Scope Ratings: Sharp Market Share Losses Cast a Shadow over Growth Ambitions

Scope Ratings has intensified its public narrative around expansion, positioning itself as a European counterweight to the dominance of S&P, Moody’s and Fitch. Yet the latest market share data published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) reveal a starkly contrasting reality: Scope’s relative position in the European rating market has weakened significantly over the past year, undermining the economic foundations of its long-term ambitions.

According to ESMA’s 2025 CRA Market Share Report, Scope Ratings’ share of the EU credit rating market fell to 1.23%, down from 1.83% in the previous year. In relative terms, this is not a marginal fluctuation but a substantial contraction. A year ago, Scope’s market share was around 48.8% higher than it is today. Few agencies of comparable size experienced a decline of this magnitude, making Scope one of the most pronounced losers among Europe’s mid-sized credit rating agencies.

This drop is particularly striking given the broader context. While the overall market remains heavily concentrated, with S&P, Moody’s and Fitch jointly controlling more than 90% of revenues, some smaller agencies have at least managed to stabilise their positions. Scope, by contrast, lost both absolute and relative ground, falling further behind DBRS and moving away from any meaningful challenge to the established hierarchy.

The timing of this decline raises uncomfortable questions. Media reports, including coverage by the Börsen-Zeitung citing Reuters, highlight Scope’s plans to expand into the United States and to pursue a stock market listing over the longer term. Founder and CEO Florian Schoeller has framed this strategy as an effort to counter what he describes as the “US-centred” perspective of the big three rating agencies and to offer a stronger European voice in global credit markets.

However, the ESMA figures suggest that Scope is struggling to consolidate its position even within its core European market. Market share is not merely a symbolic metric; under the EU’s CRA Regulation it reflects actual revenue generated from rating activities and ancillary services. A decline marked by a nearly 50% higher market share in relative terms just a single year ago implies either weaker demand, intensified competition, or an inability to translate regulatory support into sustainable commercial growth.

This erosion is all the more relevant in light of Scope’s financial profile. Roughly 25 years after its founding, the company has yet to establish durable profitability, with losses reportedly still being offset by capital increases and the entry of new shareholders. While recent investments underline continued confidence from institutional backers, they also highlight the gap between strategic ambition and economic performance.

In that sense, the latest ESMA data serve as a sobering counterpoint to the optimistic expansion narrative. They suggest that Scope’s primary challenge is no longer visibility or recognition, but regaining lost ground in the one market where it should be strongest: Europe itself.