News Details

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025.

4Q25 select financial and operational highlights*

• Total revenues of $209.4 million increased 3.5%, and included an increase of approximately $1.6 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• Strong progress with our new initiatives across our three strategic channels:
  • Client-Initiated Channel - 29% increase in block trading average daily volume (“ADV”), including 21% growth in U.S. credit, 41% growth in emerging markets (record) and 43% growth in eurobonds.
  • Portfolio Trading Channel - 41% increase in total portfolio trading ADV to record $1.5 billion with record U.S. high-yield and record emerging markets portfolio trading ADV of $368 million and $118 million, respectively. Record U.S. credit portfolio trading market share of 21%, an increase of 440 basis points.
  • Dealer-Initiated Channel - 32% increase in dealer-initiated ADV to $1.8 billion, including 20% increase in dealer request for quote ("RFQ") ADV and a 185% increase in Mid-X ADV. Our Mid-X protocol in U.S. credit surpassed $3.0 billion in trading volume in December 2025.
• Total expenses of $133.4 million increased 9%, and included an increase of approximately $1.3 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. Total expenses, excluding notable items, ¹ of $132.3million increased 8%.
• Effective tax rate of (15.8%); effective tax rate excluding notable items ¹ of 23.4%.
• Diluted earnings-per-share (“EPS”) of $2.51 on net income of $92.4million; Diluted EPS of $1.68 on net income of $61.9 million, each excluding notable items. ¹
• Announced 3-year financial targets and increased stock repurchase authorizations to $505.0 million, including a $300.0 million accelerated stock repurchase ("ASR") agreement that commenced in December 2025.

Full Year 2025 select financial and operational highlights**

• Record total revenues of $846.3 million increased 4%( 10% outside U.S. credit), and included an increase of approximately $4.6 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• Record commission revenue, including record emerging markets (+10%), record eurobonds (+10%) and record U.S. Government bonds (+13%).
• Record services revenue ³ of $111.6 million, up 6%.
• Strong progress with our new initiatives across our three strategic channels:
  • Client-Initiated Channel - 24% increase in block trading ADV to a record$5 billion, including 18% growth in U.S. credit (record), 27% growth in emerging markets (record) and 66% growth in eurobonds (record).
  • Portfolio Trading Channel - 48% increase in total portfolio trading ADV to record $1.4 billion with record U.S. credit portfolio trading ADV of $1.1 billion, an increase of 43%. Record U.S. credit portfolio trading market share of 19%, an increase of 270 basis points.
  • Dealer-Initiated Channel - 33% increase in dealer-initiated ADV to $1.7 billion, including a 29% increase in dealer RFQ ADV and a 102% increase in Mid-X ADV with the launch of the Mid-X protocol in September 2025.
• Total expenses of $504.4 million increased 6%, and included an increase of approximately $4.5 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. Total expenses, excluding notable items, ¹ of $499.4million increased 5%.
• Diluted EPS of $6.64 on net income of $246.9 million; Diluted EPS of $7.39 on net income of $274.7 million, each excluding notable items. ¹

*All comparisons versus 4Q24

**All comparisons versus full year 2024

Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, commented:

“In 2025, we made significant strides in enhancing the MarketAxess advantage by expanding our global network, deepening our differentiated liquidity. We also accelerated our use of AI in enhancing the proprietary data and analytics that underpin our protocols and workflow tools for clients, helping them to be more efficient and gain deeper insights into their trading activity.

We delivered record volumes in U.S. credit and record revenue outside of U.S. credit of $406 million, a 10% increase, reflecting the strong returns generated from our investments in these areas. We also made strong progress across our three U.S. credit strategic channels: block trading ADV increased 24%, total portfolio trading ADV increased 48%, and dealer‑initiated ADV increased 33%. Additionally, the Mid‑X solution launched in the second half of 2025 continues to gain momentum, delivering over $3 billion in trading volume in December 2025.

The client initiatives that we expect to deliver in 2026 and beyond include enhancements to our X-Pro platform and our automation suite, as well as the launch of new solutions that allow dealers to send axes directly to investor clients. These enhancements are progressing well and we expect them to drive market share and revenue growth consistent with our medium-term financial targets."

Table 1: 4Q25 and full year 2025 select financial results

4Q25 overview of results

Table 1A: Notable items¹

Notable items¹

• Notable items in 4Q25 include repositioning charges of $1.1 million, which consisted of severance costs related to changes in management structure, and a benefit to the reserve for uncertain tax positions of approximately $31.3 million related to prior periods.

Revenue

• Total revenues of $209.4 million increased 3.5% compared to the prior year and included RFQ-hub revenues of approximately $3.7 million and a $1.6 million increase from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Commission revenue

Table 1B: 4Q25 variable transaction fees per million (FPM)

Credit

• Total credit commission revenue of $165.2million(including $32.8 million in fixed-distribution fees) increased $3.0 million, or 2%, compared to $162.2 million(including $32.8 million in fixed-distribution fees) in the prior year, and was consistent with 3Q25 levels. An 11% increase in total credit ADV compared to the prior year, driven by growth in market volumes, was partially offset by an 8% decrease in total credit variable transaction fee per million (“FPM”). The 2% increase in total credit commission revenue was driven by a 7% increase in emerging markets and eurobonds commission revenue, reflecting continued product and geographic diversification. The decline in 4Q25 total credit FPM both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter was due principally to protocol mix.

Rates

• Total rates commission revenue of $6.8 million decreased $0.5 million, or 7%, compared to the prior year, and increased 2% from 3Q25 levels. A 17% decrease in total rates ADV compared to the prior year was partially offset by an 11% increase in FPM.

Other

• Record total other commission revenue of $9.4million increased $4.1 million, or 79%, compared to the prior year, driven by the inclusion of approximately $3.4million from RFQ-Hub, majority control of which was acquired in 2Q25.

Services revenue

• Services revenue ³ of $28.1 million increased $0.4 million, or 2%, compared to the prior year.

Information services

• Information services revenue of $13.5 million increased $0.3 million, or 2%, compared to the prior year. The increase was principally driven by an increase of $0.3 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Post-trade services

• Post-trade services revenue of $11.0 million increased $0.1 million, or 1%, compared to the prior year principally due to an increase of $0.6 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, partially offset by lower net contract revenue.

Technology services

• Total technology services revenue of $3.6 million increased $0.1 million, or 2%, compared to the prior year. The increase was driven by connectivity fees from RFQ-hub, majority control of which was acquired in 2Q25.

Expenses

• Total expenses of $133.4 million increased 9% from the prior year, including approximately $3.5 million of RFQ-hub expenses and an increase of $1.3 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Non-operating

• Other income (expense): Other income was $3.8million, down from $4.6 million in the prior year. The decrease was driven by lower interest income due to a decrease in interest rates and higher interest expense due to borrowings on the Company's credit facility that were used, along with cash on hand, to fund the ASR, partially offset by unrealized gains on investments compared to unrealized losses in the prior year.
• Tax rate: The effective tax rate was (15.8%), compared to 23.0% in the prior year. The effective tax rate excluding notable items ¹ was 23.4%.

Capital

• The Company had $678.9 million in cash, cash equivalents, corporate bond investments and U.S. Treasury investments as of December 31, 2025, down from $698.6 million as of December 31, 2024. The Company had $220.0 million in borrowings outstanding under the Company’s credit facility as of December 31, 2025, as compared to no borrowings outstanding as of December 31, 2024.
• In December 2025, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $400.0 million of additional shares of MarketAxess common stock. Following the new authorization, the Company entered into an ASR agreement to repurchase, in aggregate, $300.0million of MarketAxess common stock. Upon execution of the ASR, a total of 1,386,001 shares were delivered, representing 80% of the total shares that the Company expected to receive under the ASR based on the market price of the Company's common stock on the date of execution. Final settlement of the ASR occurred on February 4, 2026 with the delivery of 359,782 additional shares. For the full year 2025, a total of 1,980,715 shares were repurchased at a cost of $360.0 million. As of January 31, 2026, $205.0 million remained under the Board of Directors’ share repurchase authorizations.
• The Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.78 per share, payable on March 4, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 18, 2026.

Other

• Employee headcount was 869 as of December 31, 2025, down from 891 as of December 31,2024 and 896 as of September 30, 2025.

Full Year 2026 Guidance⁴

For the full year 2026, the Company is providing the following guidance:

• Services revenue ³ is expected to grow in the mid-single digits (percent).
• Expenses, excluding notable items, are expected to be in the range of $530.0 million to $545.0 million. Based on the midpoint of the stated guidance range, total expenses are expected to increase by 8%.
• The effective tax rate is expected to be between 24.0% and 26.0%.
• Capital expenditures to support new protocols, products and trading platform enhancements are expected to be in the range of $65.0million to $75.0 million.

Non-GAAP financial measures and other items

To supplement the Company’s unaudited financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), EBITDA margin and free cash flow. From time to time, we present selected GAAP-basis financial results, excluding notable items. Notable items are revenues, expenses, other income (expense) and tax related items that are non-recurring and outside of the Company’s normal course of business or other notables, such as acquisition and restructuring charges or gains/losses on sales (collectively, “notable items”). We define EBITDA margin as EBITDA divided by revenues. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities excluding the net change in trading investments and net change in securities failed-to-deliver and securities failed-to-receive from broker-dealers, clearing organizations and customers, less expenditures for furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements and capitalized software development costs. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, financial measures determined in conformity with GAAP. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken into consideration with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide additional information regarding the Company’s operating results because they assist both investors and management in analyzing and evaluating the performance of our business. Please refer to Tables 6, 7 & 8 for a reconciliation of: (i) selected GAAP-basis financial results, each excluding notable items, to their most directly comparable GAAP measure; (ii) GAAP net income to EBITDA and GAAP net income margin to EBITDA margin; and (iii) GAAP net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities to free cash flow, in each case, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, including the 2026 expense guidance, to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or accessible; and because not all of the information, such as foreign currency impacts necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is available to the Company without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. The Company provides forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achieved, however, it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations and the U.S. GAAP measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP measures.

Webcast and conference call information

Chris Concannon, Chief Executive Officer and Ilene Fiszel Bieler, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results and outlook on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET. To access the conference call, please dial +1-800-715-9871 (U.S.) or +1-646-307-1963 (International) and use the ID 1832176. The Company will also host a live audio Webcast of the conference call on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.marketaxess.com. The Webcast will be archived on http://investor.marketaxess.com for 90 days following the announcement.

General Notes Regarding the Data Presented

Reported MarketAxess volume in all product categories includes only fully electronic trading volume. MarketAxess trading volumes and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (“TRACE”) reported volumes are available on the Company’s website at investor.marketaxess.com/volume.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the outlook and prospects for the Company, market conditions and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company’s future financial and operating performance, including the full year 2026 guidance included in this press release. These and other statements that relate to future results and events are based on MarketAxess’ current expectations. The Company’s actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including: global economic, political and market factors; the level of trading volume transacted on the MarketAxess platform; the rapidly evolving nature of the electronic financial services industry; the level and intensity of competition in the fixed-income electronic trading industry and the pricing pressures that may result; the variability of our growth rate; our ability to introduce new fee plans and our clients’ response; our ability to attract clients or adapt our technology and marketing strategy to new markets; risks related to our growing international operations; our dependence on our broker-dealer clients; the loss of any of our significant institutional investor clients; our exposure to risks resulting from non-performance by counterparties to transactions executed between our clients in which we act as an intermediary in matched principal trades; risks related to self-clearing; risks related to sanctions levied against states or individuals that could expose us to operational or regulatory risks; the effect of rapid market or technological changes on us and the users of our technology; issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence; our dependence on third-party suppliers for key products and services; our ability to successfully maintain the integrity of our trading platform and our response to system failures, capacity constraints and business interruptions; the occurrence of design defects, errors, failures or delays with our platforms, products or services; our vulnerability to malicious cyber-attacks and attempted cybersecurity breaches; our actual or perceived failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights or technology and defend against intellectual property infringement or other claims; our use of open-source software; our ability to enter into strategic alliances and to acquire other businesses and successfully integrate them with our business; our dependence on our management team and our ability to attract and retain talent; limitations on our flexibility because we operate in a highly regulated industry; the increasing government regulation of us and our clients; risks related to the divergence of U.K. and European Union legal and regulatory requirements following the U.K.’s exit from the European Union; our exposure to costs and penalties related to our extensive regulation; our risks of litigation and securities laws liability; our tax filing positions; the effects of climate change or other sustainability risks that could affect our operations or reputation; our future capital needs and our ability to obtain capital when needed; limitations on our operating flexibility contained in our credit agreement; our exposure to financial institutions by holding cash in excess of federally insured limits; and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about these and other factors affecting MarketAxess’ business and prospects is contained in MarketAxess’ periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be accessed at www.marketaxess.com.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform that delivers greater trading efficiency, a diversified pool of liquidity and significant cost savings to institutional investors and broker-dealers across the global fixed-income markets. Approximately 2,100 firms leverage MarketAxess’ patented technology to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. Our automated and algorithmic trading solutions, combined with our integrated and actionable data offerings, help our clients make faster, better-informed decisions on when and how to trade on our platform. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading® marketplace is widely regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets. Founded in 2000, MarketAxess connects a robust network of market participants through an advanced full trading lifecycle solution that includes automated trading solutions, intelligent data and index products and a range of post-trade services. Learn more at www.marketaxess.com and on X @MarketAxess.

Table 2: Consolidated Statements of Operations

Table 3: Commission Revenue Detail

Table 4: Trading Volume Detail*

Table 5: Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet Data

Table 6: Reconciliation of Notable Items