MCX Doubles Its Quarterly Profit to Rs 455 Crore, Yet the Stock Slides 5% as a Tax Quirk Clouds the Beat

Shares of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) fell more than 5% in early trade on Wednesday, even though the commodity bourse reported that its September-quarter profit had more than doubled. By 10:22 am, the stock was at about Rs 3,299 on the NSE, down roughly 5.5% from Tuesday's close, after opening around 3% lower. It was among the most actively traded stocks by value in the first half hour.

A blockbuster quarter on paper

MCX's consolidated net profit for the July-September quarter rose about 130% from a year earlier to Rs 455 crore, compared with Rs 197.47 crore in the same period of FY26. Sequentially, profit grew close to 10% from Rs 413 crore in the June quarter. Income more than doubled year on year, and for the first half of FY27 profit reached about Rs 868 crore, up 117%.

The engine is options trading. Average daily turnover in commodity options reached about Rs 12 lakh crore during the quarter, against about Rs 62,819 crore in futures, cementing MCX's position as the world's largest commodity options exchange. With a share of roughly 98% of India's commodity derivatives market, the bourse has captured almost the entire surge in retail participation driven by volatile gold, silver and crude prices this year.

Why the stock fell anyway

The headline numbers were strong, but the market had priced in more. Jefferies said EBITDA rose 135% to Rs 611.2 crore with margins widening nearly seven percentage points to 76.4%, yet both came in slightly below its estimates. Technology costs were higher than expected.

The bigger drag was tax. MCX's clearing subsidiary booked about Rs 47 crore of tax for the entire first half in the September quarter alone, inflating the effective tax rate for the period. Motilal Oswal estimated that profit missed its forecast by about 14% because of higher operating expenses and the tax rate. Because the charge covers two quarters, the underlying earnings run-rate looks better than the reported figure suggests, which is one reason several analysts stayed positive.

A crowded trade meets profit-taking

Positioning also mattered. MCX shares have gained about 53% so far in 2026 and around 80% over the past year, and the stock ran up into the results. SBI Securities described the fall as profit booking after a strong pre-result rally and said it still expected the business to compound earnings at 20-25% a year as participation and options volumes grow. Motilal Oswal projects revenue, EBITDA and profit to grow at roughly 29-32% a year over FY26-28.

On the charts, Mirae Asset Sharekhan pointed to a cluster of resistance near Rs 3,480, roughly where the stock closed on Tuesday, and said the Rs 3,170-3,200 band should act as support if selling continues. The broader trend of higher highs and higher lows remains intact for now.

What to watch

For MCX, the next test is whether options volumes hold up if commodity prices calm down. Much of the past year's activity has been fuelled by sharp moves in bullion, so a quieter gold market would slow growth even as the exchange's cost base keeps rising. Readers tracking bullion can follow the gold rate today.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.