While we do not provide operating margin goals or future financial targets, we are focusing on generating sustainable long-term growth. That means maintaining a spread between revenues and expenses with a focus on creating operating leverage and margin accretion. 

Relative to primary peers, we believe most of our major products have margins that are comparable while still recognizing that our business is not a perfect match to any one company. Comparability is impacted by several factors, including the mix, maturity stage and product life cycle. That said, if we analyze the set of public peers referenced in our annual report, the average operating margin of the group in the latest fiscal year was in the mid 20s. That compares to our most recently reported operating margin of 21.2% for 2018, up from 18.6% in 2017. Our average reported operating margin in the preceding 5 years was 22.4%, adjusted for the large litigation settlement in 2014. Average reported revenue growth of the same group was approximately 10% in their last reported fiscal year compared to our reported growth of 11.9%

When we look at “historical norms,” it’s important to note that our business continues to evolve. Our product mix has changed as we acquired PitchBook and built out other areas, such as Investment Management and Credit Ratings. As an example, PitchBook had a dilutive impact on our overall operating margin last year inclusive of deal-related amortization and stock-based compensation. However, this was consistent with our expectations, and we are comfortable with continuing to invest for growth due to strong performance and returns.