MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Announces Earnings Results

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The company had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis.

MSCI Trading Up 4.4%

MSCI stock traded up $25.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $607.21. 258,810 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 398,113. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $570.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $618.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $536.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,227,829.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 724,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $417,916,000 after purchasing an additional 156,891 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in MSCI by 36.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 300,219 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,347,000 after buying an additional 80,251 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 87.7% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 154,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $89,267,000 after buying an additional 72,305 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 83.6% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 122,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,400,000 after buying an additional 55,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 181.9% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 70,968 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,269,000 after acquiring an additional 45,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.13.

Key Stories Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus: MSCI reported $4.66 EPS vs. the Zacks/Street consensus of $4.62, and EPS rose from $4.18 a year ago — a near-term positive surprise that supports valuation. MSCI (MSCI) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and margins were strong year?over?year: Q4 revenue was $822.53M (up ~10.6% YoY) and net margin ~40%, indicating healthy operating leverage in its index/data/subscription business. That supports recurring revenue expectations. MSCI Press Release / Slides
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and insider signals are generally constructive: multiple recent buy/overweight ratings and a median analyst target (~$635.5) sit above the current price; Quiver also highlights significant insider purchases by the CEO. These support longer?term upside expectations. Quiver Quantitative coverage
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI launched a consultation on reclassifying Greece to Developed Market status (target for August 2026 implementation) — a change that can increase index inclusion, trading flows and index licensing revenue over time. MSCI to Consult on Greece Reclassification
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials and coverage: Business Wire and MarketBeat posted the full Q4/fy2025 release, slide deck and conference materials — useful for modeling detail but neutral by themselves. MSCI Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Preview and analyst commentary appeared ahead of results (Seeking Alpha, MSN) — these provide context on what investors were watching but don’t change fundamentals. MSCI Q4 2025 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Some datapoints show mixed execution vs. certain street estimates: one report flags revenue ~ $15.4M below a specific estimate and notes sizeable institutional selling by some hedge funds in recent quarters — potential near?term headwinds for sentiment. Quiver: revenue vs. estimates and institutional flows
• Negative Sentiment: Return on equity metric is shown negative on a reported basis (reflecting buybacks/financial structure) which can concern some investors evaluating capital efficiency. Monitor management commentary on capital allocation. MarketBeat MSCI Summary

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.