MSCI Inc. · MSCI · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
MSCI beats Q1 with >13% organic growth, record ETF inflows, three bolt-ons
MSCI's Q1 2026 supports the case that earnings growth and resilient demand can carry the franchise forward: organic revenue growth accelerated to above 13% from prior-quarter >10%, record ETF-linked inflows and a 52% jump in new recurring subscription sales point to durable index-licensing demand, and AI-integrated products plus three bolt-on acquisitions broaden the addressable surface. The positive market reaction (+5.4% vs -0.7% benchmark over the session) and consensus target of $701.71 against a $551.36 current price reflect this strength, though risks center on Sustainability & Climate softness and geopolitical exposure.
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusMarket reaction
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Transcript intelligence
What changed
Versus the prior quarter, MSCI's organic growth stepped up from above 10% to above 13%, ETF-linked inflows roughly doubled to a record $103B (from $67B), and the AI story moved from early-stage projects to being embedded in virtually all new product launches, alongside three bolt-on acquisitions expanding into commodities, digital assets and private-asset indexing.
Guidance delta
Full-year tax-rate and free-cash-flow guidance unchanged from prior quarter, with the company ending Q1 with roughly $400 million of cash.
Key takeaways
- Q1 organic revenue growth exceeded 13%, with adjusted EPS up 14% and adjusted EBITDA up 19%.
- EPS of $4.55 beat consensus of $4.44 (+2.5%); revenue of $850.8M beat $838.0M (+1.5%).
- Record $103B of inflows into equity ETFs linked to MSCI indices, roughly 35% of global ETF flows.
- Net new recurring subscription sales surged 52% with a 95.4% retention rate; Asia Pacific led regional growth.
- Three bolt-ons (Compass, VantageR, PM Insight) extend into commodities, digital assets and private-asset indexing; AI is embedded across virtually all new products.
- Stock rose about 5.4% over the event session versus a -0.7% move in the benchmark (SPY).
Management priorities
- Scale AI-first product development and rollout of AI-native offerings.
- Grow the custom-index platform and integrate Foxbury workflow tools.
- Expand active-ETF partnership and licensing opportunities.
- Broaden private-credit and private-capital transparency tools.
- Monetize the new NYSE index-options licensing agreement.
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 25, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 10, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Strong Buy | Strong Buy | Maintain | Jul 8, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 22, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Dec 18, 2024 |
| Wolfe Research | Outperform | Peer Perform | Upgrade | Dec 12, 2024 |
| Redburn Atlantic | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Oct 9, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 26, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Apr 24, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 9, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Sep 14, 2023 |
| Exane BNP Paribas | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jul 17, 2023 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 8, 2020 |
| Atlantic Equities | Overweight | Neutral | Upgrade | Feb 12, 2020 |
| Buckingham Research | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 11, 2019 |
| Buckingham | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 11, 2019 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Nov 3, 2017 |
| Macquarie | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 5, 2016 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 10, 2015 |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Underperform | Upgrade | Nov 2, 2015 |
| Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Underperform | Upgrade | Nov 2, 2015 |
| Janney Capital | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 12, 2013 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $551.36. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $722 | $569.86 | +30.9% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $690 | $561.74 | +25.1% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $615 | $561.74 | +11.5% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $700 | $561.74 | +27.0% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $735 | $603.35 | +33.3% | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $760 | $597.24 | +37.8% | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Redburn Partners | Analyst unavailable | $690 | $596.89 | +25.1% | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Hass | $700 | $588.52 | +27.0% | May 27, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $730 | $589.17 | +32.4% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $715 | $605.47 | +29.7% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | David Motemaden | $690 | $607.3 | +25.1% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $655 | $604.54 | +18.8% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $618 | $614.87 | +12.1% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $638 | $614.87 | +15.7% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $690 | $586.47 | +25.1% | Jan 12, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $710 | $593.76 | +28.8% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $601 | $593.76 | +9.0% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $660 | $593.76 | +19.7% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Seaport Global | Analyst unavailable | $650 | $567.41 | +17.9% | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $723 | $597.9 | +31.1% | Dec 18, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $617 | $578.93 | +11.9% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $662 | $578.93 | +20.1% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $700 | $559.75 | +27.0% | Sep 13, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $570 | $532.41 | +3.4% | Aug 12, 2024 |
| Argus Research | John Eade | $600 | $544.6 | +8.8% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| UBS | Alex Kramm | $585 | $493 | +6.1% | Jul 9, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $638 | $498.31 | +15.7% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $526 | $503.83 | -4.6% | May 23, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Faiza Alwy | $569 | $468.5 | +3.2% | Apr 24, 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $585 | $561.94 | +6.1% | Feb 2, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $543 | $538.02 | -1.5% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $600 | $537.72 | +8.8% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $575 | $532.18 | +4.3% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $549 | $531.56 | -0.4% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $539 | $505.24 | -2.2% | Jan 15, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $518 | $473.58 | -6.1% | Jan 4, 2023 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $580 | $522.87 | +5.2% | Dec 13, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $600 | $521.39 | +8.8% | Dec 2, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $520 | $429.78 | -5.7% | Jun 28, 2022 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $470 | $416.71 | -14.8% | Jun 24, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $477 | $420.22 | -13.5% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $570 | $422.42 | +3.4% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $540 | $424.62 | -2.1% | Apr 27, 2022 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationMSCI Inc., alongside its subsidiaries, offers sophisticated tools and services to support global investment decision-making and process management for its clients. The company is structured into four key segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and Private Assets. The Index division furnishes benchmarks employed across diverse investment applications, including the creation of indexed financial products such as ETFs, mutual funds, and various derivatives; performance evaluation; portfolio building and adjustment; and strategic asset allocation. This segment also oversees the licensing of GICS and GICS Direct. Its Analytics segment provides comprehensive solutions for risk management, performance attribution, and portfolio oversight, encompassing content, applications, and services. These offerings deliver an integrated perspective on risk and return, alongside detailed analysis of market, credit, liquidity, and counterparty risks across all asset classes.…
Historical context
All MSCI earningsFinancial Services peers this season
Latest reports in the same sector| Company | Quarter | EPS surprise | Market move | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUK Prudential plc | FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | -40.9% | -0.5% | Prudential sustains growth and capital returns focus in H1 2026 |
| CM Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +8.9% | -2.8% | CIBC Q3: Broad growth, resilient credit and expanded AI rollout |
| TD The Toronto-Dominion Bank | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +13.8% | +1.4% | TD emphasizes growth investments alongside disciplined capital management |
| RY Royal Bank of Canada | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +6.2% | -1.3% | RBC reports record Q3 earnings while investing for growth |
| AFRM Affirm Holdings, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +1230.3% | +0.3% | Affirm's most profitable quarter shifts focus to product execution |
Latest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
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- PAYXFY2027 Q1 · September 23, 2026+1.5% EPS-8.8% move
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- AZOFY2026 Q4 · September 22, 2026+3.6% EPS+3.3% move
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-25T20:21:04.656315+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-25T20:21:04.653326+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-25. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.