MKTX · Financials(security brokers, dealers & flotation companies) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
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Marketaxess Holdings Inc reported revenue of $846.3 million in fiscal 2025, after growing 9.7% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin narrowed from 51.7% in 2016 to 40.4%, and it earned 16.8% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $2.8 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 30.4% went to dividends and 27.3% to buybacks. On the accounting screens, it passes 4 of 7 Piotroski tests; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 2025846.3M+9.7% a year over 9 years
Operating margin40.4%gross margin —
Return on invested capital16.8%17.8% on average over 2 years
Free cash flow after stock pay343.0M40.5% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash299.7M more cash than debt
Piotroski F-score4/7tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
00.25B0.50B0.75B1.00B
2016Revenue 367.7MOperating income 190.0M
2017Revenue 393.4MOperating income 199.6M
2018Revenue 435.6MOperating income 212.6M
2019Revenue 511.4MOperating income 250.9M
2020Revenue 689.1MOperating income 374.7M
2021Revenue 699.0MOperating income 337.2M
2022Revenue 718.3MOperating income 326.9M
2023Revenue 752.5MOperating income 315.0M
2024Revenue 817.1MOperating income 340.9M
2025Revenue 846.3MOperating income 341.8M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+5.6%
+4.2%
+9.7%
Operating income
+1.5%
-1.8%
+6.7%
Net income
-0.5%
-3.8%
+7.7%
Earnings per share
-0.0%
-3.3%
+7.9%
Free cash flow per share
+11.1%
-0.3%
+18.4%
Dividend per share
+3.3%
+5.5%
+13.2%
Shares
-0.5%
-0.5%
-0.2%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow
0%20%40%60%
2016Operating 51.7%Net 34.3%Free cash flow 22.7%
2017Operating 50.7%Net 37.6%Free cash flow 39.6%
2018Operating 48.8%Net 39.7%Free cash flow 43.2%
2019Operating 49.1%Net 40.1%Free cash flow 49.6%
2020Operating 54.4%Net 43.4%Free cash flow 56.5%
2021Operating 48.2%Net 36.9%Free cash flow 37.9%
2022Operating 45.5%Net 34.8%Free cash flow 38.4%
2023Operating 41.9%Net 34.3%Free cash flow 43.1%
2024Operating 41.7%Net 33.6%Free cash flow 45.9%
2025Operating 40.4%Net 29.1%Free cash flow 44.2%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Return on invested capital
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 9.2%
0%5%10%15%20%
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024Return on invested capital 18.7%
2025Return on invested capital 16.8%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
050M100M150M
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024Economic profit 132.0M
2025Economic profit 104.9M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
21.5%
Return on assets
12.7%
Asset turnover
0.44×
Overheads (SG&A)
3.1% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
0100M200M300M400M
2016Net income 126.2MFree cash flow 83.4MAfter stock-based pay 68.9M
2017Net income 148.1MFree cash flow 155.9MAfter stock-based pay 141.5M
2018Net income 172.9MFree cash flow 188.0MAfter stock-based pay 172.2M
2019Net income 204.9MFree cash flow 253.6MAfter stock-based pay 228.3M
2020Net income 299.4MFree cash flow 389.5MAfter stock-based pay 363.9M
2021Net income 257.9MFree cash flow 264.6MAfter stock-based pay 237.3M
2022Net income 250.2MFree cash flow 276.1MAfter stock-based pay 246.2M
2023Net income 258.1MFree cash flow 324.4MAfter stock-based pay 295.3M
2024Net income 274.2MFree cash flow 375.3MAfter stock-based pay 345.6M
2025Net income 246.6MFree cash flow 373.9MAfter stock-based pay 343.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
2.8B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 5%139.8M
Acquisitions 4%115.0M
Dividends 30%859.9M
Share buybacks 27%771.2M
Kept, or used to pay down debt 33%938.8M
Over the same years it paid 242.7M in stock. The share count fell 1.6%. 528.5M of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$0$5$10$15
2016Earnings per share $3.34Free cash flow per share $2.21Dividend per share $1.02
2017Earnings per share $3.89Free cash flow per share $4.10Dividend per share $1.29
2018Earnings per share $4.57Free cash flow per share $4.97Dividend per share $1.65
2019Earnings per share $5.40Free cash flow per share $6.68Dividend per share $2.01
2020Earnings per share $7.85Free cash flow per share $10.21Dividend per share $2.37
2021Earnings per share $6.77Free cash flow per share $6.95Dividend per share $2.62
2022Earnings per share $6.65Free cash flow per share $7.33Dividend per share $2.81
2023Earnings per share $6.85Free cash flow per share $8.62Dividend per share $2.91
2024Earnings per share $7.28Free cash flow per share $9.96Dividend per share $2.99
2025Earnings per share $6.64Free cash flow per share $10.07Dividend per share $3.10
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
37.0M37.5M38.0M38.5M
2016Diluted shares 37.7M
2017Diluted shares 38.0M
2018Diluted shares 37.9M
2019Diluted shares 38.0M
2020Diluted shares 38.1M
2021Diluted shares 38.1M
2022Diluted shares 37.6M
2023Diluted shares 37.7M
2024Diluted shares 37.7M
2025Diluted shares 37.1M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Debt and liquidity
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-600M-400M-200M0
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024Net debt -544.5M
2025Net debt -299.7M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-0.7×
Interest coverage
230× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
— current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
—
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
4of 7 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✕Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforefailed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✕Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellfailed
–More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year before — not reportedno data
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
–Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year before — not reportedno data
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
The accounts lack a line it needs (retained earnings, current assets or liabilities).
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
The accounts lack too many of the lines it needs.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
Capital spending (8M) is well below depreciation (77M).
Benign
Mature assets, or a business that has become less capital-intensive.
Worrying
Under-investing: today's profit is being held up by consuming tomorrow's capacity.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$137.47discounted at 9.2% a year · 54% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
20.7×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
11.5×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
5.7×
Free cash flow yield
6.7%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today2.2B
Everything after, today2.6B
The whole business4.8B
Plus net cash299.7M
What belongs to shareholders5.1B
Divided among 37.1M shares: <strong>$137.47</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
0200M400M600M
2016Reported 68.9M
2017Reported 141.5M
2018Reported 172.2M
2019Reported 228.3M
2020Reported 363.9M
2021Reported 237.3M
2022Reported 246.2M
2023Reported 295.3M
2024Reported 345.6M
2025Reported 343.0M
2026Projected 305.1M
2027Projected 316.7M
2028Projected 328.4M
2029Projected 339.9M
2030Projected 351.2M
2031Projected 362.3M
2032Projected 373.2M
2033Projected 383.7M
2034Projected 394.0M
2035Projected 403.8M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
880.1M
913.9M
947.4M
980.5M
1.0B
1.0B
1.1B
1.1B
1.1B
1.2B
Growth
4.0%
3.8%
3.7%
3.5%
3.3%
3.2%
3.0%
2.8%
2.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
34.7%
Free cash flow
305.1M
316.7M
328.4M
339.9M
351.2M
362.3M
373.2M
383.7M
394.0M
403.8M
Worth today
279.5M
265.8M
252.5M
239.4M
226.6M
214.2M
202.1M
190.4M
179.0M
168.1M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
8.2%
142
150
161
173
187
8.7%
132
140
148
158
170
9.2%
124
130
137
146
156
9.7%
117
122
128
135
144
10.2%
110
115
120
126
133
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
27.7%
101
109
118
127
137
31.2%
109
118
127
138
149
34.7%
118
127
137
149
161
38.1%
126
136
147
160
173
41.6%
134
145
157
170
185
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 5.2%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$105.64
Median$137.65
90th percentile$186.34
$100.00$150.00$200.00$250.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$119.09</b> and <b>$160.14</b>; one in ten below $105.64, one in ten above $186.34.
Does the long run make sense?
10.8×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 10.8 times that year's EBITDA.
Free growthIn year 10 free cash flow is at or above after-tax operating profit, yet the model grows 2.5% forever. Growth needs reinvestment; this assumes it comes for free, which flatters the terminal value.
54%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 4 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market—none in the period
Sold on the open market$1.1M4 sale(s) by 2 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans75%of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Which large funds report holding it
From the Form 13F of the 28 institutions followed on this site, as of the end of their last reported quarter. A 13F is filed up to 45 days later and shows only long positions in US-listed shares.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.