomson Corporation acquired Reuters, a financial information company founded in London in 1851.
