Summary of this article
MCX has scheduled January 2, 2026, as the record date for its maiden 1:5 stock split.
Each share with a face value of Rs 10 will subdivide into five shares of Rs 2.
This move can potentially improve liquidity and retail accessibility.
Shares of the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) traded higher by over 1 per cent on December 18 at Rs 10,198 apiece. The stock gained after the commodity exchange informed the exchanges about its maiden stock-split.
MCX Stock Split: Ratio and Record Date
MCX informed the exchanges about its stock split via a filing after the market closed on December 17. The board of directors of the commodity trading platform has set January 2, 2026, as the record date for its share-split. The ratio for MCX’s stock-split is 1:5.
“This is further to our intimation dated September 13, 2025, informing the Shareholder’s approval for Sub-division of every 1 (One) equity share of face value of Rs. 10 each (Rupees Ten only) fully paid-up into 5 (Five) equity shares of face value of Rs. 2 each (Rupees Two only) fully paid-up of the Company,” MCX said in the filing.
As a part of the stock-split each equity share of MCX with an existing face value of Rs 10 per share into five shares of Rs 2 per share.
Notably, the record date refers to the cutoff date fixed by the company to find which shareholders have the eligibility to receive benefits of a corporate action. Shareholders must have shares of the commodity exchanges in their demat by the end of the day on January 2, 2026 to be eligible for the maiden stock split. Corporate actions are conducted in accordance with the T+1 settlement cycle, thus investors have to typically purchase shares of a company at least one day before the stock split happens, to ensure shares are credited to their account.
Why Do Companies Announce Stock Splits?
Companies typically announce stock splits to increase the total number of shares without making any change in the market capitalisation of the company. Increasing the number of shares while reducing the cost per share can potentially make the stock more affordable for investors to add to their portfolio, this lowers the barrier to entry and can make the stock relatively affordable post-split to a larger pool of people.
Stock splits are also announced by companies to enhance the liquidity of their shares, this in turn allows them to easily sell a stock as there may be more shares in circulation encouraging frequent trading. Typically stock splits are done by companies after the stock price has risen significantly and can potentially indicate the management’s confidence regarding the stock.
Sometimes companies also undertake stock-splits to maintain eligibility or gain eligibility to become part of a specific index. Notably, some stock indices have certain rules about price weightings. Thus a split can help a company stay within the parameters required to be part of a major index.
What This Means for Investors
A stock split is cosmetic in nature and does not alter the share structure or change the fundamental value of a shareholder’s investment. Ultimately it just changes the way your shares are held in the demat account. For example, if a shareholder held 10 shares worth Rs 10,000 each, totalling to Rs 1,00,000 prior to the split, post a 1:5 split they will end up holding 50 shares worth Rs 2,000 each, totalling to Rs 1,00,000. However, one material impact of the stock-split is that future dividends announced by the company will be based on the new face value of Rs 2.
MCX Share Price History
The decision to split MCX stock, taken by the Board of Directors, follows gains made by the stock in recent months. On a year-to-date basis MCX shares have gained 64.02 per cent on the NSE. In one year, the stock has climbed nearly 52 per cent on the NSE. In the last six months the shares have climbed nearly 32 per cent and in the past one month the stock has climbed nearly 5 per cent.
At the time of writing, MCX shares traded at Rs 10,198 apiece up by 1.73 per cent on the NSE.
