Euronext reported that primary markets activity had its best first quarter in three years, despite elevated market volatility.

Stéphane Boujnah, chief executive and chairman of the managing board of Euronext, said on the first quarter results on 20 May 2026 that the group reported its eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Boujnah highlighted that primary activity was supported by the largest ever defence IPO globally, when Czechoslovak Group floated on Euronext Amsterdam, and very active follow-ons.

“Combined with a solid IPO pipeline, this demonstrates that we provide the relevant solution for European and global financing needs,” said Boujnah.

Primary markets revenue was €52.3m in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 12.8% compared to the same period last year. Euronext said it sustained its leading position for equity listings with 12 new listings, half of which were international, and that performance was supported by the contribution of Euronext Athens.

In April this year, Athens Exchange Group became Euronext Athens following its acquisition and integration. Euronext also opened a technology and support centre in Greece, positioning Athens as a financial and technology hub in Europe, which Boujnah said creates more opportunities for cost management efficiency in the group.

Boujnah said: “We also benefit from growing momentum in the Greek market, supported by the reclassification to developed market status.”

Euronext confirmed that the next step is the migration of the Greek market to Optiq, the group’s proprietary technology platform, which is planned for June 2027.

Volume-related revenue

Volume-related revenue was driven by high market volatility and successful expansion in the first quarter of 2026, according to Euronext.

Fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) revenue grew 5.3% to €95.5m, which the group said was due to strong expansion in commodities trading and clearing, the successful launch of Euronext Nord Pool power futures and record foreign exchange and precious metals trading.

Boujnah said MTS cash markets reached a new record on 6 May in fixed income with close to €94bn traded in a single day. MTS operates regulated electronic platforms and market data services for the European fixed income market and supported daily transaction volumes of more than €265bn in 2025.

Giorgio Modica, chief financial officer of Euronext, said on the results call that there was a slight reduction of MTS cash volumes due to the impact of the conflict in Iran. The conflict triggered a temporary widening of the bid-offer spread, but this trend has fully reversed in May.

Modica said: “Further positive notes for the quarter are the triple-digit growth in volume from Portugal and Spain, improving the geographic diversification of our fixed income business.”

Euronext Nord Pool power futures in the Nordics and Baltics became fully operational on 16 March 2026, after the successful migration of 100% of open interest from Nasdaq Clearing to Euronext Clearing. In 2025 Euronext acquired Nasdaq’s Nordic power futures business.

Boujnah said the launch allows Euronext to capture benefits across the full value chain and represents a major milestone in the execution of the group’s strategic plan as it is now present in a new asset class.

“Participants were active from day one, demonstrating strong client confidence in this new and large offering,” he added. “Nord Pool strengthens European energy market infrastructure, supports greater market integration across the continent, and helps ensure that energy price discovery and risk management remains anchored in Europe.”

All Nordic and Baltic contracts are now available for trading on Optiq and cleared on Euronext Clearing. Euronext said clearing is enhanced by using Euronext Clearing’s value at risk (VaR) model, which improves capital efficiency for participants.

Camille Beudin, head of strategic development and M&A at Euronext, agreed on the call that the launch of power derivatives has been “super strong.”

“Volumes have been growing nicely, and market share of around 90% has been very consistent since the launch,” Beudin added.

Equity markets revenue rose 28.1% to €138.9m driven by high volatility and resilient revenue capture. The performance was supported by the growing momentum on the Greek market and by the dynamic growth in ETFs. Boujnah said cash equity markets set a new record on 20 March of over €38bn traded in a single day, and momentum has continued in this quarter.

European CSD expansion

On 6 May 2026 Euronext announced the launch of the testing phase for the expansion of its European central securities depository for clients to onboard, test connectivity and validate operational readiness.

Euronext Securities aims to offer a CSD service for equities and ETFs in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, adding to its existing markets in Denmark, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Norway. The architecture is designed to deliver a single, harmonised platform for settlement and custody across multiple European markets, with streamlined corporate action management, enhanced transparency and reduced operational costs.

Boujnah said the CSD expansion is showing “real momentum” as leading custodians support the model and are getting ready to go live in September this year. Custodians including BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business, Citi Investor Services and CACEIS have expressed their support for new offering.

He described these partnerships as essential to shift issuance and custody to a new ‘fit for the future’ European CSD.

“Thanks to those partnerships, additional issuers have committed to transfer their issuance to Euronext Securities, and we have recorded the first listing on Euronext Amsterdam directly issued on Euronext Securities,” added Boujnah. “Now things are getting real and accelerating.”

Pierre Davoust,head of Euronext Securities, said on the results call that  a number of issuers have triggered the process to migrate to Euronext, and these are expected to take place after the summer. He expects more issuers to follow once this first wave of migration has been executed.

Repo clearing 

Boujnah said Euronext successfully kicked off client onboarding on its European repo clearing platform.

“New international participants, including European banks, American banks, and debt management offices are joining Euronext repo clearing services for the first time,” he added. “In parallel, more than 30 existing clearing members are expanding their scope beyond Italian debt to all European sovereign debt.”

In parallel, new international participants are joining Euronext repo clearing services for the first time. In July this year Euronext will introduce a sponsored access model for buy-side clients, which Boujnah said will complete the delivery of a fully competitive offering for repos.

Financials

Modica said: “This quarter delivered record results and double-digit growth in non-volume related activities, trading and clearing.”

Underlying revenue and income for the first quarter of 2026 was up 15.3% from a year ago at €528.5m. Non-volume-related revenue and income represented 56% of total revenue and income.

Advanced data solution revenue grew to €69.3m euros, up 6.5% compared to the first quarter of 2025. Modica added: “The number of retail investors looking at Euronext data has doubled in two years, and the momentum is not slowing down, signalling a revival of retail investor engagement in Europe.”

In March 2026 Euronext launched mini ETF options, which it said improves access to these products for retail investors and meets the increasing role of ETFs in European investors’ portfolios. Since the September 2025 launch of Euronext ETF Europe, the average daily value traded has risen by 84% to reach €1.6bn in the first quarter of 2026.

Boujnah will complete his third term at Euronext’s next general meeting in May 2027 and he said the supervisory board is managing the process to identify potential successors.

“The ambition is to identify the right person by the end of this year, so that some form of minimal transition period can be implemented in the first month of 2027,” said Boujnah. “I can tell you that I’m fully committed to the development of the business until the very last minute.”