Here’s Why CMC Markets Shares Are Up 150% This Year

CMC Markets (LON: CMCX), the online trading platform, has witnessed a staggering 150% surge in its share price so far in 2024. This impressive rise has prompted many to seek answers to the underlying factors driving this substantial growth.

One of the primary drivers behind CMC Markets' positive stock performance has been its financial performance, with the company raising its net operating income forecast.

In its latest trading update, CMC said it now expects full-year 2024 net operating income to exceed the top end of the previously guided range of between £290 and £310 million. In January, the company lifted the range from £250 to £280 million.

CMC Markets' strong momentum in the third quarter has also persisted into the fourth quarter and it “continues to see strength in the institutional and B2B [business-to-business] business as the Group benefits from the long-term investments in this area.” CMC also has a strong pipeline of B2B partnerships, “some of which are in the advanced stages.”

Furthermore, while it is performing well, CMC Markets is also cutting costs, announcing in February that it was reducing its global headcount by around 17%. This should give them annualised savings of £21 million to be realised in 2025. That news resulted in a more than 18% jump in the CMC share price. 

Other factors influencing the company's share price surge this year include an improvement in market conditions led by an increased contribution from the company's B2B and institutional business, with the group benefiting from long-term investments in this area. 

Following the company's March trading update in which it lifted its guidance, analysts at Peel Hunt said the statement “again illustrates the strong operational gearing in the model, and – encouragingly – that the company is starting to realise the benefits of the investments it has made.”