Key Highlights

  • Adjusted EPS of USD 2.02 rose 18% year over year and topped the consensus estimate of USD 1.97.
  • Net Revenue of USD 2.77 billion grew 15%, above the consensus estimate of USD 2.74 billion, with transactions up 23%.
  • Futures and Options Average Daily Volume rose 31%, a third quarter record, while total open interest ended up 13%.
  • Recurring revenue hit a record USD 1.4 billion, up 7%, while the MarketAxess close is targeted for early 2027.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) reported third quarter 2026 adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share of USD 2.02, above a consensus estimate of USD 1.97 and 18% higher than USD 1.71 a year earlier. GAAP diluted EPS was USD 1.67 versus USD 1.42. Revenue net of transaction-based expenses was USD 2.77 billion, above a consensus estimate of USD 2.74 billion, and up from USD 2.41 billion in the prior year quarter.

GAAP Operating Income rose to USD 1.41 billion from USD 1.17 billion, and Net Income attributable to the company was USD 940 million, up 15%. Nine month adjusted EPS of USD 6.27 is up 20%.

Energy and Rates Activity Lifts the Exchanges Segment

Exchanges net revenue was USD 1.5 billion, up 22%, as transaction revenues rose 28%. Energy grew 26%, interest rates 48% and agricultural and metals 62%. TTF volume increased 39%, Brent volume 38%, and Interest Rate volume 49%, with SONIA up 63% and EURIBOR up 40%. Energy open interest ended the quarter at 66 million lots. At the New York Stock Exchange, cash equities and Equity options net revenue grew 25% to USD 132 million, and 73 IPOs have raised USD 26.5 billion year to date.

Fixed Income and Data Services revenue was a record USD 674 million, up 9%, with CDS clearing revenue up 13% to USD 102 million. Mortgage Technology revenue was USD 549 million, up 4% and the company targets about USD 270 million of annualized Black Knight expense synergies by the end of 2026. Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sprecher also described an agreement to operate regulated markets for Trade[XYZ], pending approvals.

Guidance Items and the MarketAxess Financing

For the fourth quarter, the company guided adjusted operating expenses to a range of USD 1,082 million to USD 1,092 million and adjusted non-operating expense to USD 175 million to USD 185 million, with the adjusted tax rate toward the high end of 24% to 26%. Full year capital expenditures are projected near USD 1.05 billion, with the increase tied largely to the purchase of a new Atlanta campus.

The MarketAxess purchase carries an equity value of about USD 6.0 billion, or USD 167 per share in cash. Financing is in place through USD 3.75 billion of senior notes and a USD 2 billion term loan, and early termination of the antitrust Waiting Period by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission supports the targeted close in the first quarter of 2027. Leverage excluding the pre-funded notes stood at 2.65 times. Shareholder returns were USD 693 million in the quarter.

Data Points Behind the Next Report

Futures and options volume is up 13% quarter to date in the fourth quarter, following the 31% third quarter gain. Adjusted operating expenses are guided to USD 1,082 million to USD 1,092 million. The company anticipates Mortgage Technology transaction revenue to decline from both the third quarter and the prior year, with mortgage rates elevated. The MarketAxess closing date in the first quarter of 2027, leverage near 2.65 times and the Trade[XYZ] regulatory approvals remain the dated items on the calendar.