CMC Markets has reported a strong set of annual results, with FY26 profit before tax rising 20% to £101.3m and net operating income increasing 15% to a record £392.6m outside the exceptional trading conditions seen during the pandemic.

The trading and investment platform also lifted its full-year dividend by 21% to 13.8p per share and said it had made a positive start to FY27, forecasting net operating income growth of at least 17% to between £460m and £480m.

Earnings also totalled £117.8m in this period, compared to £103.4m in the previous year.

Investors welcomed the results, sending CMC Markets shares up around 20% during trading and to a new 52-week high, owing to a combination of better than expected income, strong Australian growth, and bullish 2027 outlook built on a diversified, scalable and resilient business model.

Growth was driven by strong momentum across the group's institutional and B2B operations, including its neobank API partnership and record performance from its Australian stockbroking business, where income rose 32% year-on-year. Major partnerships with Westpac and ASB Bank remain on track for launch within the next 12 months.

The next 12 months are expected to be a defining period as key partnerships go live and new products are rolled out across international markets. The company said it continued to make progress on its multi-asset platform, Super App strategy and digital asset infrastructure, while also preparing to expand into European certificates and warrants.

Peter Cruddas, founder and chief executive of CMC Markets, said: "FY2026 was another year of exceptional delivery for CMC, against a second half defined by extreme volatility. We have had tariffs, wars, de-dollarisation narratives, a parabolic move in gold and silver, persistent energy supply and demand tensions, and AI-driven speculative behaviour, especially across commodities.”

Baron Cruddas added: "CMC has reached a very exciting inflection point, and we now stand ready to enter the next phase of growth, driven by the scale of the platform and infrastructure we have built over recent years. As founder and majority shareholder, my interests remain firmly aligned with all shareholders. I have never sold a share since IPO, and I have no plans to sell any for the foreseeable future."

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