MCX Q2 profit jumps 130% to Rs 455 crore, shares fall 7%
MCX's September-quarter profit rose 130% to Rs 454.57 crore on record options trading, yet the stock fell as much as 7% after a sharp run-up.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the country's main commodity derivatives exchange, reported consolidated net profit of Rs 454.57 crore for the July to September 2026 quarter, up 130.2% from Rs 197.47 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations more than doubled. Even so, its shares fell nearly 7% at one point on 4 November, as reported by Kotak Neo and Lapaas Voice, because the stock had run up before the results and costs came in higher than some analysts expected.
What MCX reported
Revenue from operations was Rs 799.66 crore, up 113.7% from Rs 374.23 crore. Total income, which includes other income, was Rs 851.28 crore, up 112.4%. Total expenses rose 40.5% to Rs 211.36 crore, so costs grew far more slowly than income. That gap is the reason profit grew faster than revenue. EPS, or earnings per share, was Rs 17.83 against Rs 7.74, according to Kotak Neo.
Lapaas Voice adds a measure of operating profit. EBITDA, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was Rs 611.24 crore, up 150.9% from Rs 243.63 crore. The EBITDA margin was 76.4% against 65.1% a year earlier, up 11.3 percentage points. For the half year to September, income from operations was Rs 1,501.66 crore against Rs 747.44 crore, and net profit was Rs 868.01 crore against Rs 400.66 crore.
MCX also put Rs 51.50 crore of capital into its wholly owned subsidiary MCX Coal Exchange of India. The auditors, V. Sankar Aiyar and Co., noted that interim financial information for one wholly owned subsidiary was not independently reviewed, Kotak Neo reports.
What drove revenue: options
An exchange earns a fee on every contract traded. MCX's boom comes from options on commodities. An option gives a buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price by a set date. Lapaas Voice reports that average daily options turnover was Rs 12,00,129 crore and average daily futures turnover was Rs 62,819 crore, with options making up about 76% of transaction revenue, up from 75% in the previous quarter.
Turnover in options is counted by the notional value of the underlying contract, not the premium paid, so the numbers look very large next to the fees earned. What matters for revenue is the number of contracts and the fee per contract. The sources do not break down either, and Kotak Neo says the article does not mention any change in tariffs or fees.
Physical deliveries in the quarter, per Lapaas Voice, were 5.68 tonnes of gold, 199.91 tonnes of silver and 34,707 tonnes of base metals. Jefferies, quoted there, said revenue rose 14% from the previous quarter.
Why shares fell on a strong quarter
The stock opened at about Rs 3,395, touched Rs 3,423.15 and then dropped to Rs 3,252.50, trading at Rs 3,298.30 at 10:47 am, down 5.53% from Rs 3,493 on BSE, Kotak Neo reports. It says no specific reason for the decline is given. Lapaas Voice reports the fall as nearly 7% intraday and offers explanations from analysts.
Jefferies said EBITDA was broadly in line with its estimates, but technology costs grew faster than it expected, and a tax charge of about Rs 47 crore at MCX Clearing Corporation for the first half of FY27 was recognised in the quarter. SBI Securities' Sunny Agrawal called the results broadly in line, said the fall was partly profit booking, and kept a positive long-term view citing rising participation and options volumes.
Profit booking means investors selling to lock in gains. Lapaas Voice says the stock gained about 7.8% on 3 November, reached a 52-week high and was up roughly 53% in 2026. When a stock has risen that much into a result, even a strong number can be treated as "already priced in". The two outlets agree on the direction of the move, but exact prices differ by time of day and exchange.
What it means for traders and the market
For traders in commodity derivatives, the results show participation is high and options are the growth segment. For the exchange, high margins reflect a business where costs grow far more slowly than activity, but such a business depends on activity staying high. If volumes fall, income falls and costs do not. MCX's regulators and rules matter too: SEBI sets position limits and risk norms for commodity derivatives, and changes can alter volumes. The sources read do not cite any such change this quarter.
For anyone watching listed exchanges, it is worth noticing that the results are strong and the share price still fell. Share prices reflect expectations of future earnings, not just past quarters. That is an observation about market behaviour, not advice to buy, sell or hold.
The simulator below shows how much profit depends on income when costs are roughly fixed. It uses the quarter's reported revenue and expenses. Move the income slider to see the effect of a fall in activity, keeping costs where they are.
The gap between turnover and revenue
A first-time reader may find it odd that daily options turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh crore produces revenue of under Rs 800 crore for a whole quarter. The reason is that exchanges do not earn a share of the notional value. They charge a small fee per contract or per rupee of premium traded, and the notional figure is the face value of the contracts, which can be many times what changes hands. Think of a property deal: the price of the house is the notional, while the broker's commission is the revenue. That is why turnover headlines can look enormous while the exchange's income looks modest.
It is also why the mix matters. Lapaas Voice reports options at about 76% of transaction revenue, up from 75% the previous quarter. A business that leans more heavily on one product is more exposed to any change in that product, such as a rule change on lot sizes or margins. The sources do not report any such change, so this is a risk to watch, not a finding.
What is confirmed and what is not
The profit, revenue, expense and half-year figures are the same in both reports and come from the company's filing. The EBITDA, margin and turnover figures, the analyst comments and the explanations for the fall come from Lapaas Voice alone, and the share prices differ between the two outlets because they were taken at different times. Kotak Neo says it found no specific reason for the fall, while Lapaas Voice cites Jefferies and SBI Securities. The analysts' views are opinions. The explanation that the stock was already up about 53% in 2026 is a reported fact, and the link between that rally and the drop is an interpretation by analysts, not something the exchange has said.
Another thing to keep in mind is that quarterly figures at an exchange can swing with market conditions, since trading activity responds to volatility in gold, silver and crude. The sources read do not link this quarter's strength to any single event, so the drivers behind the surge in options volumes remain an open question.
What to watch next
The exchange's own investor presentation should explain the technology cost increase and the tax at its clearing arm. The next monthly turnover figures for options and futures will show whether activity is holding up. Any move by SEBI on commodity derivatives, such as position limits or product changes, would also affect the outlook. The sources did not report a dividend.
Key takeaways
- MCX reported consolidated net profit of Rs 454.57 crore for the September 2026 quarter, up 130.2% year on year.
- Revenue from operations rose 113.7% to Rs 799.66 crore while expenses grew only 40.5%.
- Options made up about 76% of transaction revenue, according to Lapaas Voice.
- Shares fell nearly 7% intraday on 4 November after a roughly 53% rise in 2026, which analysts linked partly to profit booking and costs.
- Jefferies and SBI Securities called the results broadly in line with expectations.
Sources
- [Kotak Neo: MCX Q2 results, net profit jumps 130% to Rs 455 crore](https://www.kotakneo.com/news/stocks/mcx-reports-130-percent-profit-growth-in-q2-fy27-as-total-income-doubles/)
- [Lapaas Voice: MCX shares tumble 7% even as Q2 net profit surges 130% YoY](https://lapaasvoice.com/mcx-shares-tumble-7-even-as-q2-net-profit-surges-130-yoy-revenue-more-than-doubles)
Tags: MCX Quarterly results Commodity exchange Options trading Markets