Morningstar DBRS Publishes Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Services Industries and Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Manufacturing and Production Industries

Morningstar DBRS finalized its "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Services Industries" and "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Manufacturing and Production Industries."

These methodologies are published in connection with the Fundamental Methodological Integration Project (see announcement dated October 30, 2023, for more details: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/422623).

These methodologies present the criteria for which ratings in the services as well as manufacturing and production industries are assigned and/or monitored.

The methodologies are effective as of February 3, 2025.

The "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Services Industries" supersedes the following methodologies:

-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Airline Industry" (published on June 28, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Broadcasting Industry" (published on April 15, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Capital Goods Dealership Industry" (published on April 15, 2024)
-- "Rating Companies in the Canadian Grain Handling Industry" (published on September 19, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Casino Operators and Companies in the Online Gaming Industry" (published on September 17, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Communications Industry" (published on June 26, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Construction and Property Development Industry" (published on June 25, 2024*)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Merchandising Industry" (published on August 14, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Railway Industry" (published on June 28, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Services Industry" (published on September 13, 2024)

In addition, the "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Services Industries" expands the analytical coverage with a new industry supplement focused on the commodity merchant trading and processing industry.

The "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Manufacturing and Production Industries" supersedes the following methodologies:

-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries" (published on October 10, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Construction and Property Development Industry" (published on June 25, 2024*)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Consumer Products Industry" (published on August 14, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Industrial Products Industry" (published on April 15, 2024)
-- "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Pharmaceutical Industry" (published on August 9, 2024)

*The "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Construction and Property Development Industry" is superseded by both the "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Services Industries" (through a construction services industry supplement) and the "Global Methodology for Rating Companies in Manufacturing and Production Industries" (through a property and homebuilder development industry supplement).

In addition to expanding our industry coverage, the new methodologies generally focus on providing greater transparency on our credit rating process and are designed to refine analytic frameworks and methodologies across Morningstar DBRS. Over the course of 2025, we will continue our efforts as part of the Fundamental Methodological Integration Project relating to certain other corporate methodologies.

The finalization of the methodologies follows the conclusion of the request for comment period that began on December 6, 2024. We received comments (confidentiality was requested by the respondents) during the request for comment period. The comments were editorial or clarifying in nature and deemed to have no material impact on the methodologies.

While there are no significant changes to the analytical approach, we deem the updates to be material. No outstanding credit ratings are expected to change as a result of these updates.

All comments received during the request for comment period have been published to the Morningstar DBRS website, except in cases where confidentiality is requested by the respondent.

We also published an update to the "Morningstar DBRS Global Corporate Criteria," which can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/447186.

We also updated our commentary "Interplay of Global Corporate Finance Rating Methodologies When Analyzing Corporate Finance Transactions" to reflect the above methodology updates. It can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/431153.

Notes:
Morningstar DBRS methodologies are publicly available on its website http://dbrs.morningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information on these methodologies or on these industries, visit http://dbrs.morningstar.com or contact us at info-DBRS@morningstar.com.