MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, and the provider of market data and post-trade services for the global fixed-income markets, today announced monthly trading volume for December 2022 and preliminary variable transaction fees per million (“FPM”) for the month of December and the quarter ended December 31, 2022.¹

Chris Concannon, President and COO of MarketAxess commented: “We delivered another strong month with a 27% increase in total credit ADV, driven by a 26% increase in U.S. high-grade ADV and record estimated market share across high-yield, emerging markets, Eurobonds and municipals. These market share gains reflect the powerful benefits of our unique all-to-all liquidity pool.  

Open Trading estimated price improvement⁴ was approximately $79 million in December and average estimated price improvement per million was approximately $1,042. For full-year 2022, estimated price improvement was approximately $946 million, 65% above the prior year.

The strong share gains we delivered this year reflect the increasing strength of our franchise, driven by the investments we have made to expand our product and geographic foundation. We believe that these strong results and the favorable backdrop for fixed income markets in 2023 create a very attractive operating environment for our model in the new year.” 

Select December 2022 highlights*

• Strong December with 27% increase in total credit average daily volume (“ADV”) to $10.6 billion.
• Record 22.8% (+140 bps) composite corporate bond estimated market share,² up from 21.4%.
• 26% increase in U.S. high-grade ADV to $5.1 billion with estimated market share of 23.4%. Estimated U.S. high-grade TRACE market ADV increased 27%.
• 25% increase in U.S. high-yield ADV to $1.6 billion with record estimated market share of 21.4% (+310 bps), up from 18.3%.
• Emerging markets ADV of $2.1 billion, down slightly; flat excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. Emerging markets market volumes down 22%. Record 32.9% estimated market share of FINRA TRACE-reportable emerging markets trading volume.³
• Record 19.6% (+520 bps) estimated Eurobonds market share, up from 14.4%. $1.4 billion in Eurobonds ADV, representing an increase of 56%; up approximately 63% excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• $473 million in municipal bond ADV with record estimated market share of 5.5% (+330 bps).
• 38% of total credit trading volume was executed via Open Trading®, up from 36%. Estimated price improvement⁴ via Open Trading was approximately $79 million, and average estimated price improvement per million was $1,042.
• The preliminary FPM for total credit for December was $165, compared to $163 in November. The increase in U.S. high-grade average fees per million in December, driven in part by an increase in duration during the month, was partially offset by lower average fees per million in other credit products due to product mix.¹

*All comparisons versus December 2021 unless otherwise noted.

Table 1: December 2022 trading ADV

Table 1A: December 2022 estimated market share

Table 1B: 4Q22 trading ADV

Table 1C: 4Q22 estimated market share

Select 4Q22 highlights**

• 24% increase in total credit ADV to $12.0 billion.
• Record 20.9% (+210 bps) composite corporate bond estimated market share,² up from 18.8%.
• 22% increase in U.S. high-grade ADV to $5.5 billion with estimated market share of 21.1%. Estimated U.S. high-grade TRACE market ADV increased 23%.
• Record U.S. high-yield estimated market share of 20.5% (+500 bps), up from 15.5%, on ADV of $1.8 billion, representing an increase of 33%.
• Emerging markets ADV of $2.7 billion, up 3%; up approximately 5% excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. Emerging markets market volumes down 22%. Record 31.5% estimated market share of FINRA TRACE-reportable emerging markets trading volume.³
• Record 18.2% (+500 bps) Eurobonds estimated market share, up from 13.2% on record ADV of $1.6 billion, representing an increase of 34%; up approximately 49% excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
• Record 5.0% (+260 bps) municipal bond estimated market share on record ADV of $500 million.
• Record 38% of total credit trading volume was executed via Open Trading, up from 36% in the prior year. Estimated price improvement⁴ via Open Trading was approximately $246 million, and average estimated price improvement per million was $988.
• Record $31 billion in portfolio trading volume, up from $13 billion in 4Q21, and $25 billion in 3Q22.
• 3.1% (+20 bps) U.S. Treasury estimated market share, up from 2.9%.
• The preliminary FPM for total credit for the quarter was $164.0, compared to $165.6 in 3Q22. The preliminary FPM for total rates for the quarter was $4.10.¹

**All comparisons versus 4Q21 unless otherwise noted.

¹ The FPM for total credit and total rates for the month of December and quarter ended December 31, 2022 are preliminary and may be revised in subsequent updates and public filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any fee information in future press releases.

² Composite corporate bond estimated market share is defined as combined estimated market share across U.S. high-grade (derived from FINRA TRACE reported data), U.S. high-yield (derived from FINRA TRACE reported data), emerging markets (derived from FINRA TRACE-reportable emerging markets volume, principally U.S. dollar denominated corporates) and Eurobonds (derived from MarketAxess TRAX data which is currently estimated to represent approximately 70% of the total European market) product areas.

³ Emerging markets estimated market share calculated using FINRA TRACE-reportable emerging markets trading volume, principally U.S. dollar denominated corporates.

⁴ Estimated price improvement consists of estimated liquidity taker price improvement (defined as the difference between the winning price and the best disclosed dealer cover price) and estimated liquidity provider price improvement (defined as the difference between the winning price and then current Composite+ bid or offer level, offer if the provider is buying, bid if provider is selling) at the time of the inquiry.

⁵ The number of U.S. trading days is based on the SIFMA holiday recommendation calendar and the number of U.K. trading days is based primarily on the U.K. Bank holiday schedule.

Reported MarketAxess volume in all product categories includes only fully electronic trading volume. MarketAxess trading volumes, TRACE reported volumes and MarketAxess Post-Trade processed volumes are available on the Company’s website at investor.marketaxess.com/volume.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the outlook and prospects for Company and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company’s future financial and operating performance. These and other statements that relate to future results and events are based on MarketAxess’ current expectations. The Company’s actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including: global economic, political and market factors; risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possible effects of the economic conditions worldwide resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; adverse effects as a result of climate change or other ESG risks that could affect our reputation; the level of trading volume transacted on the MarketAxess platform; the rapidly evolving nature of the electronic financial services industry; the level and intensity of competition in the fixed-income electronic trading industry and the pricing pressures that may result; reputational or credibility risks related to our data products and index business; the variability of our growth rate; our ability to introduce new fee plans and our clients’ response; our ability to attract clients or adapt our technology and marketing strategy to new markets; risks related to our growing international operations; our dependence on our broker-dealer clients; the loss of any of our significant institutional investor clients; our exposure to risks resulting from non-performance by counterparties to transactions executed between our clients in which we act as an intermediary in matched principal trades; risks related to self-clearing; the effect of rapid market or technological changes on us and the users of our technology; our dependence on third-party suppliers for key products and services; our ability to successfully maintain the integrity of our trading platform and our response to system failures, capacity constraints and business interruptions; the occurrence of design defects, errors, failures or delays with our platforms; our vulnerability to cyber security risks; our actual or perceived failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights or technology and defend against intellectual property infringement or other claims; our ability to enter into strategic alliances and to acquire other businesses and successfully integrate them with our business; our dependence on our management team and our ability to attract and retain talent; limitations on our flexibility because we operate in a highly regulated industry; the increasing government regulation of us and our clients; risks related to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union; our exposure to costs and penalties related to our extensive regulation; our risks of litigation and securities laws liability; our future capital needs and our ability to obtain capital when needed; limitations on our operating flexibility contained in our credit agreement; and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about these and other factors affecting MarketAxess’ business and prospects is contained in MarketAxess’ periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be accessed at www.marketaxess.com.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform that delivers greater trading efficiency, a diversified pool of liquidity and significant cost savings to institutional investors and broker-dealers across the global fixed-income markets. Over 1,900 firms leverage MarketAxess’ patented technology to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading® marketplace is widely regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets. Founded in 2000, MarketAxess connects a robust network of market participants through the full trading lifecycle, including automated trading solutions, intelligent data products and a range of post-trade services. Learn more at www.marketaxess.com and on Twitter @MarketAxess.

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