Company Reports

MarketAxess' otherwise mediocre earnings are being overshadowed by the news that it has agreed to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange. Net revenue decreased 6% from last year to $218 million while earnings per share fell to $1.91 from $1.93.

MarketAxess has announced that it intends to sell itself to Intercontinental Exchange for $167 per share in an all-cash deal. We do not like this deal for the company as we think the firm is likely worth more as a independent company. That said, we admit MarketAxess has been facing meaninful competitive issues and difficult market conditions, causing it to trade at a deep discount to our previous fair value estimate.

MarketAxess reported a strong start to 2026 as first-quarter earnings benefited from high trading volume industrywide. Net revenue increased 12% from last year, while adjusted earnings per share rose 20% to $2.25.

2025 has been a decent year for MarketAxess, as more corporate bond issuance and higher market activity have been driving trading volume up. However, the high volume industrywide has been partially offset by weaker average pricing, as the firm gets more of its volume from low-cost trading types.

MarketAxess reported decent fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with our expectations. Total revenue rose 3.5% from last year to $209.4 million. Meanwhile, adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to $1.68 from $1.73 as operating costs rose faster than revenue.

2025 has been a decent year for MarketAxess, as more corporate bond issuance and higher market activity have been driving trading volume up. However, the high volume industrywide has been partially offset by weaker average pricing, as the firm gets more of its volume from low-cost trading types.

MarketAxess reported new medium-term financial targets and plans to engage in accelerated share repurchases. Shares are trading up 5% on the announcement.

MarketAxess operates the leading platform for the electronic trading of corporate bonds. While the company is primarily focused on US securities, 35% to 45% of its corporate bond trading volume comes from emerging-market debt and eurobonds, giving the company a strong international presence. MarketAxess also offers trading in US Treasuries and municipal bonds, bolstering its efforts in these sectors through the acquisitions of LiquidityEdge and MuniBrokers in 2019 and 2021, respectively. That said, corporate bonds are the core of MarketAxess’ business, which we expect to remain true, a consequence of being a relative newcomer to the Treasury trading market and the smaller size of the municipal debt market.

MarketAxess reported strong second-quarter earnings as high trading activity in fixed-income markets drove trading revenue higher. Net revenue increased 11% from last year to $219.4 million while diluted earnings per share also rose 11% to $1.91.

MarketAxess reported weaker first-quarter earnings than we had expected due to the company setting aside a $54.9 million reserve for uncertain tax positions. Net revenue decreased 1% from last year to $209 million. Earnings per share was $0.40, or $1.87 on an adjusted basis, versus $1.92 last year.

MarketAxess operates the leading platform for the electronic trading of corporate bonds. While the company is primarily focused on US securities, 30%-40% of its corporate bond trading volume comes from emerging-market debt and eurobonds, giving the company a strong international presence. MarketAxess also offers trading in US Treasuries and municipal bonds, bolstering its efforts in these sectors through the acquisitions of LiquidityEdge and MuniBrokers in 2019 and 2021, respectively. That said, corporate bonds are the core of MarketAxess’ business, which we expect to remain true, a consequence of being a relative newcomer to the Treasury trading market and the smaller size of the municipal debt market.

MarketAxess continues to see erosion in its US corporate bond market share, creating a meaningful headwind to the firm's results. While MarketAxess has an impressive pipeline of new features rolling out in 2025, which it hopes will improve its position, the firm will still need to prove itself.

MarketAxess ended a decent 2024 with a weak fourth quarter as market share losses and lower average pricing hurt results. Total revenue increased 3% from last year to $202.4 million. On the other hand, diluted earnings per share fell 6% to $1.73 as the firm laps one-time tax benefits.

Wide-moat-rated MarketAxess reported strong third-quarter earnings that were in line with our expectations as strong trading volume drove revenue higher. Total revenue increased 20% from last year and 4.6% from last quarter to $206.7 million. Meanwhile, diluted earnings per share increased 30% from last year to $1.90. While these are good results, we had high expectations heading into the release following the high trading volume seen in the firm’s monthly reports. As we incorporate these results, we do not expect to materially alter our $305 fair value estimate. We see the shares as modestly undervalued following the market’s reaction to earnings.

MarketAxess operates the leading platform for the electronic trading of corporate bonds. While the company is primarily focused on US securities, 30%-40% of its corporate bond trading volume comes from emerging-market debt and eurobonds, giving the company a strong international presence. MarketAxess also offers trading in US Treasuries and municipal bonds, bolstering its efforts in these sectors through the acquisitions of LiquidityEdge and MuniBrokers in 2019 and 2021, respectively. That said, corporate bonds are the core of MarketAxess’ business, which we expect to remain true, a consequence of being a relative newcomer to the Treasury trading market and the smaller size of the municipal debt market.

Wide-moat-rated MarketAxess reported decent second-quarter earnings that were largely in line with our expectations, though weak high-yield trading volume remained a headwind. Net revenue increased 10% to $197.7 million, though this incluces $7.9 million from its acquisition of Pragma. Earnings per share increased to $1.72 from $1.59 last year. As we incorporate these results, we do not expect to materially alter our $300 fair value estimate. We see the shares as undervalued at the current price. That said, we caution investors that due to ongoing market share concerns, we expect the shares to remain highly sensitive to the firm’s monthly trading volume releases.

Wide-moat-rated MarketAxess reported first-quarter results that were in line with our expectations, as strong volume in US investment-grade and emerging-market debt was offset by a decline in the firm's market share of US high-yield corporate bond trading. Revenue increased 3.5% from last year and 6.6% from last quarter to $210 million. Meanwhile, diluted earnings per share decreased to $1.92 from $1.96, with the decline mostly due to higher expenses associated with the firm's acquisition of Pragma. As we incorporate these results, we do not plan to materially alter our $300 per share fair value estimate, and we see the shares as undervalued at current prices.

MarketAxess operates the leading platform for the electronic trading of corporate bonds. While the company is primarily focused on U.S. securities, 30%-40% of its corporate bond trading volume comes from emerging market debt and Eurobonds, giving the company a strong international presence. MarketAxess also offers trading in U.S. Treasuries and municipal bonds, bolstering its efforts in these sectors through the acquisitions of LiquidityEdge and MuniBrokers in 2019 and 2021, respectively. That said, corporate bonds are the core of MarketAxess’ business which we expect will remain true, a consequence of being a relative newcomer to the treasury trading market and the smaller size of the municipal debt market.

Wide-moat-rated MarketAxess reported decent fourth-quarter results that were largely in line with our expectations as the firm benefited from higher trading volume industrywide. The firm's uninspiring market share performance, however, remains a concern. Fourth-quarter revenue increased 10.9% to $197.2 million, or 6.6% when adjusted for the acquisition of Pragma. Meanwhile, earnings per share increased 16.5% to $1.84 from $1.58 last year, although the company did benefit from an unusually low provision for income taxes in the quarter. As we incorporate these results, we do not plan to materially alter our $305 per share fair value estimate for MarketAxess, and we see the shares as undervalued at current prices.

Wide-moat-rated MarketAxess reported weak third-quarter earnings that were in line with our expectations as lower market share and reduced fee capture hurt results. MarketAxess' net revenue was effectively flat from last year at $172 million, while its net income fell 7.4% to $54.9 million when compared with the year-ago period. While these were not good results, we were already aware of the market share issues, which were behind a recent 13% reduction in our fair value estimate. As we incorporate these results, we do not expect to materially alter our $305 per share fair value estimate.