Financial Exchanges & Data Stocks Q3 Earnings: Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Firing on All Cylinders

Wrapping up Q3 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the financial exchanges & data stocks, including Moody's (NYSE:MCO) and its peers.

Financial exchanges and data providers operate trading platforms and sell market information. They enjoy relatively stable revenue from trading fees and subscriptions, increasing demand for data analytics, and expansion opportunities in emerging markets. Challenges include regulatory oversight of market structure, competition from alternative trading venues, and substantial technology investments needed to maintain low-latency trading infrastructure and data security.

The 10 financial exchanges & data stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q3: Moody's (NYSE:MCO)

Founded in 1900 during America's railroad boom when investors needed reliable information on bond risks, Moody's (NYSE:MCO) provides credit ratings, risk assessment tools, and analytical solutions that help organizations evaluate financial risks and make informed investment decisions.

Moody's reported revenues of $2.01 billion, up 10.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ Investor Services segment estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Moody's achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 10.5% since reporting and currently trades at $536.02.

We think Moody's is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI)

Tracing its roots back to 1860 when it published the first railroad industry manual, S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) provides credit ratings, market intelligence, commodity data, automotive analytics, and financial indices that help investors and businesses make decisions.

S&P Global reported revenues of $3.89 billion, up 8.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ Ratings segment estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 12.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $533.38.

Is now the time to buy S&P Global? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Tradeweb Markets (NASDAQ:TW)

Founded in 1996 as one of the pioneers in electronic bond trading, Tradeweb Markets (NASDAQ:TW) builds and operates electronic marketplaces that connect financial institutions for trading across rates, credit, equities, and money markets.

Tradeweb Markets reported revenues of $508.6 million, up 13.3% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and transaction volumes in line with analysts’ estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 1.6% since the results and currently trades at $103.72.

Read our full analysis of Tradeweb Markets’s results here.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI)

Originally known as Morgan Stanley Capital International before becoming independent in 2007, MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) provides critical decision support tools, indexes, and analytics that help global investors understand risk and return factors and build more effective investment portfolios.

MSCI reported revenues of $793.4 million, up 9.5% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but EBITDA in line with analysts’ estimates.

MSCI had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 7.9% since reporting and currently trades at $590.16.

Read our full, actionable report on MSCI here, it’s free.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN)

Founded in 1984 by Joe Mansueto with just $80,000 in personal savings, Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) provides independent investment data, research, and analysis tools that help investors, advisors, and institutions make informed financial decisions.

Morningstar reported revenues of $617.4 million, up 8.4% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ Transaction-Based segment estimates but a miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $209.85.

Read our full, actionable report on Morningstar here, it’s free.

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