Virtu reports $704 million trading income as activity cools

By Amara Osei

What did Virtu earn in the third quarter?

$704 million in adjusted net trading income marked the third-quarter 2026 result for Virtu Financial (NYSE: VIRT), as market activity slowed from the first half. Adjusted EBITDA reached $438 million, a 62% margin, while adjusted EPS was $1.77, CFO Cindy Lee said.

Chief Executive Officer Aaron Simons said: “Volume and volatility moderated during the quarter but remained elevated compared with historical averages.” Trading stayed active. Moderation reduced the market’s pace from the first half, while volatility and volume still sat above their historical averages.

• Average daily adjusted net trading income: $11 million
• Market Making contribution: $9 million per day
• Execution Services contribution: $2 million per day
• Trailing 12 months: $11.3 million in daily adjusted net trading income, a record; $1.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA; and $7.69 in adjusted EPS

Virtu is a global financial-services company that provides liquidity, trading and technology solutions across financial markets. Its market-making arm trades equities, exchange-traded funds, options, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and certain digital assets. Its Execution Services unit supplies trading and workflow technology to institutional investors, asset managers, broker-dealers and other financial institutions.

Takeaway: Virtu’s trailing daily trading income reached a record, while the latest quarter still operated in a slower market.

Why did Market Making withstand softer U.S. conditions?

Simons pointed to activity beyond U.S. equities after Market Making results held up despite lower U.S. equity volumes and volatility. He cited offshore equity perpetuals, events in cryptocurrency markets and activity involving artificial intelligence and chip stocks in multiple countries.

He said Virtu has sought to diversify its trading beyond U.S. equity wholesaling. He also said its results may now show less correlation with U.S. market metrics than in the past.

That mix is the forward driver. Broader product and geographic exposure may make results less sensitive to weaker U.S. trading indicators, consistent with Simons’s view on correlation.

Takeaway: Virtu’s trading mix may now rely less on any single U.S. market measure.

How much trading risk has changed?

Simons declined to disclose how many losing days Virtu recorded over the past year. He said the range of daily profit-and-loss outcomes had widened meaningfully since the initial public offering as the company’s businesses changed, but average results had also increased.

Simons also said: “Losing days remained rare.” He added that the distribution had not changed meaningfully since he became CEO.

The contrast matters. A wider range points to more variable outcomes, while higher average results and rare losses temper the risk.

Takeaway: Daily outcomes span a wider range, but the company says losses remain uncommon and average performance has risen.

How is Virtu funding its capital build?

Virtu raised $500 million in debt in July, taking invested capital to $3.4 billion at September 30. Lee put the trailing debt-to-EBITDA ratio at 1.4 times and said the company planned to keep growing its capital base while maintaining the $0.24 quarterly dividend per share.

Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Joe Molluso said Virtu accumulated approximately $900 million in trading capital during the year, roughly half from organic generation and half from additional debt.

The company reiterated a near-term capital goal of around $4 billion or more. Molluso said Virtu did not need asset sales to reach the medium- to long-term goal.

Virtu deployed most of the July debt proceeds quickly, Molluso said, while retaining buffers for trading, usage and regulatory requirements. The company does not measure returns on incremental capital separately because Virtu spreads that capital across businesses, entities and jurisdictions.

Takeaway: Debt funded a capital build; Virtu expects the expansion to continue without asset sales and plans to maintain the dividend.

Is Virtu considering a sale of Execution Services?

Molluso declined to comment on media reports that Virtu could explore a sale of Execution Services. He called the unit a strategic business with 1,400 clients and said its margins had more than doubled from those of ITG before Virtu acquired it.

The client base and margin comparison support management’s description of the unit as strategic, but his refusal to comment leaves timing and transaction structure unresolved.

Takeaway: Execution Services remains strategically important, and any sale remains speculative.

What do hiring and technology plans show?

Virtu had just under 1,100 employees, and Molluso expected the total to move above that level in the near term. Expenses rose, he said, but not by more than the company expected.

Simons said hiring remained on plan, with the company focused on trading, research and development. The company still had unmet hiring goals and did not expect that effort to change next year, though he said it was difficult to plan beyond roughly one year.

Lee said the year-to-date cash compensation ratio stood at 23% through September 30, while the total compensation ratio was 28%.

Technology followed the plan. Virtu was incrementally investing more in computing, power, storage and other infrastructure. Simons characterized the increase as consistent with previously communicated plans, not a major acceleration, and said the company saw no need to spend beyond what it had signaled.

Takeaway: Virtu is adding staff and infrastructure at the pace it has already set, without signaling a step-up in spending.