MarketAxess Holdings Inc. MKTX announced impressive growth in its trading volumes for the fourth quarter of 2024 and December. The total credit average daily trading volume (ADV) reached nearly $13.9 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of more than 6%. This growth was driven by notable gains across various segments, including a 4% rise in U.S. high-grade ADV, an 18% boost in emerging markets ADV and 13% growth in Eurobonds ADV. Total ADV rose 38% to $41 billion in the December quarter.

One of the standout performers was the Municipal Bond segment, with ADV jumping 37% year over year in December alone. However, U.S. high-yield trading activity declined on the platform in December 2024. It dropped 18.7% year over year in the fourth quarter against 0.3% growth in the third quarter of 2024. Its estimated market share fell 380 basis points year over year in the fourth quarter.

The company’s order and execution workflow solution, AxessIQ, reached $147 million ADV, increasing 6% year over year. Client engagement with X-Pro was also robust, with 71% of portfolio trading volume executed on the trading interface in the fourth quarter. Due to the product mix shift, its fourth quarter FPM for total credit was around $150, down 3.8% from the year-ago period. Higher trading volumes and continued solid Eurobonds’ performance will likely buoy MKTX’s fourth-quarter results.

Final Takeaway

Looking ahead, these positive trends are likely to have supported MarketAxess' fourth-quarter financial results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MarketAxess’ fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.85 per share, which indicates 0.5% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $212.6 million, suggesting a 7.8% year-over-year increase. The company has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 4.2%.

MarketAxess is experiencing strong growth across key trading segments, with notable success in Eurobonds and emerging markets. While challenges persist in the U.S. high-yield segment, the company's expanding trading volume and its robust block trading solution highlight promising future prospects. Currently, MarketAxess holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), making it a stock worth adding to your portfolio.

Price Performance

MarketAxess stock has gained 8.8% in the past six months compared with 15.3% growth of the industry it belongs to.

MKTX's 6-Month Price Performance

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Other Key Picks

Some other top-ranked stocks in the Finance space are United Fire Group, Inc. UFCS, Community Financial System, Inc. CBU and W. R. Berkley Corporation WRB. United Fire Group and Community Financial System currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and W.R. Berkley carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

United Fire Group’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 58.79%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UFCS’ 2024 earnings indicates a rise of 250.8%, while the same for revenues implies an improvement of 13.9% from the corresponding year-ago figures. The consensus mark for UFCS’ 2024 earnings has moved 67.3% north in the past 60 days.

Community Financial’s earnings surpassed estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark twice, the average surprise being 1.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBU’s 2024 earnings indicates an improvement of 0.9%, while the consensus estimate for revenues implies growth of 13.9% from the corresponding year-ago figures. The consensus mark for CBU’s 2024 earnings has moved 0.6% north in the past 60 days.

The bottom line of W.R. Berkley beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.10%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s 2024 earnings indicates a rise of 20.4%, while the same for revenues implies an improvement of 11.8% from the corresponding year-ago figures. The consensus mark for WRB’s 2024 earnings has moved 0.3% north in the past 30 days.

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