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Marketaxess Holdings
(NASDAQ:MKTX)
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Rating:77Outperform
Price Target:
$184.00
▲(57.68% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/08/26
MKTX scores well on strong profitability/returns and a solid balance sheet, reinforced by a positive earnings narrative (record revenue/EPS growth, margin expansion) and the supportive ICE all-cash acquisition offer. Offsetting factors are the financial statement signal of a sharp TTM revenue slowdown and weaker recent free cash flow, plus very overbought technical readings that raise near-term pullback risk.
Positive Factors
High margins & operating leverage
Sustained ~44% operating margin and recent margin expansion reflect structural operating leverage in a software-like trading platform. Revenue-linked fixed-cost absorption and disciplined expense control support durable profitability across market cycles and fund continued product investment.
Negative Factors
TTM revenue slowdown
A sharp trailing-twelve-month revenue reversal signals weaker end-market demand or adverse comps. For a transaction-fee-dependent platform, sustained top-line deceleration reduces operating leverage benefits and raises uncertainty about forward revenue trajectory and product adoption pacing.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High margins & operating leverage
Sustained ~44% operating margin and recent margin expansion reflect structural operating leverage in a software-like trading platform. Revenue-linked fixed-cost absorption and disciplined expense control support durable profitability across market cycles and fund continued product investment.
Read all positive factors
Marketaxess Holdings Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Average Daily Volume by Type
Monitors trading volumes across different product types, indicating market activity levels and the company's ability to capture trading demand.
Monitors trading volumes across different product types, indicating market activity levels and the company's ability to capture trading demand.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyMarketaxess Holdings (MKTX) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.72B
Dividend Yield1.91%
Average Volume (3M)634.93K
Price to Earnings (P/E)19.1
Beta (1Y)>-0.01
Revenue Growth3.65%
EPS Growth42.71%
CountryUS
Employees868
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryFinancial - Capital Markets
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)8.49
Shares Outstanding35,192,890
10 Day Avg. Volume427,931
30 Day Avg. Volume634,935
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-3.15
Price to Book (P/B)5.82
Price to Sales (P/S)7.86
P/FCF Ratio17.84
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$151.00Price Target Upside29.40% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering11
EPS Forecast (FY)7.94
Revenue Forecast (FY)$894.84M
Marketaxess Holdings Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. develops and operates a premier electronic trading platform, serving institutional investors and broker-dealers globally. This platform provides essential access to deep liquidity across a broad spectrum of fixed-income a...
How the Company Makes Money
MarketAxess primarily earns revenue by charging fees tied to activity on its electronic trading platforms and by selling subscription-based data, analytics, and related services. The largest driver is transaction-based revenue: when clients execut...
Marketaxess Holdings Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 07, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 21, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a broadly positive operational and financial picture: record revenue, commission growth, EPS +20%, improved operating margin, strong free cash flow, and pronounced international/EM momentum. Management acknowledged near-term headwinds in April (lower volatility, heavy new issuance, TRACE duplicate reporting) and mix-driven fee pressure, but outlined concrete product initiatives (DirectBooks new-issue pilot, closing auction enhancements, AI-driven analytics) and technology investments to address market-share and execution gaps. Overall, highlights notably outweigh the lowlights.Positive Updates
Record Total Revenue and Revenue Growth
Record total revenue of ~$230–233 million in Q1 2026, up 12% year-over-year; revenue outside U.S. credit grew 20%, reflecting strong international product contributions and the RFQ Hub acquisition.
Negative Updates
April Volume Decline and Market Share Pressure
Trading volumes declined in April versus Q1 levels driven by a return to lower volatility and tighter credit spreads; April new issuance activity and holiday timing reduced estimated U.S. high-grade market share and made comps tougher year-over-year.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Total Revenue and Revenue Growth
Record total revenue of ~$230–233 million in Q1 2026, up 12% year-over-year; revenue outside U.S. credit grew 20%, reflecting strong international product contributions and the RFQ Hub acquisition.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company reiterated near-term operational guidance emphasizing product rollouts and capital discipline: a pilot of its DirectBooks new-issue trading solution will begin at the end of May with a broader new-issue/block trading solution and click‑to‑trade on the break coming in H2 2026 (straight‑through processing of allocations slated for August), and management expects to address April market‑share headwinds (adjusted TRACE duplicates may have inflated volumes by up to ~8%, which would have raised MarketAxess’s April market share by ~160 bps) as activity rebounds in May amid a robust new‑issue market (industry forecasts ~ $2 trillion in 2026). Financial and operating metrics underpinning that guidance include record Q1 revenue up 12% to ~$230–233M, total commission revenue $203M (credit commissions $184M), services revenue $30M (+10%), diluted EPS $2.20 GAAP / $2.25 ex‑notables (+20% YoY), operating margin ~44% (+~200 bps), non‑GAAP expenses up 8%, trailing‑12‑month free cash flow $316M, cash/investments $537M, $137M drawn on the facility at end‑April and $205M remaining on the repurchase authorization after completing a $300M ASR and returning $60M; trading KPIs supporting growth include block ADD $7B, global portfolio trading ADV $1.9B (+51%), automation volume $144B, EM volumes +30% with 1,547 active client firms, and U.S. high‑yield open trading penetration at 47%.Marketaxess Holdings Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
80
Positive
Balance Sheet
84
Very Positive
Cash Flow
64
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 869.77M | 849.20M | 817.92M | 750.90M | 718.71M | 701.03M |
| Gross Profit | 587.31M | 593.40M | 573.61M | 524.13M | 519.48M | 528.79M |
| EBITDA | 449.95M | 452.70M | 442.61M | 411.09M | 406.14M | 395.01M |
| Net Income | 306.40M | 246.63M | 274.18M | 258.06M | 250.22M | 257.89M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 2.42B | 1.81B | 1.79B | 2.02B | 1.61B | 1.53B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 245.79M | 568.46M | 649.25M | 522.25M | 464.75M | 517.93M |
| Total Debt | 178.91M | 284.94M | 72.65M | 79.68M | 82.68M | 88.42M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.17B | 650.35M | 400.56M | 722.10M | 526.68M | 489.14M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.24B | 1.15B | 1.39B | 1.29B | 1.08B | 1.04B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 159.94M | 373.94M | 328.67M | 281.32M | 237.36M | 231.47M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 200.28M | 382.14M | 385.24M | 333.77M | 289.23M | 282.09M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -59.49M | -96.72M | -86.94M | -155.29M | -86.27M | -67.69M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -362.33M | -332.37M | -201.38M | -147.06M | -242.38M | -189.78M |
Marketaxess Holdings Technical Analysis
Positive
116.69
Price Trends
134.05
Positive
139.78
Positive
155.74
Positive
Market Momentum
8.11
Positive
85.01
Negative
77.66
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For MKTX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 116.69 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 161.87, below the 50-day MA of 134.05, and below the 200-day MA of 155.74, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 8.11 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 85.01 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 77.66 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for MKTX.
Marketaxess Holdings Risk Analysis
Marketaxess Holdings disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Marketaxess Holdings reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Marketaxess Holdings Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 Outperform | $10.12B | 8.32 | 41.25% | 2.88% | 27.58% | 36.35% | |
78 Outperform | $25.21B | 25.60 | 13.78% | 0.52% | 14.04% | 60.95% | |
77 Outperform | $5.72B | 19.14 | 24.74% | 2.64% | 3.65% | 42.71% | |
74 Outperform | $5.28B | 16.35 | 22.90% | 2.59% | 32.10% | 40.51% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
66 Neutral | $8.40B | 11.24 | 20.18% | ― | 20.57% | 50.19% | |
64 Neutral | $4.27B | 18.71 | 25.84% | 4.51% | 5.74% | -30.53% |
* Financial Sector Average
MKTX
Marketaxess Holdings
162.52
-21.44
-11.65%
SNEX
StoneX Group
69.24
24.81
55.85%
LAZ
Lazard
42.79
-12.57
-22.70%
PIPR
Piper Sandler
74.44
-7.78
-9.47%
VIRT
Virtu Financial
65.74
23.98
57.43%
TW
Tradeweb Markets
107.51
-17.99
-14.33%
Marketaxess Holdings Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyM&A TransactionsPrivate Placements and Financing
ICE to Acquire MarketAxess in All-Cash Merger
Positive
Jul 30, 2026
On July 29, 2026, MarketAxess agreed to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in an all-cash merger under which ICE will pay $167 per share, a 33% premium to the prior close, valuing MarketAxess at about $6.0 billion in equity and $5.7 bi...
Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial DisclosuresM&A Transactions
MarketAxess Reports Q2 Results Amid ICE Acquisition Deal
Positive
Jul 30, 2026
On July 30, 2026, MarketAxess reported second-quarter 2026 results showing total revenue of $218.4 million, broadly unchanged from a year earlier when heightened market volatility had boosted activity, with EPS edging up to $1.93 and record servic...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
MarketAxess Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Governance Status Quo
Positive
Jun 10, 2026
On June 10, 2026, MarketAxess Holdings Inc. held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, with 90.75% of eligible shares represented, and shareholders elected all nominated directors by wide margins, signaling strong support for the current board....
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.