# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0001289419
**File Stem:** 0001289419-25-000178
**Filing Date:** 2025-12
**Character Count:** 13006
**Document Hash:** c97cb9096755834511c7aaf0f23bdc35
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001289419-25-000178.hdr.sgml**: 20251223

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001289419-25-000178

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 8-K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 15

**CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT**: 20251223

**ITEM INFORMATION**: Regulation FD Disclosure

**ITEM INFORMATION**: Financial Statements and Exhibits

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20251223

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20251223

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** Morningstar, Inc.
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0001289419
- **STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:** INVESTMENT ADVICE [6282]
- **ORGANIZATION NAME:** 02 Finance
- **EIN:** 363297908
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** IL
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 8-K
- **SEC ACT:** 1934 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 000-51280
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251600919

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 22 WEST WASHINGTON STREET
- **CITY:** CHICAGO
- **STATE:** IL
- **ZIP:** 60602
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** (312) 696-6000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 22 WEST WASHINGTON STREET
- **CITY:** CHICAGO
- **STATE:** IL
- **ZIP:** 60602

?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'? morn-20251223

**UNITED STATES**

**SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION**

**Washington, D.C. 20549**

______________________________

**FORM 8-K**

______________________________

**CURRENT REPORT**

**Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of**

**the Securities Exchange Act of 1934**

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): **December 23, 2025**

**MORNINGSTAR, INC.**

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Illinois**<br>(State or other jurisdiction<br>of incorporation) | **000-51280**<br>(Commission<br>File Number) | **36-3297908**<br>(I.R.S. Employer<br>Identification No.) |
| | **22 West Washington Street**<br>**Chicago, Illinois**<br>(Address of principal executive offices)  | <br>**60602**<br>(Zip Code) |
| | **(312) 696-6000**<br>(Registrant's telephone number, including area code) | |
| | <br>**N/A** | |
| (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)<br>__________________________________ | (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)<br>__________________________________ | (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)<br>__________________________________ |

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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;□&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;□&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;□&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;□&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ◻

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Title of Each Class** | **Trading Symbol** | **Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered** |
| Common stock, no par value | MORN | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |

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**Item 7.01.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regulation FD Disclosure**

In accordance with Morningstar, Inc.'s (the "Company") policy regarding public disclosure of corporate information, investor questions received by the Company through December 5, 2025, and Company responses (the "Investor Q&A") are attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K (this "Report") as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference. The Investor Q&A shall be deemed furnished, not filed, for purposes of this Report.

***Information or documents on the Company's website referred to in the Investor Q&A are not incorporated by reference into this Report.***

**Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements**

This Report, including the document incorporated by reference herein, contains forward-looking statements as that term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on our current expectations about future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as "aim," "committed," "consider," "estimate," "future," "goal," " is designed to," "maintain," "may," "might," "objective," "ongoing," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "possible," "potential," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "prospects," "continue," "strategy," "strive," "will," "would," "determine," "evaluate," or the negative thereof, and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the events we discuss not to occur or to differ significantly from what we expect. For us, these risks and uncertainties include, among others:

• failing to consummate the Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC (CRSP) acquisition on a timely basis or at all, or failing to achieve the anticipated benefits of the CRSP acquisition;

• failing to maintain and protect our brand, independence, and reputation;

• failure to prevent and/or mitigate cybersecurity events and the failure to protect confidential information, including personal information about individuals;

• changing economic conditions, including prolonged volatility, recessions, or downturns affecting the financial sector and global financial markets, fluctuating interest rates, and the impacts of global trade policies, may negatively impact our financial results, including those of our asset-based businesses;

• compliance failures, regulatory action, or changes in laws applicable to our regulated businesses;

• failing to innovate or streamline our product and service offerings or meet or anticipate our clients' changing needs;

• impact of artificial intelligence technologies on our business and reputation, and the legal risks as they are incorporated into our products and tools;

• failure to detect errors in our products or failure of our products to perform properly due to defects, malfunctions or similar problems;

• failing to recruit, develop, and retain qualified employees;

• failing to scale our operations and increase productivity in order to implement our business plans and strategies,including failing to manage costs related thereto;

• liability for any losses that result from errors in our automated advisory tools or errors in the use of the information and data we collect;

• inadequacy of our operational risk management, business continuity programs to address materially disruptive event;

**2**

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• failure of our strategic transaction, acquisitions, divestitures and investments in companies or technologies to yield expected business or financial benefits, negatively impacting our operating results and our ability to deliver long-term value to shareholders;

• failing to maintain growth across our businesses due to changes in geopolitics and the regulatory landscape;

• liability relating to the information and data we collect, store, use, create, and distribute or the reports that we publish or are produced by our software products;

• the potential adverse effect of our indebtedness (and rising interest rates) on our cash flow and financial and operational flexibility;

• liability, costs and reputational risks relating to environmental, social and governance considerations;

• our dependence on third-party service providers in our operations;

• inadequacy of our insurance coverage;

• challenges in accounting for tax complexities in the global jurisdictions we operate in could materially affect our tax obligations and tax rates;

• the potential and impact of vendor consolidation and clients' strategic decisions to replace our products and services with in-house products and services;

• our ability to build and maintain short-term and long-term shareholder value and pay dividends to our shareholders;

• our ability to maintain existing business and renewal rates and to gain new business;

• the impact on recently issued accounting pronouncements on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures; and

• failing to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of intellectual property infringement against us.

A more complete description of these risks and uncertainties can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our most recent Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q. If any of these risks and uncertainties materialize, our actual future results and other future events may vary significantly from what we expect. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by law. You are advised to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects, and about new or additional risks, uncertainties, and assumptions in our filings with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.

**Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.**

**&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**(d)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Exhibits:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| <u>Exhibit No.</u> | <u>Description</u> |
| <u>[99.1](investorquestions122325f.htm)</u> | <u>[Investor Q&A.](investorquestions122325f.htm)</u> |
| 104 | The cover page from this Current Report on Form 8-K formatted in Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101). |

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**<u>_____________________________________________________________________________________</u>**

**3**

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**SIGNATURES**

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| | MORNINGSTAR, INC. |
| Date: December 23, 2025 | By:/s/ Michael Holt |
|  | Name: Michael Holt |
|  | Title: Chief Financial Officer |

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**4**

## Exhibit 99.1

![](investorquestions122325f001.jpg)

Investor Questions and Answers: December 23, 2025 We encourage current shareholders, potential shareholders, and other interested parties to send questions to us in writing and we make written responses available on a periodic basis. The following answers respond to selected questions received through December 5, 2025. We retain the discretion to combine answers for duplicate or similar questions into one comprehensive response. If you would like to submit a question, please send an e-mail to investors@morningstar.com or write us at the following address: Morningstar, Inc. Investor Relations 22 W. Washington St. Chicago, IL 60602 PitchBook 1. How has the split of growth of PitchBook changed over the past 5 years? Specifically, how much of the growth has come from new logos/customers vs. upselling existing customers vs. pricing? PitchBook's growth over the past five years has been fueled by a combination of broad new logo acquisition and strong net renewal rates as clients expanded headcount during a period of heightened deal activity and accelerated hiring that peaked in 2021 and 2022. During that time, we succeeded at bringing in many clients with significant assets under management (AUM), which created a large base and set a strong foundation for continued growth. We also periodically increased prices for new clients and regularly sought price increases at renewal. More recently, we started to see a shift in revenue drivers with an increasing share of growth coming from expansion with existing large AUM accounts in our core customer segments. Looking forward, the opportunity is twofold: First, we seek to expand our reach within existing accounts and capture remaining large AUM logos who aren't our clients through targeted marketing and sales strategies. At the same time, PitchBook will continue to focus on adding new logos across small- and mid-sized firms in our core as well as adjacent client segments like corporates and service providers. Combined with opportunities to upsell and cross-sell within existing accounts, we believe these initiatives position us to sustain growth even as markets normalize. More broadly, we expect that expansion with existing large AUM accounts will continue to outpace growth from new logos even as both remain important growth drivers.

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