Both companies' credit rating agencies benefit from strong moats, pricing power, and high-margin business models that act as "toll booths" on global debt issuance, Mizuho said adding that near-term issuance will remain choppy. "Although near-term issuance has been volatile, over the medium-term we see issuance tailwinds due to M&A activity recovering and significant debt maturity walls," analyst said Mizuho prefers S&P Global over Moody's, noting that the historical valuation gap between the two has widened, with Moody's currently trading at a 13% premium to S&P Global versus a long-term average of 2%. The firm expects this premium to narrow as S&P's Market Intelligence division stabilizes and its Ratings segment delivers more conservative growth estimates compared to Moody's.