Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy27 ratings
Bullish2074.1%
Neutral622.2%
Bearish13.7%
MSCI Inc. · MSCI · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026
MSCI Q2 2026: Double-Digit Growth Persisted, but Higher Expenses and S&C Headwinds Drove 11% Drop
MSCI delivered solid Q2 2026 fundamentals—organic revenue growth above 12%, adjusted EPS up 19%, and asset-based fee run rate reaching $948M driven by ETF inflows nearing $40B. Despite this, the stock fell roughly 11% on report day at 2.8x normal volume. The sell-off is consistent with a slight EPS and revenue miss versus consensus (EPS $4.94 vs. $4.99 estimated; revenue $867M vs. $871M estimated), raised expense guidance tied to the First Street acquisition and compensation accruals, and near-term headwinds in the Sustainability & Climate segment where flat to slightly negative net new sales are expected. The stock has since partially recovered, drifting approximately 4% higher in subsequent sessions. Management maintained a confident tone, highlighting AI-driven product launches, the new UBS private-asset partnership, and the First Street climate-risk acquisition. With a quality…
Reported Before market openNYSEFinancial Services
$42.38B market cap
100quality score
Company 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.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$4.94
Consensus $5
EPS surprise
-1.0%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$867.0M
Consensus $870.7M
Revenue surprise
-0.4%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$582.92Current
$543Low
$646.29Average
$760High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 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 $582.92. 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 | +23.9% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $690 | $561.74 | +18.4% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $615 | $561.74 | +5.5% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $700 | $561.74 | +20.1% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $735 | $603.35 | +26.1% | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $760 | $597.24 | +30.4% | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Redburn Partners | Analyst unavailable | $690 | $596.89 | +18.4% | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Hass | $700 | $588.52 | +20.1% | May 27, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $730 | $589.17 | +25.2% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $715 | $605.47 | +22.7% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | David Motemaden | $690 | $607.3 | +18.4% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $655 | $604.54 | +12.4% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $618 | $614.87 | +6.0% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $638 | $614.87 | +9.4% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $690 | $586.47 | +18.4% | Jan 12, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $710 | $593.76 | +21.8% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $601 | $593.76 | +3.1% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $660 | $593.76 | +13.2% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Seaport Global | Analyst unavailable | $650 | $567.41 | +11.5% | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $723 | $597.9 | +24.0% | Dec 18, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $617 | $578.93 | +5.8% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $662 | $578.93 | +13.6% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $700 | $559.75 | +20.1% | Sep 13, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $570 | $532.41 | -2.2% | Aug 12, 2024 |
| Argus Research | John Eade | $600 | $544.6 | +2.9% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| UBS | Alex Kramm | $585 | $493 | +0.4% | Jul 9, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $638 | $498.31 | +9.4% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $526 | $503.83 | -9.8% | May 23, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Faiza Alwy | $569 | $468.5 | -2.4% | Apr 24, 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $585 | $561.94 | +0.4% | Feb 2, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $543 | $538.02 | -6.8% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $600 | $537.72 | +2.9% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $575 | $532.18 | -1.4% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $549 | $531.56 | -5.8% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Patrick O'Shaughnessy | $539 | $505.24 | -7.5% | Jan 15, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $518 | $473.58 | -11.1% | Jan 4, 2023 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $580 | $522.87 | -0.5% | Dec 13, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $600 | $521.39 | +2.9% | Dec 2, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $520 | $429.78 | -10.8% | Jun 28, 2022 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $470 | $416.71 | -19.4% | Jun 24, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $477 | $420.22 | -18.2% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $570 | $422.42 | -2.2% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $540 | $424.62 | -7.4% | Apr 27, 2022 |
Track every rating change on MSCI the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
-10.1%
Event window
SPY move
+0.8%
Same window
Abnormal move
-11.0%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.8×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+3.8%
Up to 20 sessions
MSCISPY benchmark
Follow MSCI with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.
Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
Q2 2026 vs. Q1 2026: Organic revenue growth remained above 12% (vs. >13% in Q1). Adjusted EPS grew 19% (vs. 14% in Q1). Asset-based fee run rate reached $948M. The company announced the First Street acquisition (physics-based climate-risk data, ~$10M subscription run rate) and a new UBS partnership for private-asset wealth-management distribution. Sustainability & Climate now expects flat to slightly negative net new sales—a shift from Q1's broader down-sell pressure concern. Expense guidance was raised due to First Street costs and compensation accruals linked to AUM growth. AI-driven training licenses were introduced as a novel product line. The prior quarter's three bolt-on acquisitions (Compass, VantageR, PM Insight) were referenced in run-rate calculations but no new M&A beyond First Street was announced.
Guidance delta
Guidance sentiment was maintained for the second consecutive quarter. Expense guidance was raised to reflect First Street acquisition costs and increased compensation accruals linked to AUM growth. Full-year tax rate and free cash flow guidance remain unchanged.
Key takeaways
- Organic revenue growth exceeded 12% with adjusted EPS up 19%, though both slightly missed consensus (EPS $4.94 vs. $4.99 est; revenue $867M vs. $871M est).
- Asset-based fee run rate reached $948M with ETF inflows nearing $40B in the quarter.
- First Street acquisition adds physics-based climate-risk data, contributing ~$10M in subscription run rate to the Sustainability & Climate segment.
- New UBS partnership expands private-asset solutions to wealth managers and high-net-worth clients.
- AI-driven training licenses introduced, allowing clients to train their own models on MSCI data.
- Stock fell approximately 11% on report day at 2.8x normal volume but has since partially recovered, drifting ~4% higher.
Management priorities
- Accelerate AI-enabled product development with a new Silicon Valley AI office
- Integrate First Street climate-risk data into MSCI's Sustainability & Climate offerings
- Expand private-asset solutions through the UBS partnership targeting wealth managers
- Scale custom index factories and Total Portfolio Solutions
- Roll out AI-driven content licensing and training license products
Related earnings events
Financial ServicesHIG · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026The Hartford Beats on Q2 Core Earnings, Divests Hartford Funds, Expands Buyback to $4.2BAXP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026AXP Q2 2026: Platinum Card Drives 10% Revenue Growth, Full-Year Guidance RaisedAMP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026Ameriprise Q2 2026: Revenue Up 13%, EPS Beats on Record AUM and AI-Driven Productivity
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-21T18:02:42.432179+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-30T01:23:13.872335+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T04:02:44.863945+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T04:02:44.861191+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 . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.