# MSCI Inc. (MSCI)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/MSCI · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, MSCI Inc. (MSCI), nexqual.com/MSCI" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 620.24 (+2.61% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 604.46 · day 600.87–624.18 · 52w 501.08–644.77 · market cap $45.1B · NYQ

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Sep 30, 2026): revenue $3.43B, net income $1.38B (40.3% margin), free cash flow $1.58B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 32.6x (avg 39.5x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 26.6x, net debt $6.46B.
- 6 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold MSCI (13F, Q2 2026): 1 new, 0 added, 3 reduced, 2 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 3 Form 4 filings, $6.4M; 1 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($5.9M); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Insider open-market purchases, last ~7 months: 2 Form 4 filings, $3.2M; 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders.
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale) (18 analysts), mean target USD 681.47 (range 550–735).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +16.8% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +1.2% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-10-20, EPS estimate USD 5.09, revenue estimate $914M.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.04B | $2.25B | $2.53B | $2.86B | $3.13B | $3.43B |
| Operating income | $1.07B | $1.21B | $1.38B | $1.53B | $1.71B | $1.91B |
| Net income | $726M | $871M | $1.15B | $1.11B | $1.20B | $1.38B |
| EPS (diluted) | $8.70 | $10.72 | $14.39 | $14.05 | $15.69 | — |
| Free cash flow | $923M | $1.08B | $1.21B | $1.47B | $1.55B | $1.58B |
| Operating margin | 52.5% | 53.7% | 54.8% | 53.5% | 54.7% | 55.7% |
| Net margin | 35.5% | 38.7% | 45.4% | 38.8% | 38.4% | 40.3% |
| Revenue growth | +20.5% | +10.0% | +12.5% | +12.9% | +9.7% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $1.42B | $994M | $462M | $409M | $515M | — |
| Total debt | $4.16B | $4.51B | $4.51B | $4.51B | $6.20B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Sep 30, 2026)
P/E 32.6x · P/S 13.1x · EV/EBITDA 26.6x · EV/Sales 15.0x · P/FCF 28.6x · FCF yield 3.49% · Earnings yield 3.07% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 1.29% · Buyback yield (TTM) 4.53% · Net debt $6.46B · EV $51.5B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 36.6x, Dec 2024 42.7x, Dec 2023 39.3x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
6 of 80 tracked investors hold MSCI. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polen Capital | Polen Capital Management | 3.24% | $376M | Reduced -27.7% |
| Viking Global | Viking Global Investors | 1.85% | $650M | New position |
| Thomas Gayner | Markel Group | 0.61% | $80.0M | Unchanged |
| Terry Smith | Fundsmith | 0.22% | $30.0M | Reduced -17.3% |
| Jensen Investment Management |  | 0.09% | $3.6M | Reduced -17.3% |
| Yacktman Asset Management |  | 0.08% | $6.1M | Unchanged |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
2 of 3 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-12 | Wiechmann Andrew C. | Chief Financial Officer | 450 | $257K | 2% | Yes (adopted September 3, 2025) | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
| 2026-06-10 | Wiechmann Andrew C. | Chief Financial Officer | 450 | $272K | 2% | Yes (adopted September 3, 2025) | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
| 2026-04-24 | Munari Alvise J. | Chief Product Officer | 10,000 | $5.9M | 29.8% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Insider purchases (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
2 purchases, $3.2M. Private placements, offerings, dividend reinvestment and employee stock purchase plan buys are excluded.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | Avg price | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-02 | Taneja Rajat | Director | 1,786 | $1.0M | 560 | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-05-15 | Fernandez Henry A | Chairman and CEO | 4,000 | $2.2M | 562.4 | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale), 18 analysts; mean target USD 681.47 (low 550, high 735).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 | JP Morgan | Target raised | Overweight | $685 → $710 |
| 2026-10-21 | Evercore ISI Group | Target raised | Outperform | $722 → $726 |
| 2026-10-21 | Wells Fargo | Target raised | Overweight | $685 → $720 |
| 2026-10-21 | RBC Capital | Reiterated | Outperform | $655 |
| 2026-10-21 | Morgan Stanley | Target raised | Overweight | $662 → $671 |
| 2026-10-14 | JP Morgan | Target lowered | Overweight | $700 → $685 |
| 2026-10-13 | Morgan Stanley | Target lowered | Overweight | $700 → $662 |
| 2026-09-29 | Wells Fargo | Target lowered | Overweight | $690 → $685 |
| 2026-07-22 | Wells Fargo | Target lowered | Overweight | $700 → $690 |
| 2026-07-22 | Evercore ISI Group | Target lowered | Outperform | $746 → $722 |
| 2026-07-22 | JP Morgan | Target lowered | Overweight | $742 → $700 |
| 2026-07-20 | JP Morgan | Target raised | Overweight | $700 → $742 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +16.8% | +1.2% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +16.8% | +0.2% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 30.8% | 30.4% |
| Max drawdown | -18.1% (Feb 2026→Feb 2026) | -41.5% (Oct 2021→Jun 2022) |

## Peers (Financial Data & Stock Exchanges)
COIN (Coinbase Global, Inc.) USD 169.09 -4.51% · NDAQ (Nasdaq, Inc.) USD 103.3 +7.47% · CBOE (Cboe Global Markets, Inc.) USD 327.72 +2.79% · MCO (Moody's Corporation) USD 491.05 +2.08% · ICE (Intercontinental Exchange Inc.) USD 163.84 +3.90% · CME (CME Group Inc.) USD 305.98 +3.45%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/MSCI · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in MSCI's own 10-K filed 2026-02-06 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1408198/000140819826000011/msci-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Partner | Intel (INTC) | "Private Capital Intel provides extensive private capital data with coverage of historical profiles, sourced directly from limited partners and supports benchmarking, market analysis and performance evaluation." |

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-09-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total reportable segment operating revenues | $817.3M | 91.6% | +13.0% |
| — Index (part of Total reportable segment operating revenues) | $532.6M | 59.7% | +18.1% |
| — Analytics (part of Total reportable segment operating revenues) | $191.0M | 21.4% | +4.8% |
| — Sustainability and Climate (part of Total reportable segment operating revenues) | $93.7M | 10.5% | +4.0% |
| All Other - Private Assets | $74.7M | 8.4% | +6.7% |
| Total revenue | $892.0M | 100% | — |

## Revenue by product line (quarter ended 2026-09-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring subscriptions | $269.5M | 30.2% | +11.1% |
| Asset-based fees | $246.6M | 27.6% | +24.9% |
| Non-recurring | $16.5M | 1.8% | +48.6% |
| Total revenue | $892.0M | 100% | — |
The lines above cover 59.7% of total revenue.

## Revenue by region (quarter ended 2026-09-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Americas | $395.7M | 44.4% | +10.2% |
| — United States (part of Total Americas) | $356.0M | 39.9% | +9.8% |
| — Other (part of Total Americas) | $39.7M | 4.5% | +14.1% |
| Total EMEA | $361.3M | 40.5% | +15.2% |
| — Other (part of Total EMEA) | $197.4M | 22.1% | +12.5% |
| — United Kingdom (part of Total EMEA) | $163.9M | 18.4% | +18.7% |
| Total Asia & Australia | $135.0M | 15.1% | +11.7% |
| — Other (part of Total Asia & Australia) | $98.2M | 11.0% | +11.2% |
| — Japan (part of Total Asia & Australia) | $36.8M | 4.1% | +12.9% |
| Total revenue | $892.0M | 100% | — |

## Customer concentration

Period ended 2026-09-30: 11.8% of revenue from unnamed direct customers (10-Q, filed 2026-10-20).

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-10-20)

- "MSCI's guidance for the year ending December 31, 2026 ("Full-Year 2026") is based on assumptions about a number of factors, in particular related to macroeconomic factors and the capital markets."

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $5.09 | $5.18 | -1.6% | $913.9M | 14 |
| Next quarter (ends 2027-03-31) | $5.30 | $5.36 | -1.1% | $929.7M | 13 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $19.66 | $19.66 | +0.0% | $3.52B | 17 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $22.39 | $22.43 | -0.2% | $3.84B | 18 |