Total expenses for the first quarter of 2019 increased 12.4% to $61.3 million, compared to $54.5 million for the first quarter of 2018. The increase in total expenses was largely due to higher employee compensation and benefit costs, mainly due to an increase in headcount, of $3.8 million, clearing costs of $0.9 million, depreciation and amortization of $0.8 million and professional and consulting fees of $0.8 million.
Other income increased to $2.0 million from $0.8 million principally due to a $0.8 million increase in investment income as a result of higher investment balances and an increase in interest rates.
The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2019 was 19.5%, compared to 21.4% for the first quarter of 2018. The income tax provision reflected $3.0 million and $1.8 million, respectively, of excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation awards that vested or were exercised during the first quarter of 2019 and 2018.
Employee headcount was 476 as of March 31, 2019 compared to 429 as of March 31, 2018.
Dividend
The Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.51 per share of common stock outstanding, to be paid on May 22, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 8, 2019.
Share Repurchases
A total of 23,365 shares were repurchased in the first quarter of 2019 at a cost of $5.2 million.
Balance Sheet Data
As of March 31, 2019, total assets were $774.8 million and included $483.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments. On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted a new lease accounting standard and recorded new operating leaseright-of-use assets of $79.5 million, eliminated a deferred rent liability of $11.7 million and recorded lease liabilities associated with the future minimum payments required under operating leases of $91.2 million. Total stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2019 was $631.1 million.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Items
To supplement the Company’s unaudited financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company uses certainnon-GAAP measures of financial performance, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and free cash flow. The Company believes that thesenon-GAAP financial measures, when taken into consideration with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, are important in understanding the Company’s operating results. See the attached schedule for a reconciliation of GAAP net income to EBITDA and GAAP cash flow from operating activities to free cash flow.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
Rick McVey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Concannon, President and Chief Operating Officer and Tony DeLise, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results and outlook on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. EST. To access the conference call, please dial855-425-4206 (U.S.) or484-756-4249 (international). The Company will also host a live audio Webcast of the conference call on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://investor.marketaxess.com. A replay of the call will be made available by dialing855-859-2056 (U.S.) or404-537-3406 (international) for one week after the announcement. The passcode for replay callers is 8747808. The Webcast will also be archived onhttp://investor.marketaxess.com for 90 days following the announcement.
About MarketAxess
MarketAxess operates a leading, institutional electronic trading platform delivering expanded liquidity opportunities, improved execution quality and significant cost savings across global fixed-income markets. More than 1,500 firms—comprising the world’s leading asset managers and institutional broker-dealers—traded a record $1.7 trillion of U.S. investment-grade bonds, U.S. high yield bonds, emerging market debt, Eurobonds and other fixed income securities through MarketAxess’ patented trading technology in 2018. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading™ marketplace is regarded as the preferredall-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets, creating a unique liquidity pool for the broad range of credit market participants. Drawing on its deep data and analytical resources, MarketAxess enables automated trading solutions and, through its Trax® division, provides a range ofpre- and post-trade services and products.
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