MSCI (MSCI) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $892 million, up 12.4% on the year

MSCI Inc. (MSCI) reported revenue of $892 million for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 12.4% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $351 million, up 7.9% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $4.86. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 20 October 2026.

Revenue$892 millionup 12.4%

Net income$351 millionup 7.9%

Diluted EPS$4.86

QuarterQ3 FY2026ended 30 September 2026

What management said

Guidance figures: 1 raised, 1 lowered, 5 kept.

Revenue rose 12.4% to $892.0 million: Operating revenues were $892.0 million, up 12.4%, with organic growth of 12.3%. The $98.6 million increase came from $49.1 million in asset-based fees, $44.5 million in recurring subscriptions and $5.0 million in non-recurring revenue.
Index revenue up 18.1%: Index operating revenues were $532.6 million, up 18.1%, with organic growth of 18.0%. Index Run Rate reached $2.1 billion, up 16.5%, with asset-based fee Run Rate up $175.9 million.
Adjusted EBITDA expenses up 12.8%: Adjusted EBITDA expenses were $337.2 million, up 12.8%, primarily reflecting higher non-compensation costs. Compensation rose on incentive pay and salaries.

Read the earnings call summary

The quarter, against the one before and a year earlier

Line	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	Change on the year
Revenue	892	867	793	+12.4%
Cost of revenue	152	150	133	+14.8%
Gross profit	740	717	661	+11.9%
Gross margin	82.9%	82.7%	83.3%
Research and development	47.6	46.0	44.8	+6.2%
Operating income	502	488	448	+12.2%
Operating margin	56.3%	56.2%	56.4%
Interest expense	74.8	71.0	53.6	+39.5%
Pre-tax income	428	417	397	+7.9%
Income tax	76.9	75.3	71.1	+8.1%
Effective tax rate	18.0%	18.0%	17.9%
Net income	351	342	325	+7.9%
Net margin	39.3%	39.4%	41.0%
Diluted EPS	$4.86	$4.69	$4.25	+14.4%

$ million except per share.

Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow and capital returned

Line	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	Change on the year
Operating cash flow	436	371	449	-3.0%
Capital expenditure	13.4	11.0	3.9	+240.8%
Free cash flow	423	360	446	-5.1%
Free cash flow margin	47.4%	41.5%	56.2%
Cash from investing	-167	-61.5	-26.1	n/a
Cash from financing	-365	-339	-369	n/a
Depreciation and amortisation	51.7	50.0	46.7	+10.6%
Share-based compensation	27.5	25.4	22.6	+21.8%
Buybacks	553	168	1,226	-54.9%
Dividends paid	148	150	138	+7.2%
Dividend per share	$2.05	$2.05	$1.80	+13.9%
Diluted shares, weighted	72m	73m	77m	-5.6%
Shares outstanding at period end	72m	73m	75m	-4.6%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet at quarter end

Line	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	Change on the year
Shareholders' equity	-3,016	-2,690	-1,916	n/a
Debt	6,717	6,380	5,508	+22.0%
Operating lease liabilities	149	139	112	+33.5%
Other liabilities	1,746	1,773	1,686	+3.6%
Total liabilities and equity	5,595	5,602	5,389	+3.8%
Fixed assets	99.1	93.2	82.6	+20.0%
Goodwill	3,048	2,974	2,923	+4.3%
Intangible assets	899	856	850	+5.8%
Cash and equivalents	261	356	400	-34.8%
Other assets	1,288	1,323	1,133	+13.7%
Total assets	5,595	5,602	5,389	+3.8%

Questions

What was MSCI's revenue in Q3 FY2026?

MSCI (MSCI) reported revenue of $892 million for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 12.4% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did MSCI earn in Q3 FY2026?

Net income for Q3 FY2026 was $351 million, up 7.9% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $4.86.

When did MSCI report Q3 FY2026 results?

MSCI filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 with the SEC on 20 October 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023 *	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025 †	Q2 FY2025 †	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	550	560	552	561	576	592	621	625	690	680	708	725	744	746	773	793	823	851	867	892
Cost of revenue	95.9	103	101	98.4	102	109	110	105	123	129	128	126	132	137	138	133	143	142	150	152
Gross profit	454	457	451	462	474	484	511	520	568	551	580	599	612	609	635	661	679	709	717	740
Gross margin	83%	82%	82%	82%	82%	82%	82%	83%	82%	81%	82%	83%	82%	82%	82%	83%	83%	83%	83%	83%
R&D	30.8	28.3	23.9	25.9	29.0	31.3	30.1	31.4	39.2	40.5	41.1	38.6	38.5	47.6	44.1	44.8	41.1	49.6	46.0	47.6
Operating income	281	289	300	310	309	315	346	353	371	339	383	401	405	377	425	448	464	457	488	502
Operating margin	51%	52%	54%	55%	54%	53%	56%	56%	54%	50%	54%	55%	54%	51%	55%	56%	56%	54%	56%	56%
Interest expense	40.3	40.7	41.1	44.2	45.6	46.2	46.6	46.9	47.0	46.7	46.6	46.7	45.5	46.5	46.2	53.6	63.6	69.1	71.0	74.8
Pre-tax income	246	249	260	269	266	276	307	318	468	296	340	357	363	331	378	397	389	389	417	428
Tax rate	21%	8%	19%	20%	19%	14%	20%	18%	14%	13%	22%	21%	16%	13%	20%	18%	27%	-4%	18%	18%
Net income	194	228	211	217	215	239	247	260	403	256	267	281	306	289	304	325	285	406	342	351
Net margin	35%	41%	38%	39%	37%	40%	40%	42%	58%	38%	38%	39%	41%	39%	39%	41%	35%	48%	39%	39%
Diluted EPS	$2.32	$2.78	$2.59	$2.68	$2.67	$2.97	$3.09	$3.27	$5.07	$3.22	$3.37	$3.57	$3.90	$3.71	$3.92	$4.25	$3.81	$5.53	$4.69	$4.86
Operating cash flow	280	244	213	323	315	264	292	291	389	300	349	422	431	302	336	449	501	307	371	436
Capital expenditure	6.4	1.3	3.5	3.3	5.6	6.2	9.2	3.6	3.8	4.3	8.6	6.6	14.2	11.6	11.4	3.9	12.4	2.8	11.0	13.4
Free cash flow	273	243	209	320	310	258	283	288	385	296	341	415	416	290	325	446	489	304	360	423
Buybacks	5.3	878	281	169	70.2	44.0	441	18.7	0.0	70.0	242	200	374	213	138	1,226	907	415	168	553
Dividends paid	86.0	87.8	84.2	101	100	112	110	109	109	131	127	126	125	144	140	138	135	150	150	148
Shares outstanding	82m	81m	80m	80m	80m	80m	79m	79m	79m	79m	79m	78m	78m	78m	77m	75m	74m	73m	73m	72m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. A quarter marked † is shown as the company last restated it in a later filing, so it compares with the quarters around it on one basis; rest on a figure for the one first filed. EPS is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 30 September 2026, filed 20 October 2026: the filing.