CMC Markets raised its FY2027 profit guidance for the second time this year, sending shares to an all-time high in Wednesday trading.
Shares in CMC Markets (LSE:CMCX) surged as much as 24% on Wednesday after the London-listed trading platform operator sharply upgraded its net operating income guidance for the year to March 2027, pointing to explosive growth in its business-to-business division.
The stock was trading at 569p in mid-morning dealing, up 24.2% on the day, after touching an intraday high of 575.52p. That is a new all-time high, eclipsing the previous peak of 559p set in April 2021, according to Finance Magnates. Shares had closed at 458p on Tuesday.
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A Second Upgrade This Year
CMC said on Wednesday that it now expects net operating income for FY2027 of at least £550 million, “materially ahead” of the £460 million to £480 million range it had set only weeks earlier. The company also guided to EBITDA of £250 million, while cost guidance excluding variable remuneration was left unchanged at approximately £280 million.
It is the second time this year CMC has lifted its FY2027 outlook. The first upgrade came alongside its full-year results in June, when net operating income for the year just ended rose 15% to £392.6 million and profit before tax increased 20% to £101.3 million. According to Finance Magnates, Wednesday’s new guidance sits well above the £385.5 million analysts had pencilled in, based on a company-compiled consensus.
Management attributed the latest upgrade to “exponential and exceptional growth” in its business-to-business platform, which supplies trading technology and liquidity to banks, brokers and fintech partners including ANZ, Westpac and Revolut. CMC Markets said: “The strength of this performance reflects the scale of our B2B platforms driving operational gearing and delivering higher profit margins as income growth is delivered against a largely fixed cost base.”
CMC, founded by chief executive Peter Cruddas in 1989, has spent recent years shifting from its roots as a retail contracts-for-difference broker toward a platform model serving institutional and banking partners. That pivot has coincided with a broader rally across listed trading platforms: IG Group hit a record high in May after lifting its own revenue guidance, while Plus500 and Warsaw-listed XTB have both reported strong growth this year, according to Finance Magnates.
CMC said its B2B platform business has “several important milestones expected over the next 12 months and a continuous pipeline of new B2B opportunities,” with operating expenses to remain broadly fixed as income scales. The group’s next scheduled update is its half-year results on 19 November 2026, when markets will look for evidence that Wednesday’s momentum has carried through the first half of the financial year. For now, the market’s message is clear: CMC’s shift toward institutional partnerships is reshaping how it is valued.