With the HSR clearance received and the merger agreement in place, MKTX shares will trade near the $167.00 offer price, limiting upside. The earnings report itself is largely irrelevant for directional traders; the merger arbitrage spread and deal timeline (stockholder vote, remaining regulatory approvals) is the key driver.
Price Chart
Executive Summary
MarketAxess reported Q3 2026 GAAP EPS of $1.53, down 17% YoY, and revenue of $210.4 million, up 1% YoY. The miss was driven by $13.1 million in merger-related expenses tied to the pending ICE acquisition, which also led to the suspension of guidance and monthly volume releases. The stock will trade on the merger arbitrage spread, not fundamentals.
Key Financial Metrics
Key Facts
- Q3 2026 GAAP EPS of $1.53 vs $1.84 YoY, down 17%
- Q3 2026 revenue of $210.4M, up 1% YoY
- GAAP net income of $54.0M, down 21% YoY
- Excluding notable items, EPS was $1.86, up 1% YoY
- Total expenses of $136.0M, up 10% YoY, driven by $13.1M in merger-related costs
- Total expenses excluding notable items were flat YoY at $122.9M
- Total trading ADV increased 13% YoY
- Block trading ADV up 21%, portfolio trading ADV up 37%
- Services revenue grew 6% YoY to $30.5M
- Commission revenue of $179.9M was flat YoY
- Credit FPM declined 9% YoY to $127
- Board declared $0.78 quarterly dividend
- ICE merger: $167.00/share cash, HSR waiting period terminated Oct 21, 2026
- Guidance and monthly volume releases suspended due to pending merger
- Cash and investments of $539.6M as of Sep 30, 2026
Financial Impact
GAAP EPS miss of ~17% YoY, but ex-notable items EPS was flat YoY. Revenue growth of 1% YoY was in line with expectations. The primary financial impact is the pending $167/share all-cash acquisition by ICE.
Risk Factors
- Merger completion risk (stockholder approval, remaining regulatory conditions)
- Merger-related expenses of $13.1M in Q3 2026
- Suspension of guidance and monthly volume releases
- Declining credit FPM (FPM down 9% YoY)
Market Snapshot
Investment Themes
Documents Analyzed
This report is based on 6 SEC documents filed with EDGAR.
| Document | Accession Number |
|---|---|
| 8-K Filing (Primary) | 0001193125-26-429420 |
| Document: mktx-20261023.htm | 0001193125-26-429420 |
| Document: 0001193125-26-429420-index-headers.html | 0001193125-26-429420 |
| Document: 0001193125-26-429420-index.html | 0001193125-26-429420 |
| Document: 0001193125-26-429420.txt | 0001193125-26-429420 |
| 8-K Data (Synthetic) | 0001193125-26-429420 |
Filters
| Type | Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 23, 2026 3d ago | 8-K | $164.67 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+0.21%) |
Oct 23, 2026 4d ago | 8-K | $164.67 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+0.21%) |
Oct 22, 2026 4d ago | 8-K | $164.66 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+0.22%) |
Sep 29, 2026 27d ago | DEFA14A | $163.92 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+0.67%) |
Sep 18, 2026 5w ago | DEFM14A | $163.33 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+1.03%) |
Sep 11, 2026 6w ago | Insider Cluster | $163.10 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+1.18%) |
Sep 4, 2026 7w ago | PREM14A | $163.32 | awaiting T+60 | — | $165.02 (+1.04%) |
Jul 30, 2026 12w ago | 8-K | $162.76 $164.67 | ▲ +1.17% | ▼ −1.29% | $165.02 (+1.39%) |
Jul 30, 2026 12w ago | DEFA14A | $162.76 $164.67 | ▲ +1.17% | ▼ −1.29% | $165.02 (+1.39%) |
Jul 30, 2026 12w ago | 8-K | $162.76 $164.67 | ▲ +1.17% | ▼ −1.29% | $165.02 (+1.39%) |
US Market Status
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