How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in MSCI (MSCI Quick QuoteMSCI - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to MSCI for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

MSCI's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at MSCI's main business drivers.

MSCI Inc. provides investment decision support tools, including indexes; portfolio construction and risk management products and services; Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research and ratings; and real estate research, reporting and benchmarking offerings.

MSCI reported operating revenues of $2.85 billion in 2024. The company operates under four segments — Index (55.8% of operating revenues), Analytics (23.6%), ESG and Climate (11.4%) and All other- Private Assets (9%). During the year ended Dec 31, 2023, MSCI renamed The Burgiss Group, LLC operating segment to Private Capital Solutions.

Index segment includes MSCI Global Equity Indexes, MSCI Custom Indexes, MSCI Factor Indexes, MSCI ESG Indexes, MSCI Real Assets Indexes and Thematic Indexes. Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) and GICS Direct were developed and are maintained jointly by MSCI and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services.

Analytics segment includes Equity Factor Models, Fixed Income Factor Models, Multi-Asset Class Factor Models, Multi-Asset Class Risk Analytics and Performance Analytics.

MSCI’s major application offerings include RiskMetrics RiskManager, BarraOne, Barra Portfolio Manager, WealthBench & CreditManager, and MSCI Analytics Platform. Through the Analytics segment, MSCI also provides Managed Services, HedgePlatform and InvestorForce solutions.

MSCI’s ESG Research analyzes more than 10,000 entities worldwide. Offerings include MSCI ESG Ratings and MSCI ESG Business Involvement Screening Research.

MSCI generates revenues primarily through subscription fees, which, in most of the cases, is paid in advance. Clients using the company’s indexes as the basis for index-linked investment products (ETFs) or as the basis for passively managed funds also pay license fee, typically in arrears, based on the assets under management (“AUM”) in their investment products.

The company’s clientele includes pension funds, endowments, foundations, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, insurance companies, mutual funds, hedge funds, ETFs, private wealth, private banks, REITs, broker-dealers, exchanges, custodians, trust companies and wealth managers.

As of Dec. 31, 2024, MSCI served more than 7,100 clients across 100 countries worldwide.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in MSCI, ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in July 2015 would be worth $8,637.23, or a gain of 763.72%, as of July 17, 2025, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

In comparison, the S&P 500's gained 194.86% and the price of gold went up 183.72% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for MSCI.

MSCI shares have outperformed the industry in a year-to-date period. The company is benefiting from strong growth in recurring subscription revenues and asset-based fees. Strong ETF and non-ETF AUM linked to MSCI indices, along with growth in sustainability solutions, highlighted MSCI's diverse and resilient business model. Strategic partnerships, like the one with Moody is enhancing MSCI's offerings in private credit. The company's diversified product offerings and robust client retention has also been a major growth driver for its success. However, challenging macroeconomic condition along with muted demand for sustainability and climate solutions, particularly in the U.S., and regulatory complexity in Europe posed risk. Moreover, some large deals were delayed, reflecting cautious spending by clients amidst market uncertainty.

Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 5.23%, and there have been 3 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.