CMC Markets Earnings Preview: Raised Guidance and Share Price Surge Fuel Investor Optimism

CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX) heads into its full-year FY2026 results next week on 4 June, riding a tailwind of upgraded guidance and a share price recovery after a period of turbulence earlier in the year.

The London-based trading and fintech group set a bullish tone when it unveiled its half-year results in November 2025, reporting net operating income of £186.2 million for the six months to 30 September 2025 — up 5% year-on-year — and promptly raising full-year guidance.

Management indicated FY2026 net operating income would be approximately 10% ahead of the then-consensus of £353.9 million, implying a full-year figure in the region of £390 million.

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Analysts currently carry an EPS estimate of around 29.2p for the current year, with a consensus price target of approximately 312p — a figure the stock has since surged well past.

That share price performance has been notable. CMCX bottomed around 203 in November 2025, having endured a sell-off from around August 2024.

From that trough, however, the stock staged a sharp reversal, climbing to touch a 52-week high of 399p in mid-May before easing to around 370p as of Thursday’s close — still representing a gain of more than 31% in the past 12 months.

Investors will be focused on the performance of CMC’s Westpac partnership in Australia — its largest institutional deal to date — alongside the explosive growth of its API neobank partnerships, which have driven account openings across 30-plus European countries with minimal incremental cost.

The Australian stockbroking arm delivered a record H1, with net operating income up 34% to AUD65.9 million.

On the cost front, operating expenses for FY2026 are guided to be marginally above the £231.4 million consensus, partly due to a one-off Australian remediation charge of £5.2 million. Management expects efficiency gains from its transition of operations to lower-cost jurisdictions to flow through over the next 12–18 months.

With a forward P/E of approximately 13.9x, a dividend yield of around 3.5%, and momentum firmly in its favour, the market will be watching closely to see whether CEO Lord Cruddas can deliver on one of the year’s most notable corporate upgrades.