TMX Group (TSE:X) is pursuing a long-term strategy to expand recurring revenue, increase its international presence and grow its information-services business, while using acquisitions to accelerate those objectives, Chief Financial Officer David Arnold said at a CIBC presentation.
Arnold said the company’s transformation remains unfinished. TMX has set aspirational goals for recurring revenue to represent about two-thirds of total revenue, for roughly half of revenue to come from outside Canada, and for its Global Solutions, Insights and Analytics business to account for 50% of revenue.
Recurring Revenue and Market Activity
Arnold said recurring revenue has expanded substantially in absolute dollars, although it has remained at about 53% of companywide revenue as transactional businesses have also performed strongly. He said TMX does not intend to increase recurring revenue at the expense of transactional operations such as the Montréal Exchange and the trading venues operated by the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange.
“We want to grow our recurring revenue to two-thirds, but not at the expense of the transactional parts of our business,” Arnold said.
He noted that capital formation represents roughly 18% of the overall franchise. TMX saw more initial public offering activity in the first six months of 2026 than in all of 2025, according to Arnold. He also said capital raising in Canada was up about 15% year over year through the first eight months of 2026, while financings were up nearly 90%.
Acquisition Strategy and Integration
Arnold said TMX does not have an acquisition strategy separate from its broader business plan. Instead, the company uses partnerships and acquisitions to support enterprise growth, including organic expansion and entry into new markets.
He said the company evaluates transactions with financial discipline, requiring deals to be accretive within their first year without including anticipated synergies. TMX’s board and management focus on acquisitions that accelerate strategic priorities rather than deals pursued simply for their own sake, he said.
TMX announced several transactions in 2026, including Cboe Australia, Cboe Canada, Refi indices and the combination of BOX and MEMX. Arnold said the deals are at different stages and affect different parts of the organization, reducing the strain of integrating multiple transactions at once.
- Cboe Australia has closed and has been rebranded as TMX Australia Exchange. Arnold said the transaction includes a technology transition and provides a platform for data, exchange and potential index-related opportunities in Australia.
- Cboe Canada remains under review by the Competition Bureau and Ontario Securities Commission, Arnold said. He said consolidating venues could simplify connectivity for Canadian financial institutions, although the company expects potential revenue dis-synergies from issuers that currently maintain listings on multiple venues.
- The Refi acquisition has closed and will be integrated into VettaFi, TMX’s indexing and ETF-focused business.
- The BOX-MEMX transaction remains subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval.
VettaFi, Refi and U.S. Expansion
Arnold described talent and technology as central to TMX’s rationale for acquiring VettaFi. The business provides thematic and bespoke indexes, ETF research websites including etftrends.com and etfdb.com, and tools aimed at ETF issuers and registered investment advisers.
TMX acquired Refi to broaden VettaFi’s index offerings beyond custom and thematic products. Refi uses fundamental research-based approaches, such as cash flow or revenue growth, rather than traditional market-capitalization weighting, Arnold said.
TMX plans to run Refi and VettaFi as one integrated business, migrate Refi’s calculation engine to VettaFi’s Index Factory platform and introduce Refi products to a broader base of asset-management clients. Arnold said Refi brings assets under index that are about three times those of VettaFi’s existing business.
In the U.S. options market, Arnold said the proposed combination of BOX and MEMX is intended to create a more meaningful platform through MEMX’s technology stack and management team. He said the merged business could modernize BOX technology, pursue market-share gains and potentially license or apply technology across other TMX operations over time.
Technology Investment
Looking ahead, Arnold said TMX intends to continue investing in technology infrastructure on a consistent basis rather than allowing large technology-debt buildups followed by major capital-expenditure spikes.
He said the company is monitoring developments in U.S. markets, including extended trading hours, perpetual products and zero-day options, while balancing innovation with the needs of Canadian institutional and retail investors.
“We have to balance off staying on par with the largest, most liquid market in the world, being the U.S., but also investing only in things that really have a return for the Canadian investor community,” Arnold said.
About TMX Group (TSE:X)
TMX Group operates global markets, and builds digital communities and analytic solutions that facilitate the funding, growth and success of businesses, traders and investors. TMX Group’s key operations include Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange, The Canadian Depository for Securities, Montréal Exchange, Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, TSX Trust, TMX Trayport, TMX Datalinx, TMX VettaFi and TMX Newsfile, which provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, technology solutions, data products and other services to the global financial community.
