This press release, along with an earnings presentation and brief quarterly update, are available on our website, MSCI.com, under the Investor Relations tab. You'll find a reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to the equivalent GAAP measures in the appendix of the earnings presentation. Important information regarding our use of operating metrics, such as run rate and retention rate, are available in the earnings presentation. Our attractive all-weather franchise, client centricity, and alignment with favorable long-term secular trends have positioned us to deliver on the long-term growth targets we have set for MSCI.

Since MSCI's IPO, a little over 18 years ago, we have achieved a compound annual growth rate of nearly 13% for total revenue, nearly 15% for adjusted EBITDA, and over 16% for adjusted EPS. In addition, we have now delivered 11 consecutive years of double-digit Adjusted EPS growth. In Q4, MSCI's operating metrics included net new subscription sales of $65 million and non-recurring sales of $31 million, bringing total net sales to over $96 million. Q4 was in fact our second-best quarter ever for recurring net new subscription sales, and we grew a growth rate of 18%.

Across MSCI, our retention rate was over 94% for the full year. Q4 showed how MSCI is using our deep-rooted competitive advantages to drive growth. In Q4, we delivered our best quarter ever for new recurring subscription sales in Index. Meanwhile, total ETF and non-ETF AUM linked to MSCI indices reached approximately $7 trillion, driven by record inflows into our clients' ETF products linked to MSCI indices, particularly listed ETFs products in Europe.

What went well
  • Second-best quarter ever for recurring net new subscription sales at $65 million (up 18%), with total net sales over $96 million; organic revenue grew over 10%, adjusted EBITDA over 13%, and full-year adjusted EPS almost 14% (11th consecutive year of double-digit EPS growth)
  • Total run rate surpassed $3.3 billion (up 13%), including ABF run rate of $852 million growing 26% on record $67 billion of quarterly ETF inflows ($204 billion for the full year)
  • Best quarter ever for new recurring subscription sales in Index; index subscription run rate accelerated to 9.4% including 16% growth in custom indexes, plus a landmark Basket Builder deal with a bank and a ~5,000-index custom module deal with a top hedge fund
  • Private Capital Solutions recurring subscription sales grew 86% (nearly $8 million), driven by Total Plan and transparency offerings; extended the BlackRock ETF agreement through 2035
  • Aggressive capital returns: nearly $958 million of buybacks in Q4 at ~$560/share (~$3.3 billion over two years); hedge funds 13% run rate / 26% net new sales growth and second-best Q4 ever in analytics recurring sales
What went wrong
  • Sustainability and climate new subscription sales were lower than the prior year with particular softness in the Americas; management does not expect the U.S. market to have bottomed and expects continued softness
  • As part of the BlackRock extension, MSCI is lowering fee floors on certain super-scale ETFs, a roughly 0.1 basis point aggregate ABF headwind phased in across 2026 and 2027
  • 2026 free cash flow is depressed by ~$100 million of higher cash taxes (tax deferrals plus one-time 2025 benefits) and a ~$90 million step-up in cash interest expense from two 2025 debt issuances, plus ~$25 million London office build-out CapEx
  • Retention pressure persists in specific areas: EMEA retention slightly below 93% (vs. ~94% Americas), and lower retention in sustainability & climate and real assets
  • Leadership transition risk as President Baer Pettit (26-year partner) announced retirement effective March 1; MSCI also dropped product-line-specific long-term targets

More on MSCI Inc.

Reported 2026-01-28 · figures from the MSCI Inc. Q4 2025 earnings call.

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