MSCI Inc. (MSCI) Earnings

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Dec 2026upcoming

Next quarter

Expected to report Jan 27, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.

Consensus is $5.09 EPS for Dec 2026 across 6 estimates, ranging $4.94 to $5.27.

MSCI Sep 2026

Reported Oct 20, 2026 · before the open

: 2.61%

: $4.98
: $5.11
: —
: $892.00M

Reported results

: $892.00M; from $793.40M
: $502.10M; from $447.60M
: 56.29%; from 56.42%
: $351.00M; from $325.30M
: $4.86; from $4.25

Highlights

Adjusted EPS was $5.11, 2.6% above the $4.98 consensus and up 14.3% year over year; GAAP diluted EPS was $4.86, up 14.4%.
Revenue growth was broad but led by Index and asset-based fees: operating revenue rose 12.4% to $892.0 million, with organic growth of 12.3%; revenue increased 2.9% from Q2’s $867.0 million.
Index and asset-based fees supplied the strongest growth: Index revenue increased 18.1% to $532.6 million, while asset-based fees rose 24.9% to $246.6 million on record linked-fund AUM and $76 billion of equity ETF inflows.
Recurring demand strengthened: total Run Rate reached $3.572 billion, up 12.1%, including 8.7% organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth; net new recurring subscription sales were $54.8 million, up 41.2%.
Segment performance diverged: Analytics revenue grew 4.8% to $191.0 million and adjusted EBITDA fell 4.9%; Sustainability and Climate revenue grew 4.0%, but organic growth was 2.2% and retention declined to 91.0%.
Margins held nearly flat despite expense growth: operating margin was 56.3% versus 56.4% a year ago, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 62.2% versus 62.3%; adjusted EBITDA increased 12.2% to $554.8 million.
Cash flow and capital returns: operating cash flow was $436.1 million, down 3.0%, and free cash flow was $385.4 million, down 8.9%; MSCI repurchased $552.3 million of shares and paid $147.5 million in dividends.
2026 guidance was largely maintained: expense, capex and cash-flow ranges were unchanged, while interest expense guidance rose to $288–$291 million from $282–$286 million and the tax-rate range narrowed to 18.0%–19.5%.

Analysis

MSCI delivered a solid Q3, with adjusted EPS of $5.11 beating the $4.98 consensus by 2.6%. Revenue of $892.0 million rose 12.4% year over year and 2.9% from Q2; operating income increased 12.2% year over year to $502.1 million. GAAP net income grew more slowly, up 7.9% to $351.0 million, as net other expense increased 45.2%, primarily on higher interest expense. GAAP diluted EPS was $4.86, up from $4.69 in Q2 and $4.25 a year ago; adjusted EPS was up 14.3% year over year.

The defining feature was Index momentum, powered by market-linked fees and strong subscription sales. Asset-based fees grew 24.9%, Index revenue rose 18.1%, and total Run Rate increased 12.1% to $3.572 billion. Net new recurring subscription sales reached $54.8 million, while retention improved to 95.0%. That strength contrasted with slower growth in Analytics and continued pressure in Sustainability and Climate, where cancellations outpaced new recurring sales. Margins were essentially stable even as operating expenses rose 12.8%. Management kept most full-year guidance unchanged, raised interest-expense guidance, and described AI as a means to redirect productivity savings into product development and growth rather than target margin expansion.

Index and asset-based fees

Index growth Index revenue rose 18.1% to $532.6 million, accounting for most of the $98.6 million consolidated revenue increase. Organic Index revenue growth was 18.0%; recurring subscriptions grew 11.1% and asset-based fees 24.9%.
AUM-linked fees Asset-based fees increased $49.1 million to $246.6 million. MSCI cited record AUM across ETFs and non-ETF indexed funds, with $76 billion of equity ETF cash inflows during the quarter; linked ETF AUM ended at $2.905 trillion, compared with $2.211 trillion a year earlier.
Index Run Rate Index Run Rate reached $2.083 billion, up 16.5%, including organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth of 11.7%. Management pointed to demand across client groups and products, including 32% growth in hedge-fund subscription Run Rate and 26% growth in custom-index subscription Run Rate.

Recurring sales and retention

Run Rate base Total Run Rate increased 12.1% to $3.572 billion; organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth was 8.7%, and retention improved to 95.0% from 94.7% a year earlier.
Net new sales MSCI generated $54.8 million of net new recurring subscription sales, up 41.2% year over year. New recurring sales were $85.8 million and cancellations were $31.0 million. Management called the quarter a record for Analytics and Private Capital Solutions and the best-ever Q3 for Index.
Client mix Management said recurring net new sales grew 88% in Private Capital Solutions, 63% in Analytics and 40% in Index. Asset owners more than tripled sales year over year, and Asia-Pacific had its best quarter; the largest client-segment growth was in asset owners and hedge funds.

Uneven segment growth

Analytics Revenue rose 4.8% to $191.0 million, with organic growth of 5.2%. Organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth was 7.5%, but adjusted EBITDA declined 4.9% to $85.7 million and margin contracted to 44.9% from 49.4% as expenses grew 14.3%. Management cited strategic wins and said Analytics sales can be lumpy quarter to quarter.
Sustainability and Climate Revenue rose 4.0% to $93.7 million, but organic revenue growth was 2.2% and organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth was 2.4%. Retention was 91.0%, down from 93.6%, with a sizable client downsell contributing to elevated cancellations; management expects Q4 recurring net new sales to be roughly flat to slightly positive.
Private Assets All Other–Private Assets revenue grew 6.7% to $74.7 million and Run Rate rose 8.9% to $310.9 million, supported by Private Capital Solutions products. Management reported 19% subscription Run Rate growth in Private Capital Solutions, while Real Assets organic subscription Run Rate growth was 2%.

AI and investment priorities

Management framed AI primarily as a way to accelerate innovation and redirect productivity gains, not as a near-term margin-expansion target. It said AI-enabled processes can speed model creation, build specialized datasets and support newer private-market diligence tools; the contribution of new products to Q3 sales was more than 50% higher than a year earlier. Executives described client adoption of agentic access as early, and said they are developing connectivity through MSCI applications, external platforms and client-side agents. The operating plan is to reduce the growth rate of expenses supporting the existing business over time while reinvesting savings in new products, use cases and client segments. Headcount was 6,259, up 0.1% year over year.

Margins, cash flow and guidance

Profitability Operating income grew 12.2% to $502.1 million, while the operating margin eased 10 basis points to 56.3%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 12.2% to $554.8 million and its margin was 62.2%, down 10 basis points. Expenses rose 12.8%, reflecting higher IT, professional fees, market data and compensation costs.
Cash generation Operating cash flow declined 3.0% to $436.1 million and free cash flow fell 8.9% to $385.4 million. Management attributed quarterly cash-flow pressure principally to higher cash interest payments, while maintaining full-year free cash flow guidance of $1.485–$1.545 billion.
Capital and outlook MSCI repurchased $552.3 million of shares during Q3; the weighted-average diluted share count fell 5.6% year over year to 72.3 million. Debt was $6.8 billion, with debt to adjusted EBITDA at 3.2x. Full-year expense, capex and cash-flow guidance was unchanged; interest expense guidance increased to $288–$291 million, and the effective tax-rate range narrowed to 18.0%–19.5%. Management expects expenses near the top of its full-year guidance ranges.

MSCI Inc.

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