India’s biggest commodity derivatives exchange- Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) announced it’s first-ever stock split on December 18, 2025. The split ratio is 1:5 of MCX and record date is January 2, 2026. Through stock split it is expected that MCX shares more accessible to investors and change how its derivatives contracts (F&O) are structured.

In stock split company performed a corporate action in which company increases the number of its outstanding shares by dividing each existing share into multiple new shares. In this corporate action the total value of person investment does not change but your numbers of shares is increased with a proportionally lower price per share. For example, in a 1:5 split:

• A person holding 1 MCX share.
• After stock split, it will hold 5 MCX shares.
• But the share value of each share is lower than previous value.
• The impact on total investment of person is nothing, it will remain same. In simple calculation, if you hold 100 shares after split you will hold 500.

The Specifics of MCX’s 1:5 Split

Details of what MCX has officially announced:

• Face value change: from ₹10 per share to ₹2 per share.
• Record date: January 2, 2026.
• Split ratio: 1 share → 5 shares (1:5).
• Purpose: To make the stock more affordable for retail investors and improve liquidity in the market.

This mean, if the share of MCX was trading around ₹10,000 per share before the stock split then after this it will trade around ₹2,000 per share. It is important to consider that total value of investor doesn’t change immediately because of the split itself. It is like changing a 50rs note into 5 notes of 10rs each.

Why company do stock splits

The company perform stock split to attract retail investors because a high share price is unaffordable for small investors, but through stock split more people can buy share easily. Secondly, it also improves the liquidity of stock which makes it more affordable to trade more actively. Further, higher trading activity makes it easier to buy and sell without big price swings. It also creates psychological impact because some investors prefer stocks with smaller share prices. The reason for MCX split could be to boost investor participation and make the stock widely accessible.

Impact on F&O Contracts

MCX stock also trades in the Futures & Options (F&O) segment. This means traders don’t just buy and sell the stock they trade contracts based on future prices or options. F&O contracts must be adjusted after stock split, so they reflect the new share structure properly. After MCX stock split, the F&O contracts will adjust in according to it. In this, stock split in 1:5, the adjustment factor becomes 5 (A/B = 5/1 = 5). The F&O base futures price and strike prices of MCX in options are divided by 5 to reflect the new share price and lot size is multiplied by the same factor. For example:

• The day before the split, if MCX futures closed at ₹10,900 then the adjusted futures price on the ex-date would be ₹2,180 (₹10,900 ÷ 5).
• For lot size it is multiplied by the same factor. It mean, if the old lot size was 125 shares per F&O contract then after adjustment it would 125 × 5 = 625 shares per contract.

In short, the price of F&O will go down and lot size will goes up. Let’s understand with real numbers:

• Old F&O lot: 125 shares.
• Before split: MCX share ₹10,900.
• New F&O lot: 625 shares.
• After split: MCX share ₹2,180.

This table shows that the total value of each contract stays unchanged even though the share price is lower because lots are multiplied by 5.