Dubai Financial Market profit falls 4.3% as trading fees drop

Summary

• Dubai Financial Market posted a 130.5 million dirham third-quarter profit, down 4.3% year on year.
• Trading commission fees fell 10.5% and clearing, settlement and depository fees dropped 29.3%.
• The nine-month picture is far weaker, with profit down 36.6% from last year's level.

The latest

Profit attributable to owners of Dubai Financial Market slipped to 130.5 million dirhams in the third quarter of 2026, down 4.3% from 136.3 million dirhams a year earlier, according to the exchange operator's filing. Revenue over the same three months fell 4.1% to 196.2 million dirhams. The contraction was concentrated in the company's two core fee lines.

Details

• The headline number: Profit attributable to the owners of Dubai Financial Market came in at 130.5 million dirhams for the third quarter of 2026, against 136.3 million dirhams in the same quarter of 2025. That is a decline of 4.3% on an annual basis, measured against the comparable period rather than the preceding quarter.
• Revenue line: Total revenue for the quarter reached 196.2 million dirhams, compared with 204.5 million dirhams in the third quarter of 2025, a drop of 4.1%. Revenue and profit fell at almost the same rate, indicating the quarterly squeeze came from the top line rather than from a jump in costs.
• Trading commissions: The largest single driver was trading commission fees, which fell 10.5% to 101.4 million dirhams. That line alone accounts for slightly more than half of total quarterly revenue, so its decline sets the direction for the whole result.
• Post-trade fees: Clearing, settlement and depository fees recorded the sharpest percentage fall of any disclosed line, down 29.3% to 15.3 million dirhams. These are the fees charged for processing and holding securities after a trade is executed, and they move with transaction volumes.
• Nine-month profit: Across the first nine months of 2026, profit attributable to owners fell 36.6% to 538 million dirhams, against 848.1 million dirhams in the same period of 2025. The year-to-date decline is more than eight times steeper than the third-quarter decline on its own.
• Nine-month revenue: Revenue for the nine-month period dropped 31.1% to 753.2 million dirhams, compared with 1.093 billion dirhams a year earlier. The gap of more than 339 million dirhams is concentrated in the earlier part of the year rather than in the quarter just reported.
• Listing: Dubai Financial Market company is itself listed on the Dubai Financial Market, meaning the operator's results are reported to the same exchange whose trading activity generates its fee income.
• Not disclosed: The results statement did not break out the drivers behind the nine-month decline, did not provide guidance for the remainder of 2026, and did not attach management commentary explaining the fall in commission and post-trade fees.

Between the lines

The two reported periods point in the same direction but at very different speeds. A 4.3% quarterly profit decline sits inside a 36.6% nine-month decline, which means the heaviest damage was recorded earlier in 2026 rather than in the quarter just closed. On the quarterly numbers alone, the rate of deterioration has narrowed sharply.

What's next

The full-year 2026 results will show whether the third quarter's milder decline holds or the nine-month trend reasserts itself. Monthly trading volumes on the exchange are the leading indicator, since commission and post-trade fees move directly with them.

Source: inxen Dubai