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CFO Meron Shani responded that growth is managed on a global scale and is well-balanced across different regions. While he noted growth in newer markets like the UAE, he emphasized that no single region is significantly outperforming others, indicating a broad-based expansion.

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CEO Christopher Concannon highlighted significant year-to-date growth across key initiatives, including a 47% increase in IG portfolio trading and a 42% rise in the dealer business. He attributed the July market share dip to a specific low-volatility, narrow-spread environment that pushed large block trades to phone and chat, a segment the company's new high-touch strategy is specifically designed to capture.

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CEO Christopher Concannon explained that the current market environment of economic and geopolitical uncertainty is favorable to their business model and expects volatility to remain elevated. He emphasized that growth is driven by their 'protocol agnostic' strategy and a strong pipeline of product releases, including a high-touch block solution, a new Mid-X solution for dealers, and the European rollout of X-Pro, which will enhance their ability to gain share across multiple channels.

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CEO Christopher Concannon explained that the emerging markets and Eurobonds launch was prioritized due to superior pre-trade analytics and strong client demand in those regions. He emphasized that the key to block trading is minimizing information leakage, which their new tool achieves with high hit rates (e.g., 90% in Eurobonds). Concannon noted that dealers are supportive as the targeted approach reduces the 'winner's curse,' and the U.S. launch is scheduled for early Q2 2025.

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CEO Christopher Concannon attributed the share dip to a market-wide shift toward large block trades executed via phone and chat, a segment their new targeted block solution is designed to capture. He confirmed the rollout is a 2025 initiative focused on trader-by-trader education, highlighting the AI-driven dealer selection tool as a key feature. Executive Chairman Richard McVey added that the strategy specifically targets traders who are less active electronically.

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CFO Warren Gardiner expressed comfort with the low-to-mid single-digit full-year guidance for the segment. He detailed second-half headwinds, including the Flagstar attrition and inactive loan roll-offs, but noted these are offset by new customer implementations. He added that while minimums are being reset, the headwind is less severe than in the prior year.

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CFO Warren Gardiner reiterated confidence in the low-to-mid single-digit growth guidance for the year. He outlined second-half headwinds, including the Flagstar attrition, inactive loan roll-offs, and customer minimum resets, but noted these headwinds are less severe than last year. These factors are expected to be offset by new customer implementations and cross-sell expansions, with revenue synergies now at $80 million signed.

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Chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher stated that an administrative focus on increasing U.S. energy production would likely boost export markets, benefiting their Houston WTI export contract. He also noted that potential changes to sanctions and tariffs could alter global energy supply chains, driving risk management needs and potentially benefiting their Murban contract and Abu Dhabi exchange.

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COO Stuart Williams highlighted customer growth from new participants in Asia and existing U.S. clients expanding into global markets like TTF. He also noted increased adoption of ICE's HOU contract for Permian pricing. Regarding SAF, Williams confirmed it is an opportunity they are monitoring, noting it would fit within their growing biofuels markets, though the market structure is still nascent.

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CEO Billy Hult detailed that the 40%+ international revenue growth was broad-based across rates, credit, ETFs, and repo. He highlighted exceptional strength in European, APAC, and emerging market swaps. Geographically, the focus is on expanding tools like AI Snap in Europe, growing in Asia (particularly Japan) and Australia, and targeting long-term opportunities in Latin America and the Middle East. He also noted increased engagement from North American and Asian clients trading international products.

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CEO William Hult described the recent market volatility as featuring 'unprecedented moves,' noting the largest weekly move in the 30-year treasury yield since 1982. He emphasized that Tradeweb's platform reliability and the underlying market function held up well during this stress. Hult stated that client engagement remained strong and electronically oriented, with AiEX average daily trades growing over 20% in April versus Q1. He believes the ongoing uncertainty around inflation and rates is a positive macro outlook for Tradeweb's leading rates business.

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CEO William Hult explained that significant market volatility events have established Tradeweb as a trusted destination for reshuffling exposure, which builds credibility. He noted that the current environment is conducive to risk-on trading, citing strong active user growth and a 30% year-over-year increase in January swap revenue. Hult emphasized that the company's past strategy of using compression trading was a tactic to gain entry into risk transfer, a goal he believes has been successfully achieved.

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CEO Billy Hult explained that Tradeweb has evolved from a challenger to a market leader in investment-grade credit by continuously learning and responding to client feedback. He highlighted significant volume growth in RFQ, portfolio trading, and all-to-all protocols over the past two years. Hult emphasized that the company's focus remains on innovation, such as RFQ Edge and dealer upsize features to promote block trading, and the diligent execution of delivering best-in-class technology to clients.

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CEO Douglas Cifu attributed the segment's strength to the successful integration of the Knight and ITG franchises and a strategy focused on cross-asset product development, like the Triton EMS. He emphasized that leveraging Virtu's own market-making liquidity is a key differentiator. Co-President Joseph Molluso added that the Q2 environment was extraordinary and unique, particularly the activity surrounding 'Liberation Day'.

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CEO Douglas Cifu and Co-President/Co-COO Joseph Molluso explained that the growth was diverse and evenly allocated between customer and noncustomer businesses, rather than being skewed to one segment. They highlighted strong performance in metals, options, and the ETF Block business. They emphasized that the key distinction for Virtu is customer versus noncustomer business across multiple asset classes, not on-exchange versus off-exchange. Cifu also noted that continuous improvements and enhanced internalization across all business lines, including legacy ones, were significant contributors to performance.

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CEO Douglas Cifu attributed the strong quarter to a combination of factors, including a positive trend in quoted spreads, strong performance in retail and crypto, and significant benefits from internalization, which allows for better hedging and pricing. Regarding crypto, he explained that investments in market access, liquidity, and operational efficiency were key. He noted the firm is still in the "early days" of building its 24/7 crypto-native offering, focusing on distribution to institutional clients.

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CEO Douglas Cifu stated that becoming a retail options wholesaler remains a medium- to long-term plan, while highlighting current growth in international options markets like India, Korea, and Japan. He clarified that the retail futures opportunity is primarily on-exchange, not wholesale, but views any expansion of retail products as a positive for the ecosystem and Virtu's partnerships.

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EVP & CFO Sarah Youngwood confirmed that pricing is a standard part of Nasdaq's growth formula and that recent increases were in line with historical experience. She noted that the contractual nature varies by division and that in some areas, like Financial Crime, price increases also reflect the added value from upsells and deeper client engagement.

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President & CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick stated that the capital deployment strategy is unchanged. The variable dividend remains the primary method of capital return, while the share repurchase program is used opportunistically when there's a perceived disconnect between stock price and performance. Regarding M&A, she noted that while CME is always evaluating opportunities, it remains "choosy" and also pursues growth through joint ventures and commercial agreements, like the recent NASDAQ license extension.

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Lynne Fitzpatrick, President & CFO, explained that the capital deployment strategy remains unchanged. The variable dividend is the primary method for returning cash, while the share repurchase program is used opportunistically. Regarding M&A, she stated that while CME is always evaluating opportunities, they remain "choosy" and also pursue growth through other structures like joint ventures and commercial agreements.

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Terrence Duffy, Chairman and CEO, opined it could take time for the Russian market to be re-accepted globally, suggesting a muted immediate price impact. Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director, added that clients have already spent two years reconfiguring physical supply chains, leading them to hedge using U.S. benchmarks like WTI and Henry Hub, a trend he expects to continue given the uncertainty.

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Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer, detailed that new institutional client growth is up nearly 40% versus the 3-year average, driven by a new inside sales team and new hedge funds. On the retail side, CME welcomed 176,000 new traders year-to-date, a 30% year-over-year increase, with 53% from the U.S., 31% from EMEA, and 16% from APAC. Regarding Robinhood, she noted access will be rolled out on a measured basis, but adoption with similar partners has been faster than predicted. CEO Terrence Duffy reiterated that it is difficult to predict future volumes from new clients.

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CEO Frederic Tomczyk responded that Cboe is in a strong position with a healthy balance sheet to consider all options. He noted that Mr. Donohue is focused on both organic and inorganic growth, but emphasized any M&A would be disciplined, strategic, and financially sensible to create long-term shareholder value.

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The management team provided a comprehensive overview. Global President David Howson outlined investments in derivatives, data, and technology, including marketing for retail growth and hiring experienced salespeople for the global 'import strategy.' COO Chris Isaacson noted that resources from the final tech migration (Canada) will be redeployed to high-growth areas like derivatives and DnA, with a heavy focus on data, analytics, and AI. CFO Jill Griebenow affirmed the goal is to balance these investments with margin optimization.

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CFO James Marischen clarified that the vast majority of FIG underwriting revenue comes from public finance. He noted that other activity, primarily investment-grade, has been slower this year. He also reiterated that the first quarter is typically a seasonally softer period for the firm's transactional businesses.

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CEO Milan Galik confirmed that international clients are active traders of options, primarily U.S. options, but also noted significant volume in Asian options from Asian clients. CFO Paul Brody explained that the sequential decline in segregated cash interest income was primarily due to the full impact of benchmark rate drops from late Q4 being felt in Q1, which was partially offset by lower interest paid to customers.

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CEO Milan Galik noted that the main traded cryptos are Bitcoin and Ethereum, and regulatory clarity would allow for listing more tokens and raising the 1% account asset limit. CFO Paul Brody confirmed that securities lending capacity expands directly with account growth and the increasing number of lendable shares held by clients, and he expects that to continue rising.

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President and CEO Milan Galik confirmed that higher commission generation from the growing proprietary trading segment was a key reason for the stabilization in trading activity. Regarding the revenue outlook, Galik acknowledged the impact of lower rates on NII but expressed confidence that continued new account growth and a diverse, active client base would provide significant offsets.

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Executive Richard Steinmeier detailed a multi-year journey for the alternatives platform, which now includes custody capabilities, a new digitized selling experience in pilot, and a rapidly expanding product shelf that more than doubled in 2024. For the high-net-worth channel, he noted their differentiated offering attracted ~$2 billion in assets in its first year, and the enhanced capabilities are key to capturing more of this $5 trillion market opportunity.

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CEO Ian Lowitt stated that the two acquisitions combined are expected to contribute about 10% of 2025 profit after tax and were acquired at an attractive multiple of around 3x earnings, including synergies. He confirmed that Marex is seeing energy players move into metals, viewing it as a significant cross-selling opportunity given the firm's strong franchises in both sectors.

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