ICE Q3 2026 Earnings: Futures Revenue Up 30% as Volume Jumps 31%

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reported third-quarter 2026 earnings on October 29, 2026, through its earnings release, Form 10-Q and earnings call, and the main development was that a 31% jump in futures volume turned into revenue at roughly the same rate, putting results ahead of the prior baseline [1][2][3]. Third-quarter net revenue was $2.765 billion, up 15%, and adjusted diluted EPS was $2.02, up 18% [1].

Going into the quarter, three questions mattered: whether the futures volume surge would convert into revenue at existing fees, whether subscription growth in fixed income data could hold the full-year guidance, and whether mortgage subscription revenue could move beyond growth of about 2%. The first question was confirmed. On the second, current-quarter revenue beat guidance, but the leading subscription measure kept slowing. On the third, growth picked up but stayed short of the bar, and the segment margin fell. Growth is currently led by exchange volume, and futures volume is up only 13% so far in the fourth quarter, so third-quarter growth cannot be extrapolated [3].

ICE runs futures trading and clearing, the New York Stock Exchange, bond data and indices, and US mortgage software. In 2025 its net revenue was $9.931 billion, with Exchanges at 54.5%, Fixed Income and Data Services at 24.4% and Mortgage Technology at 21.2% [4]. The exchanges charge fees per contract, while the data and software businesses mainly earn subscription fees.

ICE futures revenue grew 30% as volume rose 31%

Third-quarter futures and options revenue grew almost in line with volume and met the confirmation bar set before the quarter. Futures and options revenue was $876 million versus $672 million a year earlier, up 30.4%, and energy revenue was $603 million, up 25% [1]. Average daily volume rose 31% over the same period, and energy volume rose 18% [2]. Both results cleared the earlier confirmation bars of 28% for total revenue growth and 18% for energy revenue growth.

The net fee per energy contract did not fall as volume rose. Rate per contract (RPC) is the fee per contract after volume rebates. In the second quarter, when energy volume fell, energy RPC rose to $1.90 [5]. In the third quarter, after volume increased, energy RPC was $1.89, up 6% year over year [2]. This shows the second-quarter fee improvement was not just a low-volume effect, but the company did not break down its source, so the separate contributions of options mix and pricing remain unknown.

Higher fees in energy offset the dilution from a larger share of interest rate contracts. Financial futures and options RPC fell 5% year over year, so financial revenue grew more slowly than its 45% volume increase [2]. Dividing revenue by contracts traded gives average revenue of about $1.29 per contract, roughly flat with about $1.30 a year earlier.

Most of the extra revenue from higher volume reached profit. Exchanges segment net revenue was $1.542 billion, up 22%, and the adjusted operating margin rose from 73% to 76% [1]. Currency moves reduced segment revenue by $4 million, so the growth came from volume, and total open interest at the end of September was up 13%, giving the fourth quarter a base of open positions [2].

Fixed income data revenue beat guidance as subscription growth slowed

Recurring revenue in Fixed Income and Data Services beat full-year guidance, but its leading indicator kept slowing. Third-quarter recurring revenue was $538 million, up 9% [1], and management said growth was about 8% after excluding roughly $3 million of one-time items [3]. In July the company guided to 7%-8% full-year growth and expected the second half to sit at the low end of that range [6]; this quarter it changed full-year guidance to about 8% [1]. Annual subscription value (subscription revenue for the next 12 months) was $2.107 billion at the end of September, up 7.7%, below 7.9% at the end of June, the fourth straight quarter of slower growth [2][7].

Mortgage subscription revenue accelerated while margin fell

Mortgage Technology subscription revenue sped up but did not reach the 4% growth expected earlier. Third-quarter recurring revenue was $405 million, up about 3.6%, compared with 2% in the first half [1][8]. Management said part of the growth came from new customers coming online [3]; servicing software grew 6%, but that includes per-transaction default management revenue whose contribution was not disclosed [2]. Transaction revenue grew only 4%, and the segment's adjusted operating margin fell from 42% to 40% [1][2]. The company expects fourth-quarter transaction revenue to decline both year over year and from the third quarter [3].

Conclusion

This report strengthens the case for ICE's growth capacity, but the growth is concentrated in exchange volume. Adjusted operating expenses rose 9%, slower than net revenue, and the adjusted operating margin rose from 59% to 61% [1]. Adjusted free cash flow for the first nine months was $3.728 billion, up 17%, while third-quarter interest expense was $222 million versus $192 million a year earlier [1]. The company expects the MarketAxess acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2027, and leverage excluding the pre-funded notes was 2.65 times [1][3]. The next tests are whether energy fees hold as volume slows, whether annual subscription value growth stops slowing, and whether mortgage subscription revenue reaches 4%.

Sources

[1] ICE 8-K filed 2026-10-29 · Exhibit 99.1 3Q26 earnings release, October 29, 2026, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 earnings release, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000110465926119880/tm2628301d1_ex99-1.htm [2] ICE 10-Q filed 2026-10-29, October 29, 2026, Form 10-Q quarterly report, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000157194926000015/ice-20260930.htm [3] ICE Q3 2026 earnings call 2026-10-29 · transcript, October 29, 2026, third-quarter 2026 earnings call [4] ICE 10-K filed 2026-02-05 · FY2025 segment financial data, February 5, 2026, Form 10-K annual report, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000157194926000004/ [5] ICE 10-Q filed 2026-07-30 · futures volume and rate per contract, July 30, 2026, Form 10-Q quarterly report, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000157194926000011/ [6] ICE Q2 2026 earnings call 2026-07-30 · guidance, July 30, 2026, second-quarter 2026 earnings call [7] ICE 10-Q filed 2026-07-30 · ASV at June 30, 2026, July 30, 2026, Form 10-Q quarterly report, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000157194926000011/ [8] ICE 10-Q filed 2026-07-30 · Mortgage Technology income data, July 30, 2026, Form 10-Q quarterly report, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571949/000157194926000011/