CMC Markets: Next Gen Finance

CMC is riding the structural growth in retail investing. It is expanding beyond trading and execution into tax-efficient savings, ISAs and wealth, turning transactional users into longer-term investors. That deepens retention, grows assets under administration and smooths earnings across market cycles, giving CMC a lower-cost funnel into recurring, asset-linked revenue rather than volatility-driven income alone. Crucially, CMC captures this growth in two ways, on its own platform and increasingly through the partners that embed its technology.

The trading infrastructure CMC built for itself is now a product in its own right, and it has become the Group's growth engine. This did not happen overnight. It is the payoff from years of patient investment in technology and partnerships, a model that is hard to build and harder to replicate, which is now delivering significant revenue and growth. Banks, brokers and fintechs embed CMC's technology, and as their clients use this service the income CMC receives scales against a largely fixed cost base. The operating leverage is now visible in the latest numbers. In July 2026 CMC raised FY2027 net operating income guidance to at least £550 million, well ahead of the prior £460 million to £480 million, with EBITDA guided to £250 million. Management attributes the upgrade to exceptional B2B growth and points to a continuous pipeline of new partnerships

In Australia, CMC runs one of the country's largest retail stockbroking businesses, a high-quality, recurring revenue base that earns steady fees from client assets rather than depending on trading activity. FY2026 was a record year for the division, with net operating income up 32%. The transformational Westpac partnership will add roughly A$39 billion of assets across about half a million accounts as it onboards, bringing a wave of new clients and assets that lifts the business to a materially larger scale. Yet many investors still think of CMC as a UK trading business, meaning the value of this fast-growing Australian franchise has not yet been reflected in the share price.

• Multi-Asset Wallet Deployment: The development of a single wallet for managing fiat, crypto, equities and tokenised assets will mark a major milestone in CMC’s transformation. This interface is designed to bridge the gap between traditional investing and Web 3.0 participation.

• Tokenisation at Scale: As regulatory clarity improves and investor appetite grows, CMC plans to scale access to tokenised products across public and private markets. This initiative positions CMC as a key infrastructure provider in the next wave of financial services innovation.

• TradingView Integration: The partnership with TradingView is expected to enhance visibility and onboarding of retail clients globally, particularly among active traders already using the charting platform. This should drive both client acquisition and engagement within the trading vertical.

• Bermuda Office Launch: The recent Bermuda launch opens access to new regulatory-friendly jurisdictions and international clients, supporting faster expansion into crypto and digital asset services, while providing 24/7 support for global user flows.

• Westpac & ASB Bank go-live: Both Australian stockbroking white-labels are in build phase and targeted for launch during 2027, materially scaling the investing platform.

• UK Cash ISA Growth: With strong early inflows and minimal marketing spend, CMC’s digital cash ISA offering in the UK is poised for growth. As interest rates stabilise, the platform is likely to cross-sell ISAs, general investment accounts and SIPPs to new retail clients.

Customer acquisition remains one of the most competitive dynamics in retail trading and investing. New entrants and well-funded fintech platforms continue to invest heavily in marketing, pricing incentives, and user experience. This can increase customer acquisition costs and extend payback periods, particularly in quieter market environments. While CMC’s API strategy reduces reliance on direct acquisition, the core D2C business still requires ongoing investment. If competitors continue to outspend or differentiate more effectively, growth rates and margins could come under pressure.

Client retention is a critical driver of long-term value, particularly in retail trading where activity levels fluctuate with market conditions. Churn can increase during periods of low volatility or when users migrate to alternative platforms offering new features or incentives. CMC is addressing this through broader product offerings, such as investing, ISAs, and international equities and improved platform functionality. However, maintaining high engagement and increasing lifetime value remains an execution challenge, especially as users increasingly operate across multiple platforms.

CMC’s relatively low free float reduces liquidity in its shares, which can limit participation from large institutional investors. This can suppress valuation multiples compared to more liquid peers and reduce the likelihood of index inclusion. Even as fundamentals improve, share price performance may lag if liquidity constraints remain. Over time, increased scale or structural changes could improve this, but it remains a key consideration for investors today.