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International Securities Exchange Reports Third Quarter 2005 Results - Net Income Up 45.9% To $8.4 Million - Record Revenues Of $36.2 Million; Up 24.6% - Average Daily Volume Increases 33.0% To 1.7 Million Equity And Index Contracts - Diluted Earnings Per

Date 27/10/2005

The International Securities Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ISE)

    --  Net income up 45.9% to $8.4 million

    --  Record revenues of $36.2 million; up 24.6%

    --  Average daily volume increases 33.0% to 1.7 million equity and
        index contracts

    --  Diluted earnings per share of $0.22 on a GAAP basis

    --  Diluted earnings per share of $0.23 excluding non-operating
        charges

The International Securities Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ISE) today reported that net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2005 increased 45.9% to $8.4 million, or $0.22 per share, on a fully diluted basis. This compares to $5.8 million, or $0.17 per share, on a fully diluted basis, in the same period in 2004. Included in net income for the third quarter of 2005 were non-operating charges, net of taxes, of $0.4 million related to the Company's secondary offering and its reorganization into a holding company structure. Included in net income for the third quarter of 2004 was a non-operating charge of $0.8 million, net of taxes, related to the Company's reorganization into a holding company structure. Excluding these charges, ISE's operating net income increased 33.3% to $8.8 million, or $0.23 per share on a fully diluted basis. A full reconciliation of our non-operating items is included in this release.

Total revenues for the quarter increased 24.6% to a record $36.2 million versus $29.1 million in the prior year. The average daily volume of equity and index options contracts traded increased 33.0% to 1.7 million contracts as compared to 1.3 million contracts in the year-ago quarter.

"Our core businesses delivered exceptional results and we posted another quarter of record revenues," said David Krell, ISE's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our unique trading platform continues to attract strong demand as evidenced by solid increases in our average daily volume. We remain focused on leveraging our innovation and technological leadership to enhance our product offerings as we attract more market participants to our exchange."

"During the quarter, we made further strides in expanding our footprint in equity index options and premium products. In July, we launched several new proprietary indexes as we continued to build and enhance our portfolio of indexes. On September 1, 2005, we were once again successful in our pursuit to improve the trading of options on exchange traded funds (ETFs) as the court ruled in our favor in lawsuits brought against us regarding our rights to list options on ETFs without a license, including options on Diamonds(R)(i) Trust Series 1 (DIA). In listing Diamonds(R), we strive to achieve the same levels of success that we have achieved in listing Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts(R) (SPY), or SPDRs(R), which we listed on January 10, 2005," added Krell.

    Third Quarter Results

    Revenues

Total revenues for the third quarter of 2005 increased 24.6% to $36.2 million principally due to increased trading volumes. This compares to revenues of $29.1 million in the same period last year.

    --  Transaction fee revenues increased 32.9% to $25.2 million in
        the third quarter from $19.0 million last year.

    --  Market data revenues of $4.4 million were essentially flat
        compared to third quarter 2004.

    --  Other member fees decreased 4.3% to $5.3 million from $5.6
        million last year due to lower connectivity and network fees
        that we charge our members which are offset by lower expenses
        we incur for providing these services.

    --  Other revenues increased to $1.3 million as compared to $0.2
        million last year primarily due to higher interest income and
        unrealized gains on investments.

    Expenses

Total expenses for the third quarter of 2005 increased 19.5% to $20.8 million as compared to $17.4 million in the third quarter of the prior year.

    --  Compensation and benefits expenses increased 22.7% to $9.3
        million primarily due to increased headcount to support our
        growth as well as the impact of stock based compensation which
        totaled $1.5 million for the quarter.

    --  Technology and communications expenses increased 22.0% to $3.6
        million primarily due to enhancements, maintenance and
        capacity increases to our core trading system.

    --  Occupancy expenses increased 5.7% to $1.2 million primarily
        due to higher operating costs associated with our disaster
        recovery location.

    --  Professional fees increased to $1.7 million primarily due to
        legal fees arising from ongoing litigation associated with our
        decision to trade certain exchange traded funds without a
        license as well as higher public company related expenses. We
        also incurred non-operating professional fees of approximately
        $0.3 million related to the preparation for our secondary
        offering of common stock.

    --  Marketing and business development expenses increased 20.4% to
        $1.2 million primarily due to new advertising in connection
        with our index trading strategy as well as various sponsorship
        initiatives.

    --  Depreciation and amortization expenses increased 4.4% to $1.5
        million due to higher capital spending.

    --  Other expenses increased 35.3% to $2.1 million primarily due
        to fees we pay for trading licensed products. Fees that we
        incur to trade licensed products increased $0.4 million to
        $1.2 million for the quarter. These fees are offset by
        surcharges we charge members for trading licensed products
        which are included in our transaction fees revenues.

    --  Expenses in the third quarter of 2005 included $0.2 million of
        non-operating reorganization costs as compared to $1.0 million
        in the third quarter of 2004.

    Income, Margins and Taxes

Pre-tax income increased 32.2% to $15.5 million for the third quarter versus $11.7 million last year. Our pre-tax margin for the third quarter increased to 42.7% from 40.2% last year. Our operating pre-tax margins, which exclude our non-operating charges, increased to 44.0% in the third quarter of 2005 from 43.6% a year ago.

Our tax rate decreased to 45.7% for the third quarter compared to 50.9% last year. Our tax rate was significantly higher last year due to higher levels of non-deductible reorganization costs. Our tax rate in this year's quarter reflects a lower tax rate on returns from our invested cash.

Net income for the third quarter increased 45.9% to $8.4 million from $5.8 million in the prior year quarter.

Year-to-Date Results

For the first nine months of 2005, average daily volume of equity and index options increased 22.5% to 1.7 million contracts traded as compared to 1.4 million equity and index options contracts traded in the prior year. Revenues increased 16.8% to $105.7 million and net income increased 26.2% to $25.4 million. Earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $0.68 as compared to net income of $20.1 million, or $0.59 per share on a fully diluted basis, for the first nine months of 2004. Excluding our non-operating charges, diluted earnings per share for the first nine months of 2005 were $0.69 as compared to $0.63 a year ago.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2005, ISE had cash and cash equivalents of $155.1 million, total assets of $264.0 million, and stockholders' equity of $169.1 million. There were approximately 36.7 million shares of common stock outstanding.


    Third Quarter Business Highlights

    --  ISE was the largest equity options exchange for the third
        quarter of 2005 based on total equity options trading.

    --  ISE set a new monthly volume record of 1.9 million contracts
        traded for the month of September.

    --  On August 24, 2005, we announced our decision to file with the
        SEC a registration statement for an offering of shares of our
        Class A common stock by certain shareholders and management in
        an underwritten secondary public offering. This is expected to
        commence in the fourth quarter of 2005 or first quarter of
        2006. ISE will not receive any proceeds from the offering.

    --  On September 1, 2005, ISE listed options on Diamonds(R) Trust
        Series 1 (DIA).

    --  In July, ISE listed options on the following indexes: ISE
        SINdex Index (SIN), ISE U.S. Regional Banks Index (JLO), ISE
        Bio-Pharmaceuticals Index (RND), ISE 250 Index (IXZ), ISE 50
        Index (IXK) and ISE 100 Index (IXX). The ISE 250 Index is
        ISE's first broad-based proprietary index and tracks the top
        250 US stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American
        Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market. The index's components
        have an adjusted capitalization of about $9 trillion. The ISE
        50 Index tracks the performance of the "Mega Cap" stocks
        listed in the United States and is a subset of the ISE 250
        Index generally including its top 50 stocks. The ISE 100 Index
        is a higher-volatility indicator that tracks the performance
        of ISE's top 100 most actively traded equity options classes.

    --  On August 15, 2005, ISE announced that it will explore
        becoming a participant in the Consolidated Tape Association
        and Consolidated Quotation plans and the OTC/UTP plan. The CTA
        and CQ plans cover quotation and last sale information for
        stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and American
        Stock Exchange. The OTC/UTP plan covers quotation and last
        sale information for Nasdaq stocks. Other US options exchanges
        that compete with ISE are participants in these plans.

               INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE, INC.
                  CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
               (in thousands, except per share amounts)
                             (unaudited)

                               Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
                                  September 30,       September 30,
                                  2005      2004      2005      2004
                                --------  --------  --------  --------
Revenues:
Transaction fees               $ 25,217  $ 18,973  $ 73,195  $ 60,404
Other member fees                 5,345     5,584    16,105    16,567
Market data                       4,367     4,376    13,779    12,605
Other                             1,319       155     2,668       974
                                --------  --------  --------  --------
 Total revenues                  36,248    29,088   105,747    90,550

Expenses:
Compensation and benefits         9,293     7,572    27,426    22,887
Technology and communications     3,602     2,953    10,235    11,769
Occupancy                         1,169     1,106     3,327     2,909
Professional fees                 1,718       799     4,512     2,397
Marketing and business
 development                      1,157       961     2,836     2,555
Depreciation and amortization     1,519     1,455     4,528     2,476
Other                             2,124     1,570     6,287     4,311
Reorganization                      203       971       203     1,548
                                --------  --------  --------  --------
 Total expenses                  20,785    17,387    59,354    50,852

Income before provision for
 income taxes                    15,463    11,701    46,393    39,698
Provision for income taxes        7,072     5,951    21,006    19,589
                                --------  --------  --------  --------
Net income                     $  8,391  $  5,750  $ 25,387  $ 20,109
                                ========  ========  ========  ========

Earnings per share:
Basic                          $   0.23  $   0.18  $   0.71  $   0.63
Diluted                        $   0.22  $   0.17  $   0.68  $   0.59

Weighted average number of
 shares outstanding:
Basic                            36,742    32,139    35,527    32,139
Diluted                          38,843    33,920    37,574    33,921



               INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE, INC.
            CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
               (in thousands, except per share amounts)
                                           September 30, December 31,
                                                2005          2004
                                           ------------- -------------
ASSETS                                      (unaudited)
Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents                 $    155,120  $     44,847
 Accounts receivable, net                        32,215        29,787
 Income tax receivable                                -        11,332
 Securities owned                                 4,951         4,980
 Other current assets                             3,883         6,655
                                            ------------  ------------
Total current assets                       $    196,169  $     97,601

Securities owned                                 13,144        22,199
Accounts receivable                                 574         6,426
Fixed asset, net                                 30,171        32,757
Deferred tax asset, net                          21,489        15,835
Other assets                                      2,483         2,761
                                            ------------  ------------
Total assets                                    264,030       177,579
                                            ============  ============

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and
  other liabilities                               8,704         8,434
 Compensation and benefits payable                8,451        14,520
 Deferred revenue                                 4,814         4,365
 Income taxes payable                             3,105             -
 Payment for order flow payable                  14,076        13,258
                                            ------------  ------------
  Total current liabilities                      39,150        40,577

Deferred revenue                                 51,410        50,594
Other liabilities                                 4,398         4,949
                                            ------------  ------------
  Total liabilities                              94,958        96,120

                                            ------------  ------------
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY                            169,072        81,459
                                            ------------  ------------

                                            ------------  ------------
  Total liabilities & stockholders' equity $    264,030  $    177,579
                                            ============  ============



                INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE, INC.
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                            (In thousands)
                              (unaudited)

                                                    Nine Months Ended
                                                      September 30,
                                                     2005      2004
                                                   --------- ---------
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income                                          $25,387   $20,110
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash
 provided by/(used in) operating activities:
   Depreciation and amortization                      4,528     2,476
   Stock based compensation                           3,358        77
   Deferred taxes                                    (5,654)   (4,787)
   Unrealized (gain)/loss on securities owned and
    available for sale securities, net                 (429)     (211)

(Increase)/decrease in operating assets:
   Accounts receivable, net                           3,424     2,647
   Income tax receivable                             11,332    (6,071)
   Securities owned                                   4,496    (6,121)
   Other assets                                       2,997    (5,366)
Increase/(decrease) in operating liabilities:
   Accounts payable and accrued expenses                270       441
   Compensation and benefits payable                 (6,069)    2,744
   Income tax payable                                 3,105         -
   Deferred revenue                                   1,264    15,194
   Payment for order flow payable                       818       848
   Marketing fund payable                                 -      (519)
   Other liabilities                                   (551)    1,151
                                                   --------- ---------
Net cash provided by operating activities            48,276    22,613
                                                   --------- ---------

Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of fixed assets                             (1,888)   (3,401)
Purchase of available securities                          -   (14,946)
Maturities of available for sale securities           4,990         -
                                                   --------- ---------
 Net cash provided by/(used in) investing
  activities                                          3,102   (18,347)
                                                   --------- ---------

Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividend                                            (11,784)  (11,070)
Net proceeds from initial public offering            70,673         -
Proceeds from common stock                                6         -
                                                   --------- ---------
     Net cash provided by/(used in) financing
      activities                                     58,895   (11,070)
                                                   --------- ---------

Increase in cash and cash equivalents               110,273    (6,804)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period       44,847    65,687
                                                   --------- ---------
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period           $155,120   $58,883
                                                   ========= =========



               INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE, INC.
                     KEY STATISTICAL INFORMATION

                               Three months ended   Nine months ended
                                  September 30,       September 30,
                                 2005      2004      2005      2004
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------
Trading Days                         64        62       189       188
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Average daily trading
 volume: (1) (2)
Equity Options
--------------
Total U.S. industry equity
 options traded (in thousands)    5,203     3,747     5,115     4,164
Our equity options traded (in
 thousands)                       1,694     1,290     1,672     1,378
Our market share of equity
 options traded                    32.6%     34.4%     32.7%     33.1%
Index Options
-------------
Total U.S. industry index
 options traded (in thousands)      531       367       509       379
Our index options traded (in
 thousands)                          23         1        16         -
Our market share of index
 options traded                     4.3%      0.3%      3.1%      0.0%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our member total trading
 volume (sides, in
 thousands): (3)
Customer                         91,555    64,787   265,093   198,211
Firm proprietary                 22,124    12,689    58,709    38,186
Market maker                    106,095    87,767   314,190   281,707
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------
Total Sides                     219,774   165,243   637,992   518,104
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our market share of total
 industry trading: (4)
Customer                           30.1%     28.6%     30.2%     36.4%
Firm proprietary                   23.1%     20.2%     21.8%     20.0%
Market maker                       31.8%     36.9%     32.1%     36.8%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Revenue:
Average transaction fee per
 side (5)                         $0.11     $0.11     $0.11     $0.12
Average transaction fee per
 revenue side (6)                 $0.18     $0.18     $0.18     $0.18
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our trades:
Average contracts per trade        18.6      17.9      17.6      17.7
Average trades per day (in
 thousands)                        92.4      72.2      95.7      77.8
Total trades (in thousands)       5,913     4,619    18,086    14,626
Our market share of industry
 trade volume                      32.8%     35.2%     34.3%     34.3%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our listed issues: (8)
Average number of issues
 traded during the period           747       672       737       643
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our Members (average number
 trading during period):
PMMs                                 10        10        10        10
CMMs                                129       139       135       135
EAMs                                 94        93        95        96
                               ------------------- -------------------
Total                               233       242       240       241
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Employees at end of period          182       156       182       156
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------

(1) Represents single counted contract volume. For example, a
    transaction of 500 contracts on our exchange is counted as a
    single 500 contract transaction for purposes of calculating our
    volumes, even though we may receive transaction fees from parties
    on both sides of the transaction, one side of a transaction, or in
    some cases, neither side of a transaction.

(2) Our market share is calculated based on the number of contracts
    executed on our exchange as a percentage of total industry
    contract volume.

(3) Represents each side of a buy or sell transaction. For example, a
    transaction of 500 contracts on our exchange is counted as two
    sides of 500 contracts, representing a buy and a sell transaction.
    We do not currently receive transaction fees from
    non-broker-dealer customer sides, except for options on SPDRs(R)
    and certain options on indices.

(4) Represents our market share of total U.S. industry equity and
    index trading for members trading on our exchange based on
    contract trading volume.

(5) Average transaction fee per side is calculated by dividing our
    transaction fees by the total number of sides executed on our
    exchange. We generally do not charge our members for executing
    non- broker-dealer customer orders on our exchange and we reduce
    or waive fees for members exceeding volume thresholds on certain
    other products. Comparing our average transaction fee per side to
    our average transaction fee per revenue side reflects the negative
    effect of our fee waivers or reductions on our revenues, on a per
    side basis. For the three months ended September 30, 2005 and
    2004, we have waived and discounted $6,748 and $4,921 of our fees,
    respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2005 and
    2004, we have waived and discounted $19,735 and $15,057 of our
    fees, respectively.

(6) Our average transaction fee per revenue side reflects the
    transaction fee we charge to our market participants per our
    publicly available pricing schedules. These schedules were part of
    rule proposals that became effective upon filing pursuant to
    Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
    amended (the "Exchange Act"). The Securities and Exchange
    Commission may abrogate such rule proposals within 60 days of
    filing if it determines that such action is necessary or
    appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of
    investors or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the
    Exchange Act.

(7) Members can have several contracts per trade. Trades represent the
    number of trades cleared through The Option Clearing Corporation,
    or the OCC. Market data revenue is generated on a per trade basis,
    not on a contract basis.

(8) By "issues" we mean the number of securities underlying our
    options. We trade multiple options series on each underlying
    security.

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation

In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding the Company's results as determined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the Company also discloses certain non-GAAP information which management believes provides useful information to investors. Management reviews this non-GAAP financial measurement when evaluating the Company's financial performance and results of operations; therefore, we believe it is useful to provide information with respect to these non-GAAP measurements so as to share this perspective of management. Non-GAAP measurements do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in the context with our GAAP results.

Within this press release, the Company has disclosed its net income amounts excluding certain non-operating charges. These non-operating charges relate to expenses incurred in connection with its reorganization into a holding company structure as well as professional fees incurred related to its secondary offering. The Company will not sell any additional shares in the secondary offering; therefore, any cost it incurs is treated as an expense. In addition, its reorganization and secondary offering costs are not-deductible for tax purposes; thereby, increasing its effective tax rate.

               INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE, INC.
                   GAAP TO NON GAAP RECONCILIATION
               (in thousands, except per share amounts)
                             (unaudited)

                                    Three Months        Nine Months
                                        Ended              Ended
                                    September 30,      September 30,
                                     2005     2004     2005     2004
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------

GAAP Net income, as reported      $ 8,391  $ 5,750  $ 25,387  $20,109
Add back reorganization costs         203      971       203    1,548
Add back secondary offering
 costs (included in professional
 fees)                                279        -       279        -
Income tax adjustments                (87)    (132)      (88)    (209)
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------
Operating net income, as adjusted   8,786    6,589    25,781   21,448
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------

GAAP Diluted earnings per share,
 as reported                      $  0.22  $  0.17  $   0.68  $  0.59
Add back non-operating charges       0.01     0.02      0.01     0.05
Income tax adjustments              (0.00)       -         -    (0.01)
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------
Operating diluted earnings per
 share, as adjusted               $  0.23  $  0.19  $   0.69  $  0.63
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------


GAAP Income before provision for
 income taxes, as reported         15,463   11,701    46,393   39,698
Add back reorganization costs         203      971       203    1,548
Add back secondary offering
 costs (included in professional
 fees)                                279        -       279        -
                                   -------  -------  --------  -------
Operating income before provision
 for income taxes, as adjusted     15,945   12,672    46,875   41,246
Total revenues                     36,248   29,088   105,747   90,550

GAAP Operating pre-tax margins,
 as reported                         42.7%    40.2%     43.9%    43.8%
Operating pre-tax margins, as
 adjusted                            44.0%    43.6%     44.3%    45.6%

Earnings Conference Call

ISE will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2005 results at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. The conference call will be web cast and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of ISE's web site at www.iseoptions.com. An investor presentation that will be referenced during the call will be posted to the web site. Investors can also listen to the conference call by dialing (866) 700-7101 (Pass code: 13946096). An archived recording of the call will be available from noon on October 27, 2005 until midnight on October 28, 2005 and can be accessed by calling (888) 286-8010 (Pass code: 26473012).

ISE Background

The International Securities Exchange, the world's largest equity options exchange, was founded on the principle that technology fosters and infuses new efficiencies and operational innovations into securities trading. After developing an innovative market structure that integrated auction market principles into an advanced screen-based trading system, ISE launched the first fully electronic US options exchange in May 2000. ISE continually enhances its trading systems to provide investors with the best marketplace to execute their options orders.

For more information about ISE, its products and its technology, visit www.iseoptions.com.

This press release contains "forward looking statements." These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward looking statements. We undertake no ongoing obligation, other than that imposed by law, to update these statements. Factors that could affect our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward looking statements can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our registration statement on Form S-1, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as amended.

(i)DIAMONDS(R) is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. ("Dow Jones") for securities issued by the Diamonds(R) Trust, Series 1 and has been licensed for use for certain purposes by Dow Jones to PDR Services Corporation ("PDR") and the American Stock Exchange LLC ("Amex") pursuant to a license agreement with Dow Jones. DIAMONDS and options which have DIAMONDS as their sole underlying interest ("DIAMONDS Options") are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones. Dow Jones, PDR, and Amex have not licensed or authorized ISE to (i) engage in the creation, listing, provision of a market for trading, marketing, and promotion of DIAMONDS Options or (ii) to use and refer to the DIAMONDS(R) trademark in connection with the listing, provision of a market for trading, marketing, and promotion of DIAMONDS Options or with making disclosures concerning DIAMONDS Options under any applicable federal or state laws, rules or regulations, and do not sponsor, endorse, or promote such activity by ISE. ISE is not affiliated in any manner with Dow Jones, PDR or Amex.