NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, and the provider of market data and post-trade services for the global fixed-income markets, today announced results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020.

“In the midst of an economic crisis brought on by the pandemic, the value delivered to our clients through our unique liquidity solutions surged to new all-time highs in 2020,” said Rick McVey, Chairman and CEO of MarketAxess. “New sources of liquidity delivered through Open Trading drove over $1 billion in estimated transaction cost savings to our clients, exceeding total company revenue. Strong market share gains in all core trading products drove revenue growth of 35% for the year, and operating income growth of 49%. In addition, we continue to expand our product pipeline for future growth with new initiatives in Rates, Munis, Data and Post-Trade Services. New records were achieved in active clients trading with over 1,800 institutional investor and dealer firms now utilizing our global marketplace.”

Fourth Quarter Results

Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased 32.0% to $171.3 million, compared to $129.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. Operating income was $91.7 million, compared to $60.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 50.7%. Operating margin was 53.5%, compared to 46.9% for the fourth quarter of 2019. Net income totaled $72.9 million, or $1.91 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $50.3 million, or $1.32 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2019.

Commission revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased 33.1% to $155.8 million, compared to $117.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. Variable transaction fees increased 40.1% to $128.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to variable transaction fees of $91.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. U.S. high-grade trading volume as a percentage of FINRA’s high-grade TRACE trading volume increased to an estimated 22.8% for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to an estimated 19.9% for the fourth quarter of 2019.

All other revenue, which consists of information services, post-trade services and other revenue, increased to $15.5 million, compared to $12.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. The increase in all other revenue was principally due to $1.3 million of regulatory trade reporting revenue generated by Regulatory Reporting Hub since the November 30, 2020 acquisition date and $0.5 million of revenue due to the introduction of new Securities Finance Transaction Regulation (“SFTR”) reporting services.

Total expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased 15.6% to $79.6 million, compared to $68.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. The increase in total expenses was largely due to higher professional and consulting fees of $3.9 million, mainly attributable to self-clearing consulting fees of $1.3 million and acquisition related costs of $1.2 million; employee compensation and benefit costs of $3.4 million, mainly due to an increase in headcount; depreciation and amortization of $2.9 million; clearing costs of $1.7 million, mainly due to increased Open Trading activity; offset by a decrease in marketing and advertising expenses of $0.8 million on lower travel and entertainment spend. Expenses in the fourth quarter of 2020 reflect costs associated with the Regulatory Reporting Hub transaction totaling $2.4 million, including integration costs of $1.2 million, amortization of acquired intangibles expense of $0.8 million and deal-related transaction costs of $0.4 million. Excluding the Regulatory Reporting Hub transaction related costs, total expenses for the quarter were up 12.1%.

The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 19.2%, compared to 18.9% for the fourth quarter of 2019. The income tax provision for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 2019 reflected $6.2 million and $3.6 million, respectively, of excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation awards.

Full Year 2020 Results

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased 34.8% to a record $689.1 million, compared to $511.4 million for 2019. Operating income was a record $374.7 million, compared to $250.9 million for 2019, an increase of 49.4%. Operating margin was 54.4%, compared to 49.1% for 2019. Net income totaled $299.4 million, or $7.85 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $204.9 million, or $5.40 per share, for 2019.

Commission revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased 36.8% to a record $634.4 million, compared to $463.9 million for 2019. Variable transaction fees increased 43.3% to $526.3 million compared to variable transaction fees of $367.2 million for 2019. Variable transaction fees in 2020 include approximately $13.1 million of U.S. Treasuries trading commissions related to the November 2019 acquisition of LiquidityEdge LLC, now operating as MarketAxess Rates, compared to $2.4 million in 2019. U.S. high-grade trading volume as a percentage of FINRA’s high-grade TRACE trading volume increased to an estimated 21.6%, compared to an estimated 19.0% for 2019. All other revenue increased 15.1% to $54.7 million in 2020, compared to $47.5 million for 2019. The increase in all other revenue was principally due to $3.6 million of new data sales, $1.3 million of regulatory trade reporting revenue generated by Regulatory Reporting Hub since the November 30, 2020 acquisition date and $0.9 million of revenue due to the introduction of new SFTR reporting services.

Total expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased 20.7% to $314.4 million, compared to $260.5 million for 2019. The increase in total expenses was principally due to higher employee compensation and benefits costs of $25.8 million, mainly due to an increase in headcount; clearing costs of $9.7 million, principally due to increased Open Trading activity; depreciation and amortization of $9.1 million; technology and communications costs of $7.3 million; professional and consulting fees of $6.8 million; offset by a decrease in marketing and advertising costs of $3.6 million. Excluding LiquidityEdge and Regulatory Reporting Hub expenses, total expenses for the year were up 15.2%.

The effective tax rate for 2020 was 20.0%, compared to 20.4% for 2019. The income tax provision for 2020 and 2019 reflected $24.1 million and $10.6 million, respectively, of excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation awards.

Employee headcount was 606 as of December 31, 2020 compared to 527 as of December 31, 2019. The increase in headcount was due to the continued investment in the Company’s growth initiatives, including geographic expansion, trading automation, new trading protocols and the transition to self-clearing.

Dividend

The Company’s board of directors declared a 10% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.66 per share of common stock outstanding, to be paid on February 24, 2021 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 10, 2021.

Share Repurchases

A total of 1,400 shares were repurchased in the fourth quarter of 2020 at a cost of $0.7 million. In January 2021, the Board of Directors authorized a new repurchase program for up to $100 million of the Company’s common stock. The Company expects repurchases under the new program to commence in April 2021 following the expiration of the current plan.

Balance Sheet Data

As of December 31, 2020, total assets were $1.3 billion and included $489.0 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments. Total stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2020 was $955.1 million.

Guidance for 2021

For 2021, the Company is providing the following guidance:

• Expenses are expected to be in the range of $362.0 million to $382.0 million and includes a full year of Regulatory Reporting Services expenses estimated to range between $15.0 million to $18.0 million. In addition to ongoing operating expenses, the 2021 acquisition expenses include estimated amortization expense on acquired intangible assets of $5.0 million and non-recurring integration costs of $5.0 million. Excluding the expenses related to Regulatory Reporting Hub, the midpoint in the guidance range on a constant currency basis would represent an approximate 13.0% year-over-year increase in expenses.
• Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $50.0 million to $55.0 million and include an expected increase in capitalized software development to support new protocols, products and platform enhancements.
• The Company’s overall effective tax rate is expected to be between 22.0% to 24.0% and reflects a lower benefit from estimated excess tax benefits on share-based compensation awards.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Items

To supplement the Company’s unaudited financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company uses certain non-GAAP measures of financial performance, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and free cash flow. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken into consideration with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, are important in understanding the Company’s operating results. See the attached schedule for a reconciliation of GAAP net income to EBITDA and GAAP cash flow from operating activities to free cash flow.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess operates a leading, institutional electronic trading platform delivering expanded liquidity opportunities, improved execution quality and significant cost savings across global fixed-income markets. A global network of over 1,800 firms, including the world’s leading asset managers and institutional broker-dealers, leverages MarketAxess’ patented trading technology to efficiently trade bonds. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading™ marketplace is regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets, creating a unique liquidity pool for a broad range of credit market participants. Drawing on its deep data and analytical resources, MarketAxess provides automated trading solutions, market data products and a range of pre- and post-trade services.

MarketAxess is headquartered in New York and has offices in London, Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.marketaxess.com.