MSCI Reports Strong Q1 2025 Results with 10% Revenue Growth and Robust Margins

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) reported first quarter 2025 results, highlighting solid growth across key financial metrics. The company posted operating revenues of $745.8 million, up 9.7% from the same quarter last year, driven by 9.9% organic revenue growth.

Recurring subscription revenue rose 7.7%, while asset-based fees climbed 18.1%, reflecting strength in client activity and market performance. MSCI’s operating margin stood at 50.6%, with adjusted EBITDA margin reaching 57.1%.

Diluted earnings per share came in at $3.71, up 15.2%, and adjusted EPS rose 13.6% to $4.00. The firm also reported a high recurring subscription retention rate of 95.3% and organic subscription Run Rate growth of 8.2%.

In Q1 and through April 21, 2025, MSCI repurchased approximately 493,322 shares, totaling $275.4 million. It also returned $139.7 million to shareholders in dividends. A second-quarter cash dividend of $1.80 per share was declared by the Board of Directors.

MSCI continues to support global investment decisions through its analytics, ESG, index, and real assets solutions, reinforcing its position as a key player in financial data services.

MSCI and Moody’s Unveil New Risk Assessment Tool to Bring Transparency to Private Credit Market

In a landmark move aimed at boosting transparency in the rapidly growing private credit sector, MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) and Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) announced today a strategic partnership to launch an independent risk assessment solution for private credit investments.

The joint initiative will deliver a first-of-its-kind, scalable framework to evaluate credit risk across private credit portfolios, offering investors company- and facility-level risk insights using transparent and quantitative metrics. The tool is designed to help institutional investors assess, benchmark, and monitor the financial strength of their private credit holdings.

MSCI will provide the foundation with its extensive dataset comprising more than 2,800 private credit funds and over 14,000 underlying companies, sourced from original documentation. Moody’s will integrate its EDF-X credit risk modeling platform, which generates early warning signals and credit quality assessments for public and private companies globally.

“As the private credit market evolves, investors are looking for trusted, independent assessments to benchmark credit risk and inform investments,” said Rob Fauber, President and CEO of Moody’s. “This partnership will play a critical role in delivering those insights.”

Henry A. Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of MSCI, emphasized the importance of the collaboration: “Private credit is reshaping the investment landscape, but with that comes the need for consistency and transparency. Our alliance with Moody’s addresses that directly.”

The new risk assessment service is distinct from Moody’s traditional credit ratings and is aimed at enhancing portfolio-level decision-making without serving as a formal issuer rating.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today that it will release its results for the first quarter 2025 on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, before the market opens. A copy of the earnings release, as well as an earnings presentation and a quarterly update, will be made available on MSCI’s Investor Relations website.

MSCI’s senior management will review the first quarter 2025 results on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. To listen to the live event via webcast, visit the events and presentations section of MSCI’s Investor Relations website, https://ir.msci.com/events-and-presentations.

MSCI Inc. announced that Wayne Edmunds has decided to retire from its Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Edmunds has served on the board since 2015 and is currently a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Compensation, Talent, and Culture Committee. His retirement is not due to any disagreements regarding MSCI’s operations, policies, or practices.

Following his departure, MSCI’s board will be reduced from thirteen to twelve members. The report was signed by Chairman and CEO Henry A. Fernandez on February 25, 2025.

MSCI Inc. granted CEO Henry A. Fernandez a one-time stock option award valued at $15 million, with exercise prices set at significant premiums to the current stock price. The options will vest in five years and are subject to continued service. The company also increased his annual long-term equity incentive compensation from $11.6 million to $14.6 million, with the entirety of the award being performance-based. The changes reflect MSCI’s commitment to aligning executive compensation with shareholder value.

MSCI Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has appointed June Yang as an independent director, effective December 17, 2024. Initially, she was not assigned to any board committee. However, on January 28, 2025, the Board appointed her to the Audit and Risk Committee.

Under the company's non-employee director compensation program, she will receive an annual retainer of $10,000 for her service on the committee, payable in cash or stock at her election. The retainer will be prorated from the date she joined the committee.

MSCI Inc. , , today announced its financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2024 (“fourth quarter 2024”) and full year ended December 31, 2024 (“full year 2024”).

Financial and Operational Highlights for Fourth Quarter 2024
(Note: Unless otherwise noted, percentage and other changes are relative to the three months ended December 31, 2023 (“fourth quarter 2023”) and Run Rate percentage changes are relative to December 31, 2023).


•Operating revenues of $743.5 million, up 7.7%; Organic operating revenue growth of 7.4%
•Recurring subscription revenues up 7.5%; Asset-based fees up 20.8%
•Operating margin of 54.5%; Adjusted EBITDA margin of 60.8%
•Diluted EPS of $3.90, down 23.1%; Adjusted EPS of $4.18, up 13.6%
•New recurring subscription sales down by 0.9%; Organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth of 7.9%; Retention Rate of 93.1%
•In full year 2024 and through January 28, 2025, a total of $865.5 million or 1,599,271 shares were repurchased at an average repurchase price of $541.20
•In fourth quarter 2024, dividends of $124.8 million were paid to shareholders; Cash dividend of $1.80 per share declared by MSCI Board of Directors for first quarter 2025, an increase of 12.5%