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Earnings Calls

Last Earnings Call

Fiscal Period
Q1 2026
Call Date
May 7, 2026
AI Summary
Q1 2026

Record quarter: MarketAxess said first-quarter revenue rose 12% to a record $233 million, driven by record trading activity and strong growth outside U.S. credit.

Profitability: Diluted EPS was $2.20, or $2.25 excluding notable items, up 20%, while operating margin expanded to 44%.

April slowdown: Trading volumes fell in April as volatility eased, credit spreads tightened, and new issuance stayed very strong, which pulled attention away from secondary trading.

New issue push: Management said it is launching a new issue trading solution with DirectBooks in pilot form in late May, with broader functionality coming in the second half of 2026.

AI focus: The company leaned heavily into AI, saying its proprietary data and global network give it an advantage in analytics, execution tools, and future product development.

Capital returns: MarketAxess completed a $300 million ASR, returned $60 million through share repurchases, and ended April with $205 million remaining on its buyback authorization.

Key Financials
Revenue
$233 million
Revenue
$230 million
Revenue outside U.S. credit
20% growth
Diluted earnings per share
$2.20
Diluted earnings per share
$2.25
Total commissions revenue
$203 million
Other commissions revenue
$5 million
Services revenue
$30 million
Information Services revenue
$14 million
Post-trade services revenue
$12 million
Technology Services revenue
$4 million
Operating margin
44%
Expenses
8% growth
Free cash flow
$316 million
Cash, cash equivalents and investments
$537 million
Share count
6% reduction
Share repurchases
$60 million
Annual incentive compensation
$52 million
Credit facility repayments
$63 million
Dividends
$27 million
Credit facility drawn balance
$137 million
Buyback authorization remaining
$205 million
U.S. high-yield Open Trading penetration
47%
U.S. high-grade market share impact from duplicate TRACE reports
160 basis points
Duplicate TRACE inflation estimate
up to 8%
Block activity
$7 billion
Portfolio trading ADV
$1.9 billion
U.S. credit portfolio trading market share
100 basis points
Automation volume
$144 billion
Emerging markets active client firms
1,547
International active client traders
3,410
Emerging markets trading volumes
30%
Emerging markets hard currency revenue
15%
Emerging markets local markets revenue
56%
Emerging markets incremental revenue
$20 million
EM share of incremental credit variable commission revenue
68%
U.S. high grade block trading
31%
High-yield portfolio trading ADV
78%
New issue market YTD volume
over $800 billion
2026 new issue market forecast
close to $2 trillion
New issue block market growth
34%
Auction orders staged
over $11 billion
Auction orders submitted
over $7 billion
Auction clients
12 active buy-side clients
Auction dealers
4 active dealers
Mid-X volume
over $16 billion
Earnings Call Recording

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