Profit at the Lord Cruddas-founded CMC Markets jumped 33 per cent last year to £84.5m, as the group launches a new campaign to enter the ‘Web 3.0’ space.
Net operating income came in at £340.1m, a two per cent increase on the previous financial year but below expectations of £359m, the firm revealed in its full-year results.
Growth came from strong stockbroking and interest income revenues, which increased by 31 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.
The strong results led CMC to be upgraded by RBC Capital Markets, taking the firm’s stock price target from 350p to 380p.
“The strength of the numbers and commentary around momentum continuing into 2026 prompts material upgrades to our earnings per share estimates,” said RBC analyst Ben Bathurst.
However, the group did miss analyst expectations for profit before tax, due to
CMC Markets and Web 3.0
In CMC’s full-year results, its management detailed that it believed the rise of Web 3.0 technologies, such as decentralised finance and tokenisation “represents a structural shift in global finance and is the future state”.
Heavily associated with crypto, Web 3.0 grew in popularity during 2021 as a new vision of a decentralised internet, before falling out of favour following the ‘crypto winter’.
As a result of conviction in the idea, CMC has launched a “strategic vertical” designed to position the firm “at the forefront of the next generation of financial services”.
Last month, the group took a controlling 51 per cent stake in blockchain company Strikex, and increased its holding of STRX cryptocurrency tokens from 10m to 15m as part of the deal.
CMC also said it was developing a ‘multi-asset wallet’, where clients can manage traditional and digital assets.
“The development of the multi-asset wallet will allow clients to seamlessly manage different assets, integrating a range of different products into one platform and should provide a real competitive advantage for CMC,” said Peel Hunt analysts.
