ICE highlights AI clout amid rising mortgage competition

Intercontinental Exchange’s mortgage technology unit returned to the black in the second quarter, as company leaders made their case for how ICE’s legacy platforms were best suited to deliver in the artificial intelligence age.   

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Operating income at ICE Mortgage Technology came in at $45 million, finishing in positive territory after a $13 million loss in the first quarter, its parent company reported on Thursday. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, the latest number surged by approximately 309% from $11 million. 

Profits came on the back of $557 million in revenue at ICE Mortgage Technology, which owns and operates both the most widely used loan-origination system and servicing platform in home lending after acquiring the latter in a 2023 merger with Black Knight. Revenue rose 3.3% to another multiyear high from $539 million on a quarterly basis. Year-over-year, it jumped 4.9% from $531 million. 

Of the latest total, transaction-based activity accounted for $151 million, while recurring client revenue equaled $406 million. 

“We anticipate third-quarter recurring revenues will remain around current levels as core growth and the new client ramp continue to build,” said ICE Chief Financial Officer Warren Gardiner during the company’s earnings call. 

Executives promote AI strengths amid rising competition

After making significant investments in AI this year, including the introduction of voice and chat agents on its servicing platform, ICE executives asserted how its strategy and volume of data made its technology stand out in a veiled jab at a growing field of rivals. 

The past few years have seen the emergence of newer AI-native LOS and servicing technology companies, some of which have scored major business wins in recent months. Leaders of those firms have not shied away from occasionally trash-talking ICE on social media, criticizing its legacy systems as dated.  

ICE leaders pointed out the advantages it held based on the sheer volume of data it possessed. “Roughly nine in 10 mortgages touch our network at some point, and a loan rarely stays in one place,” said President Ben Jackson.  

The recent addition of a new intelligence layer lying on top of existing data can map the relationship and workflows of loans across the entire borrowing cycle and will allow ICE to better train and grow its AI tools, he added.

“We are building that layer based on experience with thousands of lenders already on our network as well as expertise helping clients’ workflows and processes comply with federal, state and agency guidance — a foundation a competitor cannot simply vibe code,” Jackson said. 

How each ICE segment performed

ICE Mortgage Technology found several reasons to celebrate its latest earnings results, with revenue for each of its segments growing on both a quarterly and annual basis.

Revenue coming from the mortgage servicing platform came out to $226 million, up from $220 million in the first quarter. Meanwhile, ICE’s Encompass origination software added another $197 million compared to $187 million three months earlier. 

ICE’s closing solutions business delivered $65 million, while the mortgage data and analytics division generated $69 million in revenue. Both numbers were up from the first quarter’s $58 million and $66 million, respectively. 

On an adjusted pro forma basis, which factors in the Black Knight acquisition, the latest revenue total represented the strongest quarterly performance since the first half of 2022, Gardiner added.

Adjusted operating income finished at $239 million, up from $212 million and $221 million in the prior quarter and year.

Company-wide, the Atlanta-based conglomerate, which operates platforms across a range of investing and equity trading segments, including the New York Stock Exchange, reported net income of $975 million in the recent quarter. The number declined from $1.43 billion over the first quarter but improved from $865 million a year ago. 

During the call, ICE executives also announced it had reached a definitive agreement for its newest acquisition, MarketAxess Holdings, Inc., a trading platform for institutional fixed income markets.