stockrowLatest quarter
Intercontinental Exchange reported second-quarter revenue of $2.7 billion, above the $2.6 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.90, compared with the consensus of $1.84.
Revenue rose from $2.5 billion a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share increased to $1.69 from $1.48. CFO Warren Gardiner said net revenues included $1.4 billion in recurring revenue, up 8% from a year earlier.
Gardiner said Exchange net revenue was $1.5 billion, with its rates business growing 24% year over year. Fixed Income and Data Services net revenue rose 8% to $645 million, while Mortgage Technology net revenue increased 5% to $557 million. Within mortgage technology, he attributed 11% transaction revenue growth to closed-loan revenue and closing solutions.
ICE reported an operating margin of 52.2%, compared with 51.0% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.7 billion, up from $1.3 billion.
| Q2 FY2026 | Q2 FY2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.7 billion | $2.5 billion | 4.84% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.69 | $1.48 | 14.2% |
| Gross margin | 98.6% | 98.4% | 0.2 percentage points |
| Operating margin | 52.2% | 51.0% | 1.2 percentage points |
| Free cash flow | $1.7 billion | $1.3 billion | 29.6% |
| Against the consensus | Reported | Consensus | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS | $1.90 | $1.84 | Beat by 3.26% |
| Revenue | $2.7 billion | $2.6 billion | Beat by 1.51% |
Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.
What management said on the call
CFO Warren Gardiner said recurring revenue continued to grow as volatility moderated from the first quarter. In Exchanges, he said customers were incorporating data into their workflows, while investors and institutions were managing their interest-rate exposure. He said futures and options open interest rose 20% year over year.
In Fixed Income and Data Services, Gardiner cited new business in pricing and reference data, greater use of data sets and demand for ICE’s network. He said some clients were beginning to use the data in AI-driven workflows. For Mortgage Technology, he attributed recurring revenue to product adoption, contract renewals and new clients starting to use the origination and servicing platforms.
Gardiner said adjusted operating expense growth reflected performance-related compensation, accelerated data center investment and depreciation and amortization from product development. He said ICE had also moved some capital spending planned for 2027 into 2026 to prepare for demand.
Asked about revenue from AI tools, executive Benjamin Jackson said ICE had begun monetizing tools embedded in Encompass and MSP as clients adopted them. Jackson said ICE was assessing their value to customers, which would inform future pricing. He added that ICE had audited its AI processes internally and hired an external auditor to review them.
On the proposed MarketAxess acquisition, CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said ICE’s fixed-income ecosystem could help the company compete with rivals operating across broader product offerings. Gardiner said ICE would finance the transaction with cash raised through bonds, a term loan and commercial paper.
For the third quarter, Gardiner said Mortgage Technology recurring revenue should remain around its current level as underlying growth and new-client deployments build.
Guidance
Gardiner raised ICE’s full-year 2026 Fixed Income and Data Services recurring revenue growth guidance to 7% to 8% from a prior mid-single-digit expectation. He said second-half growth would likely trend toward the lower end of that range because of comparisons with 2025 data center revenue.
Gardiner said ICE now expects full-year adjusted operating expenses of $4.190 billion to $4.230 billion, citing compensation, data center and product development costs. He said ICE also now anticipates approximately $850 million in 2026 capital expenditures after bringing forward some spending planned for 2027.
| Metric | For | Guide | Previous guide | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capex | FY2026 | $1.1 billion | $850.0 million | Raised |
| Operating expenses, non-GAAP | Q4 FY2026 | $1.1 billion–$1.1 billion | Q3 FY2026: $1.1 billion–$1.1 billion | Raised |
| Operating expenses, GAAP | Q4 FY2026 | $1.3 billion–$1.3 billion | Q3 FY2026: $1.3 billion–$1.3 billion | Raised |
| Revenue growth, Fixed Income and Data Services Recurring | FY2026 | 8.00% | — | New |
| Revenue growth, Exchange Recurring | FY2026 | 9.00% | — | New |
| Units | Q3 FY2026 | 560,000,000–566,000,000 | — | — |
| Operating expenses, non-GAAP | Q3 FY2026 | $1.1 billion–$1.1 billion | — | New |
| Operating expenses, GAAP | Q3 FY2026 | $1.3 billion–$1.3 billion | — | New |
| Operating expenses, non-GAAP | FY2026 | $4.2 billion–$4.2 billion | — | New |
| Operating expenses, GAAP | FY2026 | $5.1 billion–$5.2 billion | — | New |
| Revenue growth, Fixed Income and Data Services | FY2026 | 7.00%–8.00% | — | New |
| Revenue, Exchange | FY2026 | ICE expects 2026 Exchange recurring revenue to grow at a high-single-digit rate. | — | — |