MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The technology company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $887.83 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 40.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.47 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from MSCI’s conference call:

• MSCI reported strong Q3 results, including 12.4% revenue growth, 12% adjusted EBITDA growth, 14% adjusted EPS growth, and 12% total run-rate growth. Asset-based fees rose 25%, supported by $76 billion of inflows and nearly $23 trillion in assets benchmarked to MSCI indexes.
• Subscription momentum accelerated across key businesses, with index organic run-rate growth of 11.7%, analytics growth of 7.5%, and Private Capital Solutions growth of 19%. Recurring net new sales were particularly strong among asset owners, hedge funds, banks, brokers, and wealth managers.
• Management said AI is increasing the contribution of newer products, accelerating model and dataset creation, and improving operating efficiency. MSCI plans to reinvest those productivity gains into new products, client segments, and agentic analytics rather than target near-term margin expansion.
• Sustainability and climate remain pressured by elevated cancellations and a sizable sustainability down-sale; management expects recurring net new sales in the combined segment to be roughly flat to slightly positive in Q4. First Street is integrating as planned, with growing demand for physical-risk products viewed as a longer-term offset.
• MSCI expects to finish 2026 at the high end of its expense guidance due to acquisition costs, higher performance-based stock compensation, accelerated severance, and increased interest expense tied to share repurchases. While full-year free-cash-flow guidance was maintained, quarterly cash flow may remain lumpy.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $593.09 on Wednesday. MSCI has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $559.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $576.20. The firm has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 44.86%.

MSCI News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates: MSCI reported revenue of $892 million, up 12.4% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share reached $5.11 versus the $5.03 consensus estimate. MSCI Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter and Nine Months 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Asset-based fees led growth: Index revenue increased 18.1%, supported by a 24.9% increase in asset-based fees. ETF assets linked to MSCI indexes reached a record $2.90 trillion, reinforcing the company’s recurring, scalable revenue model. MSCI beats Q3 2026 estimates as ETF assets hit a record $2.90 trillion
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and capital returns remained supportive: Operating income rose 12.2% to $502.1 million, and MSCI repurchased $552.3 million of shares during the quarter. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, or $8.20 annualized. MSCI Q3 Revenue Rises 12.4% to $892 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s outlook avoided a major negative surprise: Reports indicated that free-cash-flow guidance was affirmed, while the earnings call highlighted record asset-based-fee performance and strong recurring sales in Analytics and Private Capital Solutions. MSCI Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market conditions were also favorable, with Asian equities and U.S. futures rising as the artificial-intelligence trade revived, providing a supportive backdrop for financial and market-data stocks. Global Market Today: Asian shares, US futures rise on AI-trade revival
• Negative Sentiment: MSCI’s threat to downgrade or exclude Indonesia from its emerging-market benchmarks has created market disruption and reputational attention, although the issue has not yet appeared to materially weaken MSCI’s reported quarterly financial performance. Explainer: MSCI’s case against Indonesian stocks and the $65 billion fallout

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $256,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $685.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore set a $722.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $662.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twelve have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $687.00.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for developing equity, fixed-income and multi-asset indexes used to benchmark portfolios and support the creation of investment products such as exchange-traded funds.

In addition to its indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-attribution tools, as well as research and data covering environmental, social and governance factors, climate risk and sustainable investing.