Global expenditure on financial market data and news experienced moderate growth in 2024, with revenues increasing by 6.4% to reach $44.3 billion. This growth rate represents a significant decline compared to the previous year’s increase of 12.4%. According to a report by Burton Taylor Consulting, segments such as real-time trading, pricing, reference, and valuation data have all shown more subdued growth this past year.
One noteworthy area of expansion was in news products, which exhibited an unexpectedly high growth rate. Strong performance in institutional trading sectors facilitated spending increases in fixed income and equity trading, with respective growth rates of 7.9% and 6.8%. In contrast, the retail wealth management segment experienced a slowdown, with growth limited to 3.9%.
Bloomberg and LSEG Data & Analytics continue to dominate the market, collectively capturing half of the total market revenue. However, a shift is occurring as providers of customized and curated data have gained traction, now accounting for nearly 20% of the industry’s revenues. The report suggests that advancements in technology that enhance the value derived from detailed data will provide these smaller providers with greater opportunities for growth.
Hadley Weinberger, a senior analyst at Burton Taylor, noted, “The rapid advancement of AI and other sophisticated analytical technologies has increased the value of market data. However, financial institutions’ efforts to manage and reduce their data costs influenced spending patterns in 2024.” Weinberger pointed out that financial institutions have been advocating for regulators and data providers to streamline pricing, which has contributed to the noticeable deceleration in spending growth this year.