MSCI Inc.

A substantial portion of MSCI’s operating revenues is derived from recurring subscriptions or licenses for products and services that are ongoing in nature and provided over contractually agreed periods, which are subject to renewal or cancellation upon the expiration of the then-current term. In addition, we generate non-recurring revenues from one-time sales and other transactions or services that are discrete in nature or that have a defined life. The operating metrics defined below help management assess the stability and growth of this recurring-revenue base and track non-recurring revenues. There have been no changes to the methodologies used to compute these metrics compared with prior years.

Run Rate

Run Rate estimates, at a specific point in time, the annualized value of the recurring portion of executed client contracts (“Client Contracts”) expected to generate revenues over the next 12 months, assuming that all such Client Contracts are renewed and using fixed foreign exchange rates. Run Rate includes new Client Contracts upon execution, even if the license start date and related revenue recognition occur later.

For Client Contracts where fees are linked to an investment product’s assets or trading volume or fees (referred to as “Asset-based Fees”), the Run Rate calculation is based on:

•For exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”): assets under management as of the last trading day of the period;

•For non-ETF products: the most recent client-reported assets under management; and

•For listed futures and options contracts: the most recent quarterly volumes and/or reported exchange fees.

Run Rate excludes fees associated with one-time or other non-recurring transactions.

We remove from Run Rate the annualized fee value associated with products or services under any Client Contracts when (i) we have received a notice of termination, reduction in fees, non-renewal or other clear indication that the client does not intend to continue its subscription at then current fees; and (ii) management has determined that such notice or indication reflects the client’s final decision to terminate, not renew or renew at a lower fee the applicable products or services, even if such termination or non-renewal is not yet effective (each such event, a “Subscription Cancellation”).

In general, when a client reduces the fees paid to MSCI associated with a reduction in the number of products or services to which it subscribes within a segment, or a switch between products or services within a segment, unless the client switches to a product or service that management considers a replacement, such reduction or switch is treated as a Subscription Cancellation, including for purposes of calculating MSCI’s Retention Rate (as detailed below). In the cases where the client switches products or services to a replacement service, only the net decrease, if any, is reported as a cancellation.

•In the Analytics and Sustainability and Climate operating segments, substantially all such product or service switches are treated as replacements and are netted accordingly.

•In contrast, in the Index, Real Assets, and Private Capital Solutions operating segments, such netting treatment is applied only in limited circumstances.

Run Rate may differ from revenues recognized in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Changes in our recurring revenues typically lag changes in Run Rate. Key factors include, but are not limited to:

•Immediate recognition of the annualized value of newly executed recurring Client Contracts;

•Immediate removal of the annualized value of Subscription Cancellations on Client Contracts;

•Immediate updates to reflect modifications to existing Client Contracts, including changes in price or scope of services;

•Timing differences between the effective date of service delivery and contract execution (e.g., Client Contracts with implementation periods, fee waivers or future-dated start terms);

•Variability in revenues driven by exogenous factors, such as changes in reference asset values, currency exchange rates or investment flows;

•Variability in revenues tied to trading volumes of futures and options contracts linked to MSCI indexes; and

•The effects of acquisitions and divestitures.

•Multi-period agreements with contractual price escalators where the total revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period.

Organic recurring subscription Run Rate growth is defined as the period-over-period growth in Run Rate, excluding:

•The impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates;

•The impact of acquisitions during the first 12 months following the transaction date; and

•The impact of divestitures, where Run Rate from divested businesses are excluded from prior period Run Rates.

The following table presents Run Rates as of the dates indicated and the growth percentages over the years indicated:

Total Run Rate increased 13.0% for the year ended December 31, 2025, driven by a 9.2% increase from recurring subscriptions, primarily driven by increases in the asset manager, banks and broker-dealer, asset owner and hedge fund client segments, as well as a 25.6% increase from asset-based fees.

Run Rate from Index recurring subscriptions increased 9.4% for the year ended December 31, 2025, primarily driven by growth from market cap-weighted and custom Index products. The increase reflected growth across all regions and client segments.

Run Rate from Index asset-based fees increased 25.6% for the year ended December 31, 2025, primarily driven by higher AUM in ETFs linked to MSCI equity indexes and non-ETF indexed funds linked to MSCI indexes.

Run Rate from Analytics products increased 8.4% for the year ended December 31, 2025, driven by growth in both Multi-Asset Class and Equity Analytics products, reflecting growth across all regions and client segments.

Run Rate from Sustainability and Climate products increased 10.0% for the year ended December 31, 2025, primarily driven by growth in Ratings and Climate products, with growth primarily attributable to EMEA. The increase was primarily driven by growth in the asset manager, insurance and wealth manager client segments.

Run Rate from All Other– Private Assets increased 9.5% for the year ended December 31, 2025, primarily driven by growth from Private Capital Solutions related to Total Plan Manager, Private Capital Transparency Data and Private Capital Intel products, and reflected growth across all regions. The increase was primarily driven by growth in asset owner and asset manager client segments.

Sales

Sales represents the annualized value of products and services that clients have committed to purchase from MSCI and that are expected to result in additional operating revenues.

Non-recurring sales represent the aggregate value of client agreements entered into during the period that generate non-recurring fees and are not included in Run Rate (as defined elsewhere herein), even if such agreements span multiple periods or years.

New recurring subscription sales represent the annualized value of additional client commitments entered into during the period, such as new Client Contracts, expansions of existing Client Contracts or price increases, that contribute to Run Rate.

Net new recurring subscription sales represent new recurring subscription sales minus the impact of Subscription Cancellations, capturing the net impact to Run Rate for the period.

Total gross sales is the sum of new recurring subscription sales and non-recurring sales.

Total net sales is total gross sales minus the impact of Subscription Cancellations.

Changes in foreign currency are calculated by applying the exchange rates from the prior comparable period to the current period’s foreign currency-denominated Run Rate.

The following table presents our recurring subscription sales, cancellations and non-recurring sales for the years indicated:

Retention Rate

The following table presents our Retention Rate for the periods indicated:

Retention Rate is a key performance metric that provides insight into the stability and durability of MSCI’s recurring revenue base. Subscription cancellations reduce Run Rate and, over time, lower future operating revenues.

For full-year periods, Retention Rate is calculated as the retained subscription Run Rate, which is defined as the subscription Run Rate at the beginning of the fiscal year minus actual subscription cancellations during the fiscal year, expressed as a percentage of the subscription Run Rate at the beginning of the fiscal year.

For interim (non-annual) periods, Retention Rate is presented on an annualized basis. The annualized Retention Rate is calculated by:

1. Dividing annualized subscription cancellations in the period by the subscription Run Rate at the beginning of the fiscal year, to determine a cancellation rate; and

2. Subtracting that rate from 100%, to derive the annualized Retention Rate.

Retention Rate is calculated by operating segment and is based on an individual product or service level within each segment. We do not calculate Retention Rate for the portion of Run Rate attributable to Asset-based Fees.

For example, in the fourth quarter of 2025, we recorded cancellations of$36.9 million. To derive the Retention Rate for the fourth quarter, we annualized the actual cancellations during the quarter of $36.9 million to derive $147.6 million of annualized cancellations. This $147.6 million was then divided by the $2,243.1 million subscription Run Rate at the beginning of the year to derive a cancellation rate of 6.6%. The 6.6% was then subtracted from 100.0% to derive a Retention Rate of 93.4% for the fourth quarter.

In general, if a client reduces the number of products or services to which it subscribes within a segment, or switches between products or services within a segment, we treat it as a cancellation for purposes of calculating our Retention Rate except in the case of a product or service switch that management considers to be a replacement product or service. In those replacement cases, only the net change to the client subscription, if a decrease, is reported as a cancel. In the Analytics and the Sustainability and Climate operating segments, substantially all product or service switches are treated as replacement products or services and netted in this manner, while in our Index and Real Assets operating segments, product or service switches that are treated as replacement products or services and receive netting treatment occur only in certain limited instances. In addition, we treat any reduction in fees resulting from a down-sell of the same product or service as a cancellation to the extent of the reduction. We do not calculate Retention Rate for that portion of our Run Rate attributable to assets in index-linked investment products or futures and options contracts, in each case, linked to our indexes.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, 29.6% of our cancellations occurred in the fourth quarter. In our product lines, Retention Rate is generally higher during the first three quarters and lower in the fourth quarter, as the fourth quarter is traditionally the largest renewal period in the year.