Virtu Financial, Inc. 10-Q

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK Market Risk We are exposed to various market risks in the ordinary course of business. The risks primarily relate to changes in the value of financial instruments due to factors such as market prices, interest rates, and currency rates. Our on-exchange market making activities are not dependent on the direction of any particular market and are designed to minimize capital at risk at any given time by limiting the notional size of our positions. Our on-exchange market making strategies involve continuously quoting two-sided markets in various financial instruments with the intention of profiting by capturing the spread between the bid and offer price. If another market participant executes against the strategy’s bid or offer by crossing the spread, the strategy will attempt to lock in a return by either exiting the position or hedging in one or more different correlated instruments that represent economically equivalent value to the primary instrument. Such primary or hedging instruments include but are not limited to securities and derivatives such as: common shares, exchange traded products, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), options, bonds, futures, spot currencies and commodities. Substantially all of the financial instruments we trade are liquid and can be liquidated within a short time frame at low cost. Our customer market making activities involve the taking of position risks. The risks at any point in time are limited by the notional size of positions as well as other factors. The overall portfolio risks are quantified using internal risk models and monitored by the Company’s senior trading personnel, designated risk personnel and senior management. We use various proprietary risk management tools in managing our market risk on a continuous basis (including intraday). In order to minimize the likelihood of unintended activities by our market making strategies, if our risk management system detects a trading strategy generating revenues outside of our preset limits, it will freeze, or “lockdown”, that strategy and alert risk management personnel and management. For working capital purposes, we invest in money market funds and maintain interest and non-interest bearing balances at banks and in our trading accounts with clearing brokers, which are classified as Cash and cash equivalents and Receivables from broker-dealers and clearing organizations, respectively, on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. These financial instruments do not have maturity dates; the balances are short-term, which helps to mitigate our market risks. We also invest our working capital in short-term U.S. government securities, which are included in Financial instruments owned on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. Our cash and cash equivalents held in foreign currencies are subject to the exposure of foreign currency fluctuations. These balances are monitored daily and are hedged or reduced when appropriate and therefore not material to our overall cash position. In the normal course of business, we maintain inventories of exchange-listed and other equity securities, and to a lesser extent, fixed income securities, listed equity options, and digital assets. The fair value of these financial instruments at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025 was $14.9 billion and $10.6 billion, respectively, in long positions and $13.6 billion and $9.1 billion, respectively, in short positions. We also enter into futures contracts, which are recorded on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition within Receivable from brokers, dealers and clearing organizations or Payable to brokers, dealers and clearing organizations as applicable. We calculate daily the potential losses that might arise from a series of different stress events. These include both single factor and multi factor shocks to asset prices based off both historical events and hypothetical scenarios. The stress calculations include a full recalculation of any option positions, non-linear positions and leverage. Senior management and the independent risk group carefully monitor the highest stress scenarios to help mitigate the risk of exposure to extreme events. The purchase and sale of futures contracts requires margin deposits with a Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”). The Commodity Exchange Act requires an FCM to segregate all customer transactions and assets from the FCM’s proprietary activities. A customer’s cash and other equity deposited with an FCM are considered commingled with all other customer funds subject to the FCM’s segregation requirements. In the event of an FCM’s insolvency, recovery may be limited to the Company’s pro rata share of segregated customer funds available. It is possible that the recovery amount could be less than the total cash and other equity deposited. 80 Interest Rate Risk, Derivative Instruments In the normal course of business, we utilize derivative financial instruments in connection with our proprietary trading activities. We carry our trading derivative instruments at fair value with gains and losses included in Trading income, net, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. Fair value of derivatives that are freely tradable and listed on a national exchange is determined at their last sale price as of the last business day of the period. Since gains and losses are included in earnings, we have elected not to separately disclose gains and losses on derivative instruments, but instead to disclose gains and losses within trading revenue for both derivative and non-derivative instruments. We may also use derivative instruments for risk management purposes, including cash flow hedges used to manage interest rate risk on long-term borrowings and net investment hedges used to manage foreign exchange risk. We had entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swap agreements in order to manage interest rate risk associated with our long-term debt obligations. Additionally, we may seek to reduce the impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on our net investment in certain non-U.S. operations through the use of foreign currency forward contracts. For interest rate swap agreements and foreign currency forward contracts designated as hedges, we assess our risk management objectives and strategy, including identification of the hedging instrument, the hedged item and the risk exposure and how effectiveness is to be assessed prospectively and retrospectively. The effectiveness of the hedge is assessed based on the overall changes in the fair value of the interest rate swaps or forward contracts. For instruments that meet the criteria to be considered hedging instruments under ASC 815, any gains or losses, to the extent effective, are included in Accumulated other comprehensive income on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition and Other comprehensive income on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. The ineffective portion, if any, is recorded in Other, net on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. Futures Contracts . As part of our proprietary market making trading strategies, we use futures contracts to gain exposure to changes in values of various indices, commodities, interest rates or foreign currencies. A futures contract represents a commitment for the future purchase or sale of an asset at a specified price on a specified date. Upon entering into a futures contract, we are required to pledge to the broker an amount of cash, U.S. government securities or other assets equal to a certain percentage of the contract amount. Subsequent payments, known as variation margin, are made or received by us each day, depending on the daily fluctuations in the fair values of the underlying securities. We recognize a gain or loss equal to the daily variation margin. Due from Broker-Dealers and Clearing Organizations . Management periodically evaluates our counterparty credit exposures to various brokers and clearing organizations with a view to limiting potential losses resulting from counterparty insolvency. Foreign Currency Risk As a result of our international market making and execution services activities and accumulated earnings in our foreign subsidiaries, our income and net worth are subject to fluctuation in foreign exchange rates. While we generate revenues in several currencies, the majority of our operating expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars. Therefore, depreciation in these other currencies against the U.S. dollar would negatively impact revenue upon translation to the U.S. dollar. The impact of any translation of our foreign denominated earnings to the U.S. dollar is mitigated, however, through the impact of daily hedging practices that are employed by the company. Approximately 22.7% and 16.9% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively, were denominated in non-U.S. dollar currencies. We estimate that a hypothetical 10% adverse change in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to our foreign denominated earnings would have resulted in decreases in total revenues of $51.9 million and $31.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively. Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with non-U.S. dollar functional currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at period-end exchange rates. Income, expense and cash flow items are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The resulting currency translation adjustments are recorded as foreign exchange translation adjustment in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity. Our primary currency translation exposures historically relate to net investments in subsidiaries having functional currencies denominated in the Euro, Pound Sterling, and Canadian dollar. 81 Financial Instruments with Off Balance Sheet Risk We enter into various transactions involving derivatives and other off-balance sheet financial instruments. These financial instruments include futures, forward contracts, swaps, and exchange-traded options. These derivative financial instruments are used to conduct trading activities and manage market risks and are, therefore, subject to varying degrees of market and credit risk. Derivative transactions are entered into for trading purposes or to economically hedge other positions or transactions. Futures and forward contracts provide for delayed delivery of the underlying instrument. In situations where we write listed options, we receive a premium in exchange for giving the buyer the right to buy or sell the security at a future date at a contracted price. The contractual or notional amounts related to these financial instruments reflect the volume and activity and do not necessarily reflect the amounts at risk. Futures contracts are executed on an exchange, and cash settlement is made on a daily basis for market movements, typically with a central clearing house as the counterparty. Accordingly, futures contracts generally do not have credit risk. The credit risk for forward contracts, options, and swaps is limited to the unrealized market valuation gains recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. Market risk is substantially dependent upon the value of the underlying financial instruments and is affected by market forces, such as volatility and changes in interest and foreign exchange rates.