How listed companies are advancing in Europe

The drive for greater gender equality in the corporate world has gained significant momentum, particularly in the wake of growing demands for improved transparency and inclusivity. Recent data from Euronext’s My ESG Profile offers a clear picture of how companies listed on the exchange are responding to these calls for action, especially concerning gender diversity on corporate boards.

2023: A landmark year for gender diversity in Euronext-listed companies

In 2023, companies listed on Euronext demonstrated impressive progress in gender diversity, particularly in the area of board composition. The average representation of women on boards of large caps reached 43%, surpassing the targets set by the EU’s Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive. The Directive, which mandates that large EU-listed companies must achieve at least 40% gender representation among non-executive directors by the end of 2024, has set a new benchmark for corporate governance.

What’s even more striking is that 337 large Euronext-listed companies — over 90% of the total — have already met or exceeded the Directive’s requirements three years ahead of schedule. This proactive approach by large caps serves as a beacon of commitment to inclusive governance, setting an example for smaller companies and markets across Europe. These companies are already leading in board gender diversity, reinforcing their commitment to inclusive governance and serving as a benchmark for the market. Euronext remains committed to empowering sustainable finance and fostering equitable corporate cultures.

A growing commitment to ESG reporting: gender diversity on the rise

Euronext’s efforts to promote ESG transparency continue to show results, with an overwhelming 99.4% of companies now reporting on board gender diversity. This marks a significant increase (+3.0 percentage points) in reporting rates, reflecting a growing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Over the last three years, this increase in reporting has been consistently higher than in previous years, further underscoring the growing importance of ESG factors in investment decisions.

Industries such as Healthcare and Utilities have been leading the charge in enhancing gender diversity, with significant gains of +2.9 percentage points and +2.5 percentage points, respectively. These sectors, traditionally seen as slower to evolve, have shown that gender inclusivity is not just a matter of regulatory compliance, but a key factor in fostering a more resilient, innovative corporate environment.

The path ahead: continuing to drive gender equality in leadership roles

Despite the impressive strides made, the journey toward full gender parity in the corporate world is ongoing. The average share of women in management roles across all company sizes saw the most significant increase in 2023, with an improvement of +1.7 percentage points, aligning with the steady positive trend from previous years. Large, mid, and small-cap companies alike have shown commitment to enhancing gender representation in management roles, with Basic Materials and Utilities seeing particularly strong improvements in this area.

However, while industries like  Healthcare and Real Estate have made substantial progress, some sectors, such as Basic Materials and Consumer Discretionary, are still catching up when it comes to achieving gender balance on boards and within their workforces. This highlights the need for continuous focus on gender diversity across all levels of a company’s structure.

The impact of ESG reporting on corporate culture and performance

As the demand for sustainable investing continues to grow, investors are increasingly prioritising companies with strong ESG credentials. This trend is particularly evident in the gender diversity metrics within the My ESG Profile. By providing a comprehensive overview of gender diversity alongside other ESG factors, Euronext empowers investors to make more informed decisions that align with their values.

Furthermore, the push for better gender representation is not just about improving corporate image — it is also about fostering better business outcomes. Research consistently shows that companies with greater gender diversity, particularly in leadership roles, tend to be more innovative, resilient, and financially successful. By providing transparency on these metrics, Euronext not only helps investors but also motivates companies to implement more inclusive practices, knowing that diversity is a key driver of long-term success.

A positive but steady trend toward gender equality

While the gender balance on corporate boards and in management bodies is improving, challenges remain. The slow but steady progress seen in the gender diversity metrics from Euronext-listed companies shows that significant work is still needed to shatter the glass ceiling and eliminate systemic barriers to gender equality in the workplace.

As the EU Gender Balance Directive continues to take effect, and as the demand for ESG transparency grows, it is expected that more companies will adopt more ambitious strategies to enhance gender diversity. In doing so, they will not only benefit from improved investor confidence but also contribute to a more equitable corporate culture — one where gender parity is not just an aspiration but a reality.

For now, Euronext’s commitment to empowering sustainable finance and fostering gender equality across its listed companies remains a key step in driving both social change and business success.

Driving gender diversity through enhanced ESG transparency

Euronext is steadfast in its efforts to improve transparency around ESG practices, with a specific focus on gender diversity. By providing accessible and comprehensive ESG profiles, Euronext empowers investors to align their portfolios with ethical and sustainable standards. This transparency encourages companies to adopt more inclusive and diverse strategies, knowing that failure to meet these growing expectations could result in less favourable assessments from investors prioritising ESG criteria.

Moreover, as a leader in the market infrastructure, Euronext plays a pivotal role in guiding investments towards sustainable projects. Euronext offers a range of ESG products, including bonds, derivatives, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as tailored corporate services designed to support companies on their ESG journey. This reinforces Euronext’s commitment to promoting responsible investment practices and driving positive change across the corporate sector.

Pages: 20
Publication date:  3 MARCH 2025
Authors: Paul Besson, Head of Quantitative Research & Anatole Casimir, Quant Research Analyst
 

Following the introduction of the new liquidity programme ‘Dark Rebate Scheme’ (DRS) in December 2024, including the implementation of a stricter selection process for takers, Euronext has shown improved passive dark markouts compared to MTFs. This quant research study focuses on the detailed results, on two distinct period; before and after the implementation of DRS.

- “1 Sept – 1 Dec”: This first period corresponds to the time period prior to the implementation of the DRS on 2 December 2024, which therefore serves as a control period to study the effect of the DRS on the quality of Euronext Mid-Point Match.

- “9 Dec – 31 Jan”: This corresponds to the period following the DRS implementation. The week between 2 December and 9 December is not taken into account as this was a transition week.

For more information on the staleness issue of Dark trades on MTFs, please refer to our previous quant report “The latency costs of Dark MTFs on continental stocks: How kilometres translate into basis points”.

Watch the replay of the webinars and download the slides:

Paul Besson, Head of Quant Research at Euronext introduced the detailed results of the study, and Vincent Boquillon, Head of Equity Trading, presented the programme designed to boost dark volumes at the mid-point.
Webinar for Buy-Side       Webinar for Sell-Side

For more insights and to receive a copy of the report, contact QuantReports@euronext.com

For more information about Euronext Mid-Point Match, contact EquitiesTeam@euronext.com or your sales representative at EuronextEquitySales@euronext.com​, and visit our dedicated webpage.

Reference is made to the consultation on amendments to the member and trading rules for Euronext Oslo Børs, Euronext Expand, and Euronext Growth Oslo, published on 7 February 2025. The amendments were proposed in connection with the update of the Issuer Rules, see the separate consultation of 31 January 2025. The amendments concern the incorporation of rules on procedures for case processing, appeals committee, and publication into the respective rules for members, as well as coordination of the wording and fine levels in respect of violation charges and daily fines.

The consultation is now closed. It is noted that item 1.4 in Euronext Oslo Rule Book II – Membership and trading rules for Euronext Oslo Børs and Euronext Expand has been corrected to item 1.3. Other than this, no adjustments have been made to the proposed amendments as a result of the consultation. The amendments have been adopted by Euronext Oslo Børs, and will take effect on 1 April 2025, provided that the corresponding amendments to the Issuer Rules for Euronext Oslo Børs, Euronext Expand, and Euronext Growth Oslo enter into force on the same date. Final versions of the documents are included below.

Mark-up versions reflecting the amendments were published in connection with the consultation and are available here: Oslo | euronext.com. Furthermore, a mark-up version of Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II, including the Member and Trading Rules in Chapter 4, was published on 28 February 2025 under “Oslo Regulation News” in the notice of amended Issuer Rules. Such notice with attachment is available here: Amendments as of 1 April 2025 to the Rule Book II – Issuer Rules.

On 4 February, Market Structure Partners published a report on market data pricing, covering five European exchange groups, including Euronext. The report was commissioned by AFME, FIA EPTA, Plato Partnership, EFAMA and BVI. 

The report contains a number of factual errors and inaccurate representations. Euronext regrets that although its name is continuously cited throughout the report, Euronext was not contacted in advance by Market Structure Partners or by the commissioning associations about the elements included. 

Euronext covers below what it believes to be some of the most pertinent inaccuracies in the Market Structure Partners report. Given the number of errors in the report, the absence of comment from Euronext on other areas of the report does not constitute endorsement.

• The report’s pivotal claim that exchanges have offset declining equity trading revenues by increasing market data prices is  factually incorrect. The report claims that the share of market data revenues over the total revenues of Euronext has increased from 11% to 19%, when in reality (and based on data publicly available on Euronext website) this ratio remained stable over the period at 11%. 
• The report does not accurately represent market data pricing, notably omitting to account for Euronext’s acquisition of three new markets. For example, the report claims that non-professional user display market data pricing increased by +75% on Euronext, whilst in reality, accounting for the new markets integrated within Euronext, it has decreased by 40%. 
• The report’s claim that Euronext underinvests in its equity markets is again false. This is demonstrated by the data given in the report for Euronext, which shows that Euronext has increased its spend on infrastructure by more than 300% between 2017 and 2023. This is also demonstrated by the numerous well-documented investments made by Euronext in recent years to upgrade its equity markets, including the upgrade of its Optiq trading platform, the migration of its data centre to a new green facility and its clearing migration in 2024. Euronext’s parallel diversification into new asset classes and services has had no impact on its continued investments in equity markets. 

1. The report’s pivotal argument is based on incorrect data. The report claims that the share of market data revenue in total Euronext revenue has increased, whilst in fact it remained stable 

The report’s cornerstone argument is that exchanges rely increasingly on market data revenues to offset falling equity trading revenues. It uses what it refers to as market data revenue ratio to evaluate the share of market data revenues over the total revenues of exchanges. According to the report, Euronext’s market data ratio increased from 11% to 19% between 2020 and 2023 (pages 2, 4, 67 and 69). This result is incorrect. In reality, and using accurate and public data, this ratio has remained stable at 11% over the period. Data can be found here: Real Time Market Data Contracts | Connect, Financial reports | euronext.com.

2. The report does not represent Euronext’s market data pricing accurately, notably omitting Euronext’s acquisition of three new markets over the period evaluated and focusing only on selected examples

The report contains numerous incorrect representations of Euronext market data pricing. These include the following non-exhaustive list. 

Not factoring in Euronext’s acquisition of three new markets 

The report states that non-professional fees have increased by +75% on Euronext between 2017 and 2024 (pages 7, 39, 60), omitting Euronext’s acquisition of new markets over this period. The report does account for the fees charged by Euronext across the markets it operates in 2024, including Dublin and Oslo, but omits to include  the fees that were charged in Dublin and Oslo in 2017, before their acquisition by Euronext. In reality, when Dublin and Oslo fees are factored in throughout the period, non-professional display user fees have decreased by 40%. 

Similar omissions are made in numerous instances in the report, including in reference to Index/Benchmark creation fees (page 56), Euronext’s market data revenue increase (page 69), and Euronext’s price list (pages 5, 41, 43 and 69). 

Incorrect representation of Euronext’s customer base evolution

The report states that exchanges have a declining customer base (pages 2, 3, 62, 72). This claim is inaccurate and solely based on assumptions. In reality, over the period 2017-2024 used for the report and corrected for the acquisitions of Dublin, Oslo and Milan, Euronext has seen a substantial increase in its customer base. The loss of clients due to M&A activity in the market has been more than offset by new client entrants, including new execution venues, retail brokers, redistributors and other client segments.

Erroneous comparison of professional display market data and inaccurate representation of the Natural User concept

The report states that professional display market data fees for level 2 data have increased by 42.53% on Euronext between 2017 and 2024 (pages 7, 39, 41, 43 and 59). In reality, over this period, professional equity display data fees have increased by 23% on Euronext (less than the accrued inflation in the relevant EU countries). The reports calculation of 42.53%  reflects a lack of understanding of the Natural User concept. The report states that the Natural User concept results in a fee increase, whereas in fact it is an opportunity for clients to reduce fees for display use by netting users who take data from multiple sources to a single user.^[1] 

Unrealistic comparison of display and non-display market data

In Figure 14 on page 45, the report draws a conclusion by comparing the annual costs in 2017 of level 2 display data used by a single person, against the costs in 2024 of having machines using Level 2 data for non-display usage such as for principal trading, broker activity and to run a trading platform. Level 2 display data and non-display data are two fundamentally distinct types of products. Moreover, Euronext considers that it is not possible for a single human to perform the same activity as multiple machines.

Unrepresentative examples  

The  avatar example for a retail broker as provided in the report in paragraph 6.3 (pages 58-62) makes use of an unusual combination of parameters that only applies to 1% of Euronext client population. In its avatar section, the report exclusively focuses on the most expensive pricing options and omits to present more cost-effective pricing options which significantly decreased fees for small and mid-size clients between 2017-2024.

3. The report incorrectly represents market data costs and the investments made by Euronext in its markets, claiming that Euronext underinvests in its equity markets when data and facts demonstrate the opposite

The report states that there is no cost to exchanges for producing data and that there was no significant expenditure by exchanges on equity markets in recent years, including Euronext (except for the acquisition of Borsa Italiana). It thereby concludes that exchanges’ market data fees bear no relation to the costs of production of market data (pages 2, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 34, 41, 76, 77, 81, 82, 83). This claim is factually inaccurate and unfounded.

Market data is a core product of exchanges’ operations, IT infrastructure and investments. Market data is not a marginal product derived from trading services. The costs incurred in producing market data are therefore shared with trading services. 

In addition, as demonstrated by the data presented in the report and yet ignored in the report’s narrative, Euronext continuously invests in its equity markets. Page 87 shows a 300% increase in Euronext’s spend on infrastructure between 2017 and 2023. This is illustrated by the numerous well-documented investments made by Euronext in recent years to upgrade its equity markets, including the upgrade of its Optiq trading platform, the migration of its data centre to a new green facility, and its clearing migration in 2024. This is also reflected by the absence of severity 1 outages on Euronext markets in the last four years; the list of outages presented on page 82 of the report as “some examples” of exchanges’ outages is in fact an exhaustive list as far as Euronext is concerned. Euronext’s parallel diversification into new asset classes and services has had no impact on its continued investments in equity markets. A full list of the main upgrades and innovations delivered by Euronext over the last ten+ years can be found here: Our Journey | euronext.com.

Further, Euronext is required by MiFIR to charge market data based on costs. In contrast to the report’s claim, Euronext complies extensively with this requirement and provides extensive disclosures on the topic. Data can be found here: Real Time Market Data Contracts | Connect

Conclusion

The Market Structure Partners report on market data is flawed, with many factual errors and inaccurate representations. It should be approached with caution. The question of market data merits rigorous research: we hope that the above elements can be viewed as insightful observations. 

Euronext is a core market infrastructure operator in European equity markets and is a core supporter of market transparency. Euronext operates in full compliance with the relevant regulations regarding both market data production and publication, and market data pricing, and is committed to the highest standard of integrity and transparency on the topic. As continuously illustrated throughout its history, Euronext is committed to nurturing European equity markets through technological excellence and continuous innovation, including in the area of market data. 

_{^[1] The Natural User unit of count was introduced by ESMA as part of MiFID II in 2018. Clients may choose to adopt Natural User as a unit of count for display data usage, but there is no requirement for clients to opt for Natural User. A client wanting to adopt Natural User has to ensure they can manage their market data inventory to an individual user level. They are then able to net a user with multiple sources of the same data, i.e. they can take data from one or more data vendors, but report and pay for the user just once. This is an alternative to other units of count e.g. user per source where a user pays once per source of data.}