EARNINGS PREVIEW:Trading Slowdown, Regulatory Woes Hang Over Exchanges In 4Q
25 Gennaio 2012 - 8:14PM
Dow Jones News
TAKING THE PULSE: The new year finds exchanges in soul-searching
mode as a nearly year-long push by NYSE Euronext (NYX) and German
exchange operator Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) to seal their $17.7
billion tie-up is seen as all but dead amid increasingly unlikely
European Union approval of the deal. The collapse of that deal--the
sector's largest in years--would cap a year that saw the failure of
several ambitious, cross-border exchange mergers, and push
executives toward smaller, less-transformative dealmaking.
Exchanges in the fourth quarter were hard-pressed to match the
third quarter's trading surge as a normal slowdown during the
holidays was only worsened by nagging fears over the debt crisis in
Europe. Stock exchanges have been particularly hard hit, with
December ranking as the quietest month for buying and selling U.S.
equities in four years. Meanwhile, the collapse last year of MF
Global Holdings (MFGLQ) remains an overhang on the futures sector
as questions persist over regulatory practices.
COMPANIES TO WATCH:
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) - Reports Feb. 1
Wall Street Expectations: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are
looking for a per-share profit of 62 cents on $418 million in
revenue. A year earlier, the company turned in per-share earnings
of 69 cents--55 cents excluding one-time items--on $400 million in
revenue.
Key Issues: A trading slump is still crimping Nasdaq, which lost
some market share in stock-trading and is expected to see lower
overall fees from its options markets. The exchange operator in
turn is focusing on adding services beyond the execution of trades
for its members. Details on new acquisitions and payoff from recent
deals for platforms like FTEN are expected to remain the focus for
the electronic market operator. Tech-heavy Nasdaq in the fourth
quarter also chalked up a string of listing wins, including the
defection of blue chip Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) from Big Board
operator NYSE Euronext.
CME Group Inc. (CME) - Reports Feb. 2
Wall Street Expectations: Analysts predict a per-share profit of
$3.71 on $754 million in revenue. A year earlier, the company
reported per-share earnings of $2.93--$3.77 excluding one-time
items--on $763 million in revenue.
Key Issues: The demise of MF Global Holdings--among the biggest
brokers in the futures industry--took center stage for CME in the
fourth quarter, and as the largest self-regulatory organization in
the U.S. futures market, the exchange company has faced increased
scrutiny as both a regulator and a business. MF Global's
late-October downfall left a sizable hole in the futures market,
dampening some trading and revealing a still-unresolved shortfall
in customer funds that has been estimated at $1.2 billion. As 2011
wound down, investors reduced their outstanding business on CME's
markets to its lowest level of the year and trading slowed in
contracts linked to interest rates and stock indexes.
IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) - Reports Feb. 8
Wall Street Expectations: Analysts are looking for a per-share
profit of $1.68 on $326 million in revenue. A year earlier, the
company reported per-share earnings of $1.34--$1.35 excluding
one-time items--on $285 million in revenue.
Key Issues: The futures market operator saw trade in its energy
and commodity markets slow from frantic third-quarter levels, with
traders in particular pulling back from ICE's soft commodity
markets--factors that some analysts attributed in part to the gap
left by MF Global's exit. Contract volume declines are expected to
be offset by higher average fees collected by ICE on trading,
particularly in energy derivatives that are traded privately
between banks and big trading firms. Analysts are uncertain whether
ICE will be able to keep up its strong growth pace in the New Year;
J.P. Morgan told clients this month that the exchange could run
into trouble boosting volume in its key energy franchise given last
year's unusually strong levels.
CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE) - Reports Feb. 9
Wall Street Expectations: Analysts expect a per-share profit of
35 cents on $122 million in revenue. A year earlier, the company
reported per-share earnings of 31 cents--32 cents excluding
one-time items--on $117.4 million in revenue.
Key Issues: CBOE saw its bread-and-butter stock-options trading
slide as 2011 came to an end, due in part to a leveling-off of the
market volatility that fuels trade in the company's most popular
contracts. Turnover in CBOE's proprietary options linked to major
stock indexes came in 22% higher than fourth-quarter 2010 levels,
but single-stock options volume fell 25% and overall trading
averaged about one-fifth below the activity of the tumultuous third
quarter. Expect CBOE to outline growth prospects for its in-house
derivatives markets, including contracts linked to its widely
followed VIX volatility index, and a nascent push into futures
trading.
NYSE Euronext (NYX) - Reports Feb. 10
Wall Street Expectations: Analysts are looking for a per-share
profit of 52 cents on $639 million in revenue. The company a year
ago reported earnings of 51 cents a share--46 cents excluding
one-time items--on $613 million in revenue.
Key Issues: Very slim chances are seen for the Big Board's
efforts to secure its planned tie-up with Deutsche Boerse after
European Union antitrust regulators determined this month that
merging the firms' European derivatives markets would create a
monopoly. A decision on the matter is set for Feb. 1 in Brussels,
and investors will be looking for Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer
a week later to lay out the path forward for his company. NYSE and
Deutsche Boerse haven't ruled out a court fight if the EU blocks
their deal, but analysts expect Niederauer to chart a course that
includes share repurchases, cost-cutting and a refocus on NYSE
Euronext's ambitious effort to expand its technology division.
(The Thomson Reuters estimate and year-ago figures may not be
comparable due to one-time items and other adjustments.)
-By Mia Lamar and Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-3207; mia.lamar@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Set 2024 a Ott 2024
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Ott 2023 a Ott 2024