By Rob Curran

MSCI's fourth-quarter net income slipped as higher expenses offset brisk revenue growth for the financial-services firm.

The provider of indexes and other investment services posted earnings of $284.7 million, or $3.81 a share, down from $305.5 million, or $3.90 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-off items, MSCI logged adjusted earnings of $4.66 a share, besting the mean analyst estimate of $4.60 a share.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 11% to $822.5 million, more or less in line with the average analyst peg of $822 million. Index subscription revenue rose 7.8% to $246.4 million. Asset-based fees at the index unit surged 21% to $211.7 million.

Analytics revenue rose 5.5% to $182.3 million.

Revenue at the sustainability and climate unit, which provides ESG ratings among other things, increased 5.9% to $90.3 million.

In the all other-private assets unit, revenue was up 8.4% at $70.9 million.

Operating expenses rose 6% to $358.9 million for the quarter.

For 2026, MSCI is targeting free cash flow between $1.47 billion and $1.53 billion. The index provider anticipates operating expenses for the year between $1.49 billion and $1.53 billion, up from $1.42 billion in 2025.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2026 07:10 ET (12:10 GMT)

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