MarketAxess Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) reported record full-year 2024 revenue of $817.1 million, up 9% from 2023. The company achieved record commission revenue across emerging markets, Eurobonds, and municipal bonds, with a combined 15% increase. Q4 2024 total revenues were $202.4 million, with diluted EPS of $1.73 on net income of $65.1 million.

Key highlights include 9% growth in U.S. high-grade commission revenue, though offset by a 17% decline in U.S. high-yield commission revenue. Record rates commission revenue increased 21%, while services revenue grew 18% to $105.4 million. Total expenses increased 9% to $476.2 million. Full-year EPS rose 6% to $7.28 on net income of $274.2 million.

For 2025, the company expects services revenue to grow in mid-single digits and expenses to range between $505-525 million. The company repurchased 341,477 shares for $75 million in 2024, with $220 million remaining under authorization.

Positive

• Record full-year revenue of $817.1M, up 9%
• Record commission revenue growth of 15% in emerging markets, Eurobonds, and municipal bonds
• Services revenue increased 18% to $105.4M
• Full-year EPS increased 6% to $7.28
• Record rates commission revenue, up 21%

Negative

• 17% decline in U.S. high-yield commission revenue
• Q4 net income decreased 6% year-over-year
• Total expenses increased 9% to $476.2M
• Q4 market share in U.S. high-grade decreased to 18.4% from 20.9% year-over-year
• Expected 8% increase in expenses for 2025

Insights

Financial Analyst

The FY2024 results reveal a company successfully executing its diversification strategy while facing competitive pressures in core markets. The record revenue of $817.1M demonstrates strong execution, but beneath this headline number lies a more nuanced story.

The decline in U.S. high-grade market share from 20.9% to 18.4% YoY is concerning, as this remains the company's core profit center. However, this is partially offset by impressive growth in international segments and rates trading, suggesting the diversification strategy is bearing fruit. The 15% growth in emerging markets, Eurobonds and municipal bonds indicates successful geographic and product expansion.

Margin compression is becoming evident with operating margins declining 70 basis points YoY to 33.6%. This trend, combined with the 2025 expense guidance of $505-525M (approximately 8% growth), suggests continued pressure on profitability as the company invests in growth initiatives.

The strategic focus on three market channels - client-initiated, portfolio trading and dealer-initiated - appears well-conceived. The 22% increase in emerging markets block trading and 200 basis point gain in U.S. high-grade portfolio trading market share validate this approach.

Capital allocation remains shareholder-friendly with $75M in share repurchases during 2024 and a maintained quarterly dividend of $0.76. The strong balance sheet with $698.6M in cash and investments provides ample flexibility for continued investment in growth initiatives while returning capital to shareholders.

Record Full Year Revenue of $817 Million, Up 9%

Strong Full Year Commission Revenue Growth Across Most Product Areas

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, 2024.

4Q24 select financial and operational highlights*

• Total revenues of $202.4 million, including an increase of approximately $1.0 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
  • 15% growth in emerging markets and Eurobonds commission revenue, reflecting strong geographic diversification.
  • Record rates commission revenue, up 53%.
• Total expenses of $122.4 million, up 2%, including an increase of approximately $0.9 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $1.73 on net income of $65.1 million.

Full Year 2024 select financial and operational highlights**

• 9% increase in total revenues to a record $817.1 million, including Pragma revenue of $31.7 million and an increase of approximately $3.0 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
  • 9% growth in U.S. high-grade commission revenue, helped offset a 17% decline in U.S. high-yield commission revenue, driven by low levels of credit spread volatility.
  • Record commission revenue across emerging markets, Eurobonds and municipal bonds, up a combined 15%.
  • Record rates commission revenue, up 21%.
  • Record services revenue (combined information, post-trade and technology services revenue) of $105.4 million, up 18%, including the benefit from Pragma.
• 9% increase in total expenses to $476.2 million, including Pragma operating expenses of $32.0 million and an increase of approximately $2.4 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• 6% increase in EPS to $7.28 on net income of $274.2 million.

*All comparisons versus 4Q23.
** All comparisons versus full year 2023.

Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, commented:

“In 2024, we made significant strides in enhancing our client franchise, increasing client engagement with X-Pro, delivering progress with our high touch strategy, and achieving record levels of revenue and ADV across most product areas and regions.

We expect to build on this momentum in 2025 by focusing on key initiatives within three market channels. First, in the client-initiated channel, where we hold a clear leadership position, we launched our block trading solution in Eurobonds and emerging markets. We have seen early positive signs of success with a 22% increase in emerging markets block trading. Next, in the portfolio trading channel, in 2024, we gained over 200 basis points of U.S. high-grade market share and launched benchmark pricing for U.S. Credit and Eurobonds. Last, in the dealer-initiated channel, we expect to complete the integration of Dealer RFQ on X-Pro and the migration of Mid-X to Pragma technology in the second half of 2025.

We have clear visibility into the completion of these key initiatives and believe that executing our strategy across these three channels will drive market share growth throughout 2025 and long-term value for our shareholders.”

Table 1: 4Q24 select financial results

$ in millions, except per share data (unaudited)	Revenues	Operating Income	Net Income	Diluted EPS	Net Income Margin (%)	EBITDA1	EBITDA Margin (%)1
4Q24	$202	$80	$65	$1.73	32.2%	$97	47.8%
3Q24	$207	$87	$71	$1.90	34.6%	$105	50.8%
4Q23	$197	$77	$70	$1.84	35.3%	$99	50.0%
YoY % Change	3%	4%	(6%)	(6%)	(310) bps	(2%)	(220) bps
QoQ % Change	(2%)	(8%)	(9%)	(9%)	(240) bps	(8%)	(300) bps
FY 2024	$817	$341	$274	$7.28	33.6%	$410	50.2%
FY 2023	$753	$315	$258	$6.85	34.3%	$383	50.9%
% Change	9%	8%	6%	6%	(70) bps	7%	(70) bps

Table 1A: 4Q24 trading volume (ADV)

			CREDIT						RATES
$ in millions (unaudited)	US/UK Trading Days2	Total ADV	Total Credit	High- Grade	High- Yield	Emerging Markets	Eurobonds	Municipal Bonds	Total Rates	US Govt. Bonds	Agcy./Other Govt. Bonds
4Q24	62/64	$41,030	$13,883	$6,454	$1,345	$3,459	$2,001	$620	$27,147	$25,952	$1,195
3Q24	64/65	$40,516	$14,116	$7,027	$1,278	$3,333	$1,891	$577	$26,400	$25,302	$1,098
4Q23	62/63	$29,641	$13,108	$6,215	$1,653	$2,927	$1,767	$539	$16,533	$16,106	$427
YoY % Change		38%	6%	4%	(19%)	18%	13%	15%	64%	61%	180%
QoQ % Change		1%	(2%)	(8%)	5%	4%	6%	7%	3%	3%	9%

Table 1B: 4Q24 estimated market share

	CREDIT				RATES
(unaudited)	High-Grade	High-Yield	High-Grade/High-Yield Combined	Municipals3	US Govt. Bonds3
4Q24	18.4%	13.4%	17.3%	7.1%	2.8%
3Q24	19.5%	13.0%	18.1%	8.7%	2.6%
4Q23	20.9%	17.2%	20.0%	5.6%	2.0%
YoY Bps Change	(250) bps	(380) bps	(270) bps	+150 bps	+80 bps
QoQ Bps Change	(110) bps	+40 bps	(80) bps	(160) bps	+20 bps

4Q24 overview of results

Commission revenue and trading volume

Credit

Credit Commission Revenue

• Total credit commission revenue of $162.2 million (including $32.8 million in fixed-distribution fees) increased $0.3 million, or 0.2%, compared to $161.9 million (including $34.6 million in fixed-distribution fees) in the prior year. Strong growth in our international product areas, including 18% growth in emerging markets and 10% growth in Eurobonds, was mostly offset by lower estimated market share in U.S. high grade, and historically low levels of credit spread volatility in U.S. high-yield, resulting in lower estimated market share. Variable transaction fees per million (“FPM”) were $150, compared to $156 in the prior year and $149 in 3Q24. The decline in FPM compared to the prior year was mainly due to product mix-shift, principally lower levels of U.S. high-yield activity. The decrease in fixed-distribution fees was principally driven by migrations to variable fee plans.

Credit Trading Volumes

U.S. Credit⁵

• U.S. high-grade ADV of $6.5 billion increased 4% compared to the prior year, but decreased 8% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market ADV increased 18% compared to the prior year, but decreased 3% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market share was 18.4%, down from 20.9% in the prior year, and down from 19.5% in 3Q24. Including the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, estimated market share was 18.8%, down from 21.0% in the prior year, and down from 20.0% in 3Q24.
• U.S. high-yield ADV of $1.3 billion decreased 19% compared to the prior year, but increased 5% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market ADV increased 5% compared to the prior year, and increased 2% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market share was 13.4%, down from 17.2% in the prior year, but up from 13.0% in 3Q24. Including the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, estimated market share was 13.7%, down from 17.3% in the prior year, but up from 13.4% in 3Q24.

Other Credit

• Emerging markets ADV of $3.5 billion increased 18% compared to the prior year, and increased 4% compared to 3Q24. The year-over-year increase was driven by a 26% increase in hard currency ADV, and a 7% increase in local currency ADV.
• Eurobonds ADV of $2.0 billion increased 13% compared to the prior year, and increased 6% compared to 3Q24.
• Record municipal bond ADV of $620 million increased 15% compared to the prior year, and increased 7% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market ADV decreased 9% compared to the prior year, but increased 32% compared to 3Q24. Estimated market share was 7.1%, up from 5.6% in the prior year, but down from a record 8.7% in 3Q24.³

Strategic Priority Related Protocols & Workflow Tools

• $1.1 billion in total portfolio trading ADV increased 57% compared to the prior year, but decreased 8% compared to 3Q24. A record 71% of portfolio trading volume was executed over X-Pro.
  • Estimated U.S. high-grade and U.S. high-yield TRACE portfolio trading market ADV was flat compared to 3Q24.
• Our estimated market share of U.S. high-grade and U.S. high-yield TRACE portfolio trading was 16.2%, down from 20.0% in 3Q24.
  • Portfolio trading represented approximately 11% of U.S. high-grade and U.S. high-yield TRACE in 4Q24, in line with 3Q24.
• Open Trading ADV of $4.1 billion increased 2% compared to the prior year, and was in line with 3Q24. Open Trading share⁴ of total credit trading volume was 35%, down from 36% in the prior year, but in line with 3Q24 levels.
• Dealer RFQ ADV of $1.2 billion across all credit products increased 8% compared to the prior year, and increased 5% compared to 3Q24.
• AxessIQ, the order and execution workflow solution designed for wealth management and private banking clients, achieved record ADV of $147 million, up 6% compared to the prior year, and up 14% compared to 3Q24.

Rates

• Record total rates commission revenue of $7.3 million increased $2.5 million, or 53%. Record total rates ADV of $27.1 billion increased 64% compared to the prior year, and increased 3% compared to 3Q24. U.S. Treasury ADV on the platform in November 2023 was negatively impacted by an outage at ICBC, the third-party the Company was then using for U.S. Treasury settlement services.

Other

• Total other commission revenue was $5.2 million, which consists of Pragma commission revenue.

Services revenue

Information services

• Information services revenue of $13.2 million increased $1.2 million, or 10% compared to the prior year. The increase in revenue was principally driven by net new data contract revenue and an increase of $0.3 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Post-trade services

• Post-trade services revenue of $11.0 million was flat compared to the prior year mainly due to an increase of $0.2 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, offset by lower end-of-year resubmissions revenue.

Technology services

• Total technology services revenue of $3.5 million, up from $2.5 million in the prior year. The increase was driven by higher Pragma-related license fees.

Expenses

• Total expenses of $122.4 million increased 2% from the prior year, including an increase of $0.9 million from the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Non-operating

• Other income (expense): Other income was $4.6 million, down from $6.8 million in the prior year. The current year includes an unrealized loss on U.S. Treasury investments of $1.9 million compared to an unrealized gain in the prior year of $0.9 million.
• Tax rate: The effective tax rate was 23.0%, up from 16.9% in the prior year. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily due to lower one-time tax benefits recognized in 4Q24 compared to 4Q23.

Capital

• The Company had $698.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, corporate bond investments and U.S. Treasury investments as of December 31, 2024, up from $602.5 million as of September 30, 2024 and $575.7 million as of December 31, 2023. There were no outstanding borrowings under the Company’s credit facility.
• For the full year 2024, a total of 341,477 shares were repurchased at a cost of $75.0 million, including 63,873 shares repurchased during the fourth quarter at a cost of $16.4 million. As of January 31, 2025, a total of $220.0 million remained under the aggregate authorizations by the Company’s Board of Directors.
• The Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.76 per share, payable on March 5, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2025.

Other

• Employee headcount was 891 as of December 31, 2024, up from 881 as of December 31, 2023, and up from 881 as of September 30, 2024.

Guidance

For the full year 2025, the Company is providing the following guidance which is based on foreign exchange rates as of December 31, 2024:

• Services revenue (combined Information Services, Post-Trade Services and Technology Services) is expected to grow in the mid-single digits (percent).
• Expenses are expected to be in the range of $505.0 million to $525.0 million. Based on the midpoint of the stated guidance range, total expenses are expected to increase by approximately 8%.
• The effective tax rate is expected to be between 23.5% and 24.5%, assuming no material changes in applicable tax laws.
• Capital expenditures to support new protocols, products and trading platform enhancements are expected to be in the range of $65.0 million to $70.0 million.

1		EBITDA and EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to “Non-GAAP financial measures and other items” for a discussion of these non-GAAP financial measures.
2		The number of U.S. trading days is based on the SIFMA holiday recommendation calendar and the number of U.K. trading days is based primarily on the U.K. bank holiday schedule.
3		See “General Notes Regarding the Data Presented” below.
4		Open Trading share of total credit trading volume is derived by taking total Open Trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered and dividing by total credit trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered.
5		The Company is currently highlighting the impact of single-dealer portfolio trading volume on U.S. high-grade and U.S. high-yield trading volume and estimated market share, but will continue to exclude single-dealer portfolio trading activity from each product’s aggregated trading volume and estimated market share and the total credit FPM calculation.

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 measures of financial performance, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), EBITDA margin and free cash flow. 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. 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. See the attached schedule for a reconciliation of GAAP net income to EBITDA, GAAP net income margin to EBITDA margin and GAAP net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities to free cash flow.

Please refer to Tables 6 & 7 for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Webcast and conference call information

Chris Concannon, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Schiffman, Global Head of Trading Solutions, and Ilene Fiszel Bieler, Chief Financial Officer will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results and outlook on Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. ET. To access the conference call, please dial 646-307-1963 (U.S./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.

For periods beginning with January 2024, the Company has made changes to the market volume data used to calculate estimated market share for Municipal and U.S. Government Bonds. For Municipal Bonds, the Company previously used estimates, derived from data issued by the Municipal Securities Rule Making Board (“MSRB”), including estimates for new issuance, commercial paper and variable-rate trading activity, and excluded these volumes from the estimated market volume data. While the Company still uses estimates, the new methodology for identifying and excluding these volumes from the market volume data is now based on MSRB “flags” to identify new issuance, commercial paper, and variable-rate volumes. For U.S. Government Bonds, the previous data source for estimated market volumes was the Federal Reserve Bank’s Reported Primary Dealer U.S. Treasury Bond Trading Volumes, which was reported on a one-week lag. The new source for U.S. Government Bond trading volumes is FINRA’s U.S. Treasury TRACE data. The Company believes that the refined methodology used for Municipal Bonds, and the new data source for U.S. Government Bonds, provides more accurate measures of estimated market volumes and estimated market share. Prior comparable periods have been recast retrospectively for both Municipal and U.S. Government Bonds to conform to the updated presentation of the data. The new estimated market volume data is also 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, product/protocol availability and ability to increase estimated market share, market conditions and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company’s future financial and operating performance. 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; 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 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; adverse effects as a result of climate change or other ESG risks that could affect our 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. Over 2,000 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
		Three Months Ended													Year Ended
		December 31,													December 31,
In thousands, except per share data (unaudited)		2024				2023				% Change					2024				2023				% Change
Revenues
Commissions		$	174,766			$	171,891				2		%		$	711,710			$	662,964				7		%
Information services			13,155				11,917				10					50,540				46,383				9
Post-trade services			10,975				10,950				-					42,487				40,178				6
Technology services			3,508				2,490				41					12,360				3,022			NM
Total revenues			202,404				197,248				3					817,097				752,547				9
Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits			59,395				57,356				4					235,880				206,926				14
Depreciation and amortization			18,540				19,530				(5	)				73,824				70,557				5
Technology and communications			18,791				17,228				9					72,166				62,801				15
Professional and consulting fees			6,329				7,604				(17	)				27,382				31,935				(14	)
Occupancy			3,716				3,903				(5	)				14,690				14,216				3
Marketing and advertising			3,972				2,646				50					11,713				11,049				6
Clearing costs			4,443				4,610				(4	)				17,863				17,002				5
General and administrative			7,242				7,344				(1	)				22,709				23,042				(1	)
Total expenses			122,428				120,221				2					476,227				437,528				9
Operating income			79,976				77,027				4					340,870				315,019				8
Other income (expense)
Interest income			6,719				6,274				7					26,046				22,425				16
Interest expense			(318	)			(1,636	)			(81	)				(1,601	)			(1,983	)			(19	)
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliate			331				156				112					1,395				735				90
Other, net			(2,113	)			1,991			NM						(6,164	)			(3,496	)			76
Total other income (expense)			4,619				6,785				(32	)				19,676				17,681				11
Income before income taxes			84,595				83,812				1					360,546				332,700				8
Provision for income taxes			19,456				14,185				37					86,365				74,645				16
Net income		$	65,139			$	69,627				(6	)			$	274,181			$	258,055				6
Per Share Data:
Net income per common share
Basic		$	1.74			$	1.85								$	7.29			$	6.87
Diluted		$	1.73			$	1.84								$	7.28			$	6.85
Cash dividends declared per common share		$	0.74			$	0.72								$	2.96			$	2.88
Weighted-average common shares:
Basic			37,479				37,730									37,600				37,546
Diluted			37,601				37,809									37,672				37,654
NM - not meaningful

Table 3: Commission Revenue Detail
In thousands, except fee per million data			Three Months Ended December 31,													Year Ended December 31,
(unaudited)			2024				2023				% Change					2024				2023				% Change
Variable transaction fees
Credit			$	129,351			$	127,283				2		%		$	533,363			$	496,028				8		%
Rates				7,262				4,735				53					25,165				20,749				21
Other				5,235				4,979				5					20,016				4,979			NM
Total variable transaction fees				141,848				136,997				4					578,544				521,756				11
Fixed distribution fees
Credit				32,849				34,581				(5	)				132,898				140,700				(6	)
Rates				69				57				21					268				252				6
Other				-				256			NM						-				256			NM
Total fixed distribution fees				32,918				34,894				(6	)				133,166				141,208				(6	)
Total commission revenue			$	174,766			$	171,891				2				$	711,710			$	662,964				7
Average variable transaction fee per million
Credit			$	149.59			$	156.28				(4	)	%		$	150.26			$	158.61				(5	)	%
Rates				4.31				4.62				(7	)				4.39				4.46				(2	)
Table 4: Trading Volume Detail*
			Three Months Ended December 31,
In millions (unaudited)			2024								2023									% Change
			Volume				ADV				Volume					ADV				Volume				ADV
Credit
High-grade			$	400,129			$	6,454			$	385,301				$	6,215				4		%		4		%
High-yield				83,373				1,345				102,501					1,653				(19	)			(19	)
Emerging markets				214,439				3,459				181,445					2,927				18				18
Eurobonds				128,064				2,001				111,330					1,767				15				13
Other credit				38,698				624				33,854					546				14				14
Total credit trading				864,703				13,883				814,431					13,108				6				6
Rates
U.S. government bonds				1,608,995				25,952				998,542					16,106				61				61
Agency and other government bonds				76,221				1,195				26,684					427				186				180
Total rates trading				1,685,216				27,147				1,025,226					16,533				64				64
Total trading			$	2,549,919			$	41,030			$	1,839,657				$	29,641				39				38
Number of U.S. Trading Days1							62									62
Number of U.K. Trading Days2							64									63
			Year Ended December 31,
In millions (unaudited)			2024								2023									% Change
			Volume				ADV				Volume					ADV				Volume				ADV
Credit
High-grade			$	1,711,275			$	6,845			$	1,457,559				$	5,854				17		%		17		%
High-yield				334,761				1,339				398,275					1,599				(16	)			(16	)
Emerging markets				859,412				3,438				717,877					2,883				20				19
Eurobonds				508,093				2,008				441,171					1,758				15				14
Other credit				135,975				543				112,451					451				21				20
Total credit trading				3,549,516				14,173				3,127,333					12,545				13				13
Rates
U.S. government bonds				5,511,045				22,044				4,545,850					18,256				21				21
Agency and other government bonds				227,614				902				106,933					427				113				111
Total rates trading				5,738,659				22,946				4,652,783					18,683				23				23
Total trading			$	9,288,175			$	37,119			$	7,780,116				$	31,228				19				19
Number of U.S. Trading Days1							250									249
Number of U.K. Trading Days2							253									251
1 The number of U.S. trading days is based on the SIFMA holiday recommendation calendar.
2 The number of U.K. trading days is based on the U.K. Bank holiday schedule.
*Consistent with FINRA TRACE reporting standards, both sides of trades are included in the Company's reported volumes when the Company executes trades on a matched principal basis between two counterparties. Consistent with industry standards, U.S. government bond trades are single-counted.
NM - not meaningful

Table 5: Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet Data
		As of
In thousands (unaudited)		December 31, 2024				December 31, 2023
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$	544,478			$	451,280
Cash segregated under federal regulations			47,107				45,122
Investments, at fair value			165,260				134,861
Accounts receivable, net			91,845				89,839
Receivables from broker-dealers, clearing organizations and customers			357,728				687,936
Goodwill			236,706				236,706
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization			98,078				119,108
Furniture, equipment, leasehold improvements and capitalized software, net			107,298				102,671
Operating lease right-of-use assets			58,132				63,045
Prepaid expenses and other assets			82,584				84,499
Total assets		$	1,789,216			$	2,015,067
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Liabilities
Accrued employee compensation		$	68,054			$	60,124
Payables to broker-dealers, clearing organizations and customers			218,845				537,398
Income and other tax liabilities			3,683				7,892
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities			37,320				37,013
Operating lease liabilities			72,654				79,677
Total liabilities			400,556				722,104
Stockholders' equity
Common stock			123				123
Additional paid-in capital			350,701				333,292
Treasury stock			(333,369	)			(260,298	)
Retained earnings			1,405,904				1,244,216
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(34,699	)			(24,370	)
Total stockholders' equity			1,388,660				1,292,963
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity		$	1,789,216			$	2,015,067

Table 6: Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Net Income Margin to EBITDA Margin
		Three Months Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,
In thousands (unaudited)		2024				2023					2024				2023
Net income		$	65,139			$	69,627				$	274,181			$	258,055
Add back:
Interest income			(6,719	)			(6,274	)				(26,046	)			(22,425	)
Interest expense			318				1,636					1,601				1,983
Provision for income taxes			19,456				14,185					86,365				74,645
Depreciation and amortization			18,540				19,530					73,824				70,557
EBITDA		$	96,734			$	98,704				$	409,925			$	382,815
Net income margin1			32.2	%			35.3	%				33.6	%			34.3	%
Add back:
Interest income			(3.3	)			(3.2	)				(3.2	)			(3.0	)
Interest expense			0.2				0.8					0.2				0.3
Provision for income taxes			9.5				7.2					10.6				9.9
Depreciation and amortization			9.2				9.9					9.0				9.4
EBITDA margin2			47.8	%			50.0	%				50.2	%			50.9	%
Table 7: Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow
		Three Months Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,
In thousands (unaudited)		2024				2023					2024				2023
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities		$	176,248			$	141,685				$	385,237			$	333,767
Exclude: Net change in trading investments			—				948					629				25,248
Exclude: Net change in fail-to-deliver/receive from broker-dealers, clearing organizations and customers			(51,833	)			(34,354	)				(1,118	)			(46,696	)
Less: Purchases of furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements			(215	)			(2,071	)				(9,942	)			(9,326	)
Less: Capitalization of software development costs			(10,833	)			(11,320	)				(46,623	)			(43,122	)
Free cash flow		$	113,367			$	94,888				$	328,183			$	259,871
1 Net income margin is derived by dividing net income by total revenues for the applicable period.
2 EBITDA margin is derived by dividing EBITDA by total revenues for the applicable period.

 

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INVESTOR RELATIONS

Stephen Davidson

MarketAxess Holdings Inc.

+1 212 813 6313

sdavidson2@marketaxess.com

MEDIA RELATIONS

Marisha Mistry

MarketAxess Holdings Inc.

+1 917 267 1232

mmistry@marketaxess.com

Source: MarketAxess Holdings Inc.

FAQ

What was MarketAxess (MKTX) full-year revenue for 2024?

MarketAxess reported record full-year revenue of $817.1 million in 2024, representing a 9% increase from 2023.

How much did MKTX's U.S. high-yield commission revenue decline in 2024?

MarketAxess's U.S. high-yield commission revenue declined by 17% in 2024, primarily due to low levels of credit spread volatility.

What is MKTX's share buyback status as of January 2025?

As of January 31, 2025, MarketAxess had $220.0 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization, after repurchasing 341,477 shares for $75.0 million in 2024.

What is MarketAxess's expense guidance for 2025?

MarketAxess expects expenses to be in the range of $505.0 million to $525.0 million for 2025, representing approximately 8% increase based on the midpoint.

How did MKTX's Q4 2024 market share perform in U.S. high-grade bonds?

MKTX's Q4 2024 estimated market share in U.S. high-grade bonds was 18.4%, down from 20.9% in Q4 2023 and down from 19.5% in Q3 2024.