Virtu’s Q3 Revenue Jumps 40% as Market Making Powers Profit Growth

Virtu Financial's third-quarter performance exceeded expectations, with total revenue reaching $1.15 billion in the three months ended September 30, 2026. This represents a substantial 39.9% increase compared to the same period last year. The company's net income saw even more dramatic growth, jumping 89.6% to $282.5 million from $149.1 million a year earlier.

Net income available to common stockholders was $153.3 million, after accounting for income attributable to noncontrolling interests. The group's GAAP net income margin expanded to 24.5% from 18.1% in the prior year, indicating improved profitability across the business.

Market Making Drives Growth

The primary driver of Virtu's strong performance was its Market Making segment, which saw revenue climb 47.7% to $986.8 million. The segment's adjusted net trading income, a non-GAAP measure, increased even more significantly, rising 68.2% to $578.8 million.

Other segments showed more modest results. Execution Services posted a 5.5% revenue increase to $163.0 million, with adjusted net trading income in that business edging up just 1.8% to $125.2 million. Across the entire organization, adjusted net trading income rose 50.7% to $704.0 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 63.5% to $437.9 million.

Virtu's adjusted EBITDA margin reached 62.2%, compared with 57.3% a year earlier. This improvement reflects the company's ability to maintain high profitability despite market fluctuations. It's worth noting that these adjusted measures use adjusted net trading income rather than total revenue as their denominator and should not be confused with GAAP revenue or profit figures.

Corporate Changes

Alongside its financial results, Virtu announced significant corporate changes. The company's board unanimously approved plans to reincorporate from Delaware to Texas, a move that its controlling stockholder subsequently approved by written consent. Virtu expects to complete this transition later this year without changing operations, management, strategy, assets or employee locations.

The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on December 15 to shareholders of record on December 1. At quarter-end, Virtu reported $1.58 billion in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, alongside $2.55 billion in long-term debt principal, indicating a solid financial position despite the reincorporation process.