Good morning. Welcome to S&P Global's 2023 Annual Shareholders Meeting. I'd like to inform you that this meeting is being webcast. All participants are in a listen-only mode. The meeting is being recorded and will be available for replay about two hours after the end of this meeting from S&P Global's website. To access the virtual annual meeting, including the webcast and slides, go to www.spglobal.com/proxy and click on the link for the virtual annual meeting online. Please follow the instructions to join as a shareholder or as a guest. I'd now like to introduce Tasha Matharu, Corporate Secretary of S&P Global. Ms. Matharu, you may begin.
Good morning. My name is Tasha Matharu, and I'm the Corporate Secretary of S&P Global. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Before passing the meeting over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Peterson, who will provide an update on the company's accomplishments in 2022 and prospects for continued growth, I'm going to briefly address some of the virtual meeting logistics and provide some introductory remarks regarding the information presented during today's meeting. This year's annual meeting is being held in a virtual-only format over the Internet by live webcast and with no in-person meeting. The format of today's virtual-only meeting has been designed to ensure that shareholders are afforded the same rights and opportunities to participate as they would have had at an in-person meeting, including with respect to asking questions. We very much welcome questions from shareholders.
Shareholders who logged in with a 15-digit control number will be able to submit written questions through the virtual meeting website. On the site, click the Q&A icon and type your questions in the field provided. Please also select the topic of your question from the options provided and hit the Send button to submit your question. Shareholders may submit questions online at any time. However, we encourage you to submit them soon to ensure we get to as many questions as possible in the time allotted. In the interest of a productive and orderly meeting, please consult the 2023 Annual Meeting Rules of Conduct available under the Documents section of the Virtual Meeting Center screen for guidelines and additional information regarding the process for submitting questions online. We appreciate your participation and courtesy in observing these rules of conduct.
During the business portion of the annual meeting led by our Chairman, Richard Thornburgh, shareholder questions will be limited to questions specifically pertaining to the proposals being considered at that particular time. After the formal portion of the meeting is adjourned, further time will be provided to address other shareholder questions during a general question and answer session led by our President and CEO, Doug Peterson. We will answer as many questions that comply with the proposed rules of conduct as time permits. Substantially similar questions may be summarized and grouped together to provide a single response. We reserve the right to exclude questions that are not relevant to the business of the meeting or are otherwise inappropriate. In today's presentation, we may provide non-GAAP adjusted financial metrics.
These metrics are provided to enable investors to make meaningful comparisons of the company's operating performance between periods and to view the company's business from the same perspective as that of management. The earnings releases for Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 contain financial metrics calculated in accordance with GAAP, but are comparable to the non-GAAP metrics included in today's presentation, as well as reconciliations of such GAAP and non-GAAP metrics. The company's earnings releases are available on our investor relations website. Before we begin the formal part of today's meeting, let me provide certain cautionary remarks about forward-looking statements that may be made during this annual meeting and during our CEO, Doug Peterson's remarks. The matters discussed during today's meeting may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including projections, estimates, and descriptions of future events.
Any such statements are based on current expectations and current economic conditions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is included in the cautionary statements contained in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our most recent Form 10-Q, each filed with the SEC.
I would also like to call your attention to a European regulation. Any investor who has or expects to obtain 5% or more of S&P Global should contact investor relations to better understand the potential impact of this legislation on the investor and the company. We are aware that we do have some media representatives with us on the call. This call is intended for investors, and we would request that questions from the media be directed to Ola Fadahunsi at +1 332 210 9935. With that, let me turn the meeting over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Peterson. Doug?
Thank you, Tasha. Hello to everyone on the webcast. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support of our company. This morning, I want to briefly review our 2022 performance and how we're positioned for profitable growth in the future. Our Chairman, Thornburgh, will conduct the business of the meeting. I'll come back after that to take your questions. Turning to last year's performance, S&P Global proved once again its resilience in a challenging macroeconomic environment.
For example, we made considerable progress on our transformative merger with IHS Markit. We consolidated office space, standardized business practices, generated thousands of cross-sell referrals, and optimized our capital structure, lowering our average cost of debt at fixed rates. Last year, four of our six divisions produced non-GAAP pro forma adjusted revenue growth. The diversification of our business portfolio helped counterbalance a steep decline in revenue from S&P Global Ratings last year.
Even in a difficult macro environment, we never stopped investing in organic growth, technology, and innovation to deliver the next generation of exciting new products. The resilience and discipline we demonstrated last year build on an incredible legacy of our company and position us to create significant value for our customers, our people, and our shareholders in 2023 and beyond. As we've said, for 2023, we expect non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $12.35-$12.55. This compares to the non-GAAP pro forma adjusted EPS of $11.19 we produced last year, which implies 11% growth if we achieve the midpoint of our guidance. One of the keys to our growth is a clear, compelling strategic focus, powering global markets. This strategic framework has five pillars.
The first is customer at the core. I've been on the road meeting customers over the last year, they're excited about the products we're creating thanks to the merger with IHS Markit. As I've said, we continue to invest in innovation to serve our customers in new and innovative ways. The second pillar is grow and innovate. Across S&P Global, there's tremendous opportunity for organic growth, from thematic indices and bond valuations to aftermarket research and mobility forecasts. There are very promising opportunities in transformational areas such as sustainability and private markets. The third area is expand the power of data and technology. Here we're shifting the mix of our technology spend to provide even more value to our customers. Kensho is a great example of our focus on using technology to accelerate innovation and speed up time to market of S&P Global's product offerings.
Kensho builds artificial intelligence solutions that unlock the critical insights hidden in unstructured data and powers many workflows across the enterprise. The fourth pillar is lead and inspire. We've been very focused on creating a sense of belonging in our company where people feel engaged, inspired to do great things, and are connected to our purpose. We continue to invest in initiatives that attract, retain, develop, and care for our people. Finally, execute and deliver. Our teams continue to be disciplined in their approach to executing our strategy. That means running the company efficiently, making strategic investments, pursuing a disciplined capital allocation approach, and creating an excellent culture. All these elements come together to help us capitalize on the exciting growth opportunities in each of our markets. We expressed our confidence in doing just that with the midterm financial targets we announced during Investor Day last year.
As we said then, we expect by 2025 or 2026 to achieve the following: 7%-9% annual organic revenue growth, an adjusted operating margin in the range of 48%-50%, and low to mid-teens annual adjusted diluted earnings per share growth. We also expect to continue returning at least 85% of adjusted free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Even with an uncertain global economy this year, we're looking forward to the months and years ahead with a great deal of optimism. As I wrap up, I want to thank our people for the excellent work they continue to do.
They've been through a lot of change over the last few years. They've handled our merger, market uncertainty, the pandemic, and more with a tremendous amount of professionalism, talent, and dedication. I also want to recognize our board of directors. We have an all-star board. The diversity of their expertise, perspectives, and backgrounds is of incredible value to me and our company. I thank our shareholders for your continued support. Now I'll turn it over to Tasha to open the business portion of our meeting. Thank you. Tasha?
Thanks, Doug. We will now begin the business portion of today's meeting. Please be advised that we have certified lists of shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 13, 2023, who are entitled to vote at this annual shareholder meeting. Such lists are available for inspection by any shareholder using the link provided under the Documents section of the Virtual Meeting Center screen. Copies of the notice of meeting, proxy materials, annual report, rules of conduct, and affidavit of mailing relating to this annual meeting are also available by link under the Documents section of the Virtual Meeting Center screen. The affidavits will also be filed with the records of the annual meeting. The board of directors has designated a representative of Computershare Trust Company, N.A. to act as inspector of election for the annual meeting.
Harold Murphy, a representative of Computershare Trust Company, N.A., is available in virtual attendance today. Mr. Murphy has been duly sworn in, and his oath will also be filed with the records of the annual meeting. In addition, shares of common stock, representing approximately more than a majority of the votes entitled to be cast at this annual meeting, are represented either in person or by proxy. Mr. Chairman, the annual meeting has been duly convened, a quorum is present, and the business of the annual meeting may proceed. Ladies and gentlemen, I now pass the business portion of today's meeting over to our Chairman, Mr. Richard Thornburgh.
Thank you, Tasha. Good morning. My name is Richard Thornburgh, Chairman of S&P Global. With the quorum present, I call the meeting to order. Before we begin the formal part of today's meeting, I would like to introduce you to your directors, all of whom are present on the line and in virtual attendance today. We have an outstanding board, as Doug mentioned, whose expertise, global perspective, diversity, and leadership are of a tremendous source of pride for the corporation. In addition to Doug, who opened the meeting and is a director as well as President and CEO, I would like to introduce the 11 independent directors who will stand for election today along with Doug and me. Marco Alverà, Chief Executive Officer, Tree Energy Solutions. Jacques Esculier, Former Chairman and CEO, WABCO Holdings Inc.
Gay Huey Evans, former Chairman, London Metal Exchange. Bill Green, former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Accenture. Stephanie Hill, Executive Vice President, Rotary and Mission Systems of Lockheed Martin. Rebecca Jacoby, former Senior Vice President, Operations of Cisco Systems. Bob Kelly, former Chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon. Lord Ian Livingston, former Chairman, Currys PLC. Debbie D. McWhinney, former Chief Executive Officer of Global Enterprise Payments, Citigroup Inc. Maria Morris, former Executive Vice President, Global Employee Benefits of MetLife. Greg Washington, President of George Mason University. It is clear we have a world-class board. All of our directors have broad experience, excellent judgment, and take their fiduciary responsibilities very seriously.
The recent appointments of Greg Washington and our four new directors joining following our merger with IHS Markit, Jacques, Gay Huey, Bob, and Debbie, have further strengthened our talented board and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to bring leaders of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experience into the boardroom. We will now proceed to the formal business of our annual meeting. The purpose of which is to. One elect 13 directors. Two, approve on an advisory basis the executive compensation program for the company's named officers. Three, vote on an advisory basis on the frequency on which the company conducts an advisory board vote on the executive compensation program for the company's named executives. Four, to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditor for 2023. Fifth, take up any other business matter that may properly come before this meeting.
It is now 8:14 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time on May 3, 2023. The polls have been opened for voting on all matters. All shareholders who are entitled to vote and who joined today's virtual meeting using their 15-digit control number have the ability to vote online. If you have already voted, your vote is being counted, and there is no need to vote again. If you have not yet voted or if you want to change your previously cast vote, please do so by clicking on the Vote tab on the virtual meeting website. This link will be available until we announce the closing of the polls after the presentation of all matters for shareholder consideration. Please remember that if you have already sent in a proxy or voted by telephone or over the Internet, it is not necessary to vote again.
Once the polls close, the Inspector of Election, Harold Murphy, will provide his preliminary report. As a reminder, please note that time will be provided for specific questions relating to each of the proposals as they are introduced. Further time will then be provided to shareholders wishing to ask other questions during a general question and answer session led by Doug Peterson at the end of the formal portion of today's meeting.
First item to be voted upon is the election of 13 directors, among whom I am included. The names of the 13 directors nominated for election are Marco Alverà, Jacques Esqulier, Gay Huey Evans, William D. Green, Stephanie C. Hill, Rebecca Jacoby, Robert P. Kelly, Ian Paul Livingston, Deborah D. McWhinney, Maria R. Morris, Douglas L. Peterson, Richard E. Thornburgh, Gregory Washington. We will now take a moment to confirm whether there are any questions or comments regarding the election of these 14 directors.
Mr. Chairman, there are no shareholder questions related to this proposal.
Since there is no further discussion on this proposal, I declare the voting closed on this item. The second item to be voted upon is a proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, the Executive Compensation Program for the company's named executive officers. We will now take a moment to confirm whether there are any questions or comments relating to this item.
Mr. Chairman, there are no shareholder questions related to this proposal.
Since there is no further discussion on this proposal, I declare the voting closed on this item. The third item to be voted upon is a proposal to vote on an advisory basis on the frequency on which the company conducts an advisory vote on the Executive Compensation Program for the company's named executive officers. We will now take a moment to confirm whether there are any questions or comments relating to this item.
Mr. Chairman, there are no shareholder questions related to this proposal.
Since there is no further discussion on this proposal, I declare the voting closed on this item. Fourth item to be voted upon is a ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent auditor for 2023. Jennifer Jackson, Joe Link, Morne Grobler, the partner of Ernst & Young responsible for the S&P Global account, are on the line and in virtual attendance at today's meetings and are available for questions. We will now take a moment to confirm whether there are any questions or comments relating to this item.
Mr. Chairman, there are no shareholder questions related to this proposal.
This is the last proposal before the shareholders for approval at the annual meeting. Since no questions or comments have been submitted on this proposal, I will now proceed with the closing of the voting of the polls. The polls are about to close. If you have not yet voted, please do so now. Since everyone has had the opportunity to vote, it is now 8:19 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time. The polls are closed, effective immediately. This concludes the voting on all formal business items. Any votes cast online during the annual meeting will be taken into account by the inspector of elections in the final tally of votes. However, they are not expected to change the outcome of today's results. The preliminary tally of votes by the inspector of election shows that. One, the 13 persons nominated as directors of S&P Global have been elected.
Two, the proposal to approve on an advisory basis the executive compensation program for the company's named executive officers has been approved. Three, the proposal to vote on an advisory basis on the frequency with which the company conducts advisory vote on the executive compensation program for the company's named executive officers has the highest shareholder support for one year. Fourth, ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP of the company's independent auditor for 2023 has been approved. The certificate of the inspection of election will be filed with the records of the meeting, and the final results will be available on or before May 9 in a Form 8-K filing. There'll be no further business.
The formal part of our annual meeting is concluded. I now declare the meeting adjourned. Before passing the meeting over to Doug Peterson, let me take a moment to thank all of you, our shareholders, for their continued support. The number of shares voted and the support demonstrated for the slated directors is very much appreciated. Doug Peterson will now lead a general Q&A session to address any other shareholders questions or comments relevant to the business of today's meeting. Doug?
Thank you . We will now open the meeting to questions. Tasha?
Thanks, Doug. In the minutes that remain, we will now proceed to answer as many questions as possible submitted in accordance to the annual meeting rules of conduct. We did not receive any questions in advance of the meeting via the corporate secretary mailbox, nor do we have any questions submitted via the Q&A portal by shareholders at this time. Doug, back to you.
Yes. Since there are no comments or questions, we thank you for being part of this meeting and for your support of S&P Global. Let me add that if there are any additional questions or if you have questions that weren't answered in full, we encourage you to reach out to our corporate secretary or investor relations team directly. Their contact information is available on our investor relations website, and it's in our proxy statement. We value your feedback. Thank you.
Thank you all very much. That concludes this morning's call. A PDF version of the presenter slides is available for downloading from investor.spglobal.com. A replay of this call will be available within 2 hours. The replay will be maintained on S&P Global's website for 12 months from today. On behalf of S&P Global, we thank you for participating and wish you a good day.