Nasdaq, Inc.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Market Cap

Nasdaq, Inc. has a market capitalization of $52.65B.

Price: $94.19

▼ -0.97 (-1.02%)

Market Cap: 52.65B

NASDAQ · time unavailable

CEO: Adena T. Friedman

Sector: Financial Services

Industry: Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges

IPO Date: 2002-07-01

Website: https://www.nasdaq.com

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) - Company Information

Market Cap: 52.65B|Sector: Financial Services

Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc., a technology powerhouse founded in 1971 and based in New York City, is dedicated to supporting capital markets and various other sectors worldwide. Its Market Technology division specializes in fighting financial crime, offering products like Nasdaq Trade Surveillance, a SaaS solution that assists brokers and market participants in meeting compliance requirements and internal surveillance policies. This segment also provides Nasdaq Automated Investigator, a cloud-deployed anti-money laundering tool, and Verafin, a SaaS provider for anti-financial crime management. Furthermore, this division handles a wide array of assets, including cash equities, equity derivatives, global currencies, interest-bearing securities, commodities, energy resources, and digital currencies. The Investment Intelligence segment is responsible for distributing both historical and live market data, creating and licensing Nasdaq-branded financial indexes and products, and delivering valuable investment insights and workflow solutions. Through its Corporate Platforms, Nasdaq manages operational listing venues and furnishes specialized intelligence for investor relations, alongside comprehensive governance services. The Market Services segment covers a broad spectrum of operations, including the trading and clearing of equity derivatives, cash equities, fixed income, and commodities, in addition to providing trade management services. This division operates numerous exchanges and marketplace facilities that accommodate diverse asset classes such as derivatives, commodities, cash equity, debt, structured products, and exchange-traded products, while also offering crucial broker, clearing, settlement, and central depository functionalities. As of December 31, 2021, The Nasdaq Stock Market proudly listed 4,178 companies, specifically 1,632 on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, 1,169 on The Nasdaq Global Market, and 1,377 on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The company adopted its current name, Nasdaq, Inc., in September 2015, having previously been known as The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Analyst Sentiment

79%
Strong Buy

From 18 Active Polls

1Y Forecast: $113.40

▲ +20.4% Potential Upside

Consensus Target Metrics

Low Bound

$110

Median

$113

High Bound

$120

Average

$113

Price & Moving Averages

Loading chart...

🎯 Wall Street Analyst Intelligence Report

1-Year structural target targets, chart projections, and sentiment maps.

Average 1Y Target
$113.40
▲ +20.39% Upside
Low Target
$110.00
17% Risk
Median Target
$113.00
20% Mid
High Target
$120.00
27% Max
Consensus
Buy
22 / 36 Buys

Consensus Trend Projection

Trailing closures vs. 12-month metrics map.

Analyst Vote Distribution

Aggregate institutional coverage sentiment weights.

valuation & financial ratiosdetailed financials

📊 Historical Valuation Multiples

Real-time Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) momentum side-by-side with discrete quarterly metrics.

Fiscal QuarterTTMQ2 2026Q1 2026Q4 2025Q3 2025Q2 2025Q1 2025Q4 2024Q3 2024
Period EndingTrailing 12MJun 30, 2026Mar 31, 2026Dec 31, 2025Sep 30, 2025Jun 30, 2025Mar 31, 2025Dec 31, 2024Sep 30, 2024
Market Cap ($M)52,65044,47048,11655,43250,70851,33643,62944,46341,990
Enterprise Value ($M)61,37353,19356,99764,54659,79060,23552,65853,73951,981
Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E)27.1421.8923.0726.6829.8828.3027.4931.1734.44
Price/Earnings-to-Growth Ratio (PEG)—1.188.424.28——9.304.635.61
Price to Sales Ratio (P/S)6.0517.5622.5226.6525.9024.5620.8721.9022.08
Price to Book Ratio (P/B)4.433.714.004.534.224.353.783.973.79
Price to Free Cash Flow Ratio (P/FCF)26.9970.1476.50103.42333.6174.7271.0668.93223.35
Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)—21.0126.6731.0330.5428.8225.2026.4727.33
Enterprise Value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA)19.2360.6579.0578.5277.5575.4871.5578.0085.64
Debt to Equity Ratio2.730.770.780.810.790.820.840.880.93

📘 Full Research Report

ℹ️

AI-Generated Research: This report is for informational purposes only.

📘 NASDAQ INC (NDAQ) — Investment Overview

🧩 Business Model Overview

NASDAQ Inc operates a capital-markets infrastructure business centered on three connected revenue engines: (1) exchange trading and market services, (2) listing and issuer services, and (3) market data and index solutions. The economic loop is straightforward: issuers list securities and participate in an exchange ecosystem, market participants trade on that platform, and the resulting market activity generates demand for liquidity, connectivity, and authoritative market data. A portion of the business then monetizes intellectual property and recurring usage through data distribution and index licensing tied to investment products such as ETFs and structured investment vehicles.

This structure creates customer stickiness because trading, connectivity, and data usage embed into workflows. For issuers, listing relationships and investor access are long-lived; for data and index users, switching can require operational and legal reconfiguration due to contractual, licensing, and reference-data dependencies.

💰 Revenue Streams & Monetisation Model

Revenue generally falls into four buckets with differing durability:

  • Trading and related services: Collected per trade or via market participation arrangements. This component tends to be cyclical with market activity but benefits from high marginal economics when liquidity is strong.
  • Listing and issuer services: Recurring contracts and event-driven fees tied to equity and other listed products, as well as continuing obligations that sustain issuer engagement over time.
  • Market data services: Subscription-based distribution of exchange and consolidated market data. Pricing power is supported by “authoritative source” characteristics and the workflow centrality of reference data.
  • Indexes and index-related products: Licensing and services derived from index IP and the demand for index benchmarks. Monetisation is typically more recurring as index-linked investment products roll over.

Margin profile drivers are typically led by the shift toward data and index licensing, which generally carry higher incremental margins than pure transaction-based revenues. Cost discipline and technology scalability matter, but the primary lever is sustained usage of NASDAQ’s data and benchmark assets.

🧠 Competitive Advantages & Market Positioning

The core moat is a combination of liquidity network effects, high switching costs, and intangible asset value from market data and index IP.

  • Liquidity network effects: A larger, more active participant base can attract further participants, reinforcing depth and tighter execution. Liquidity is difficult to replicate quickly because it is the outcome of long-running participation and incentives.
  • Switching costs (data and workflow integration): Market data is embedded in trading, risk, and surveillance systems. Index benchmarks are referenced in contracts, models, and investment documentation, making substitution costly and often operationally disruptive.
  • Intangible assets (index IP and authoritative data): Index methodologies, historical back-testing credibility, and distribution relationships support recurring licensing demand. Additionally, the “source” nature of exchange data raises buyer dependence on specific feeds and formats.
  • Regulatory and operational barriers: Exchange operations require ongoing compliance, systems reliability, and market integrity controls, raising the effective barrier to entry and limiting how easily challengers can build comparable infrastructure.

Competitive benchmarking:

  • CME Group: Emphasizes derivatives and risk-transfer products, with monetisation driven heavily by listed derivatives liquidity. NASDAQ’s positioning is more equity- and innovation-product oriented across trading venues, listing services, and indexes.
  • Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Strong in futures, options, and data services tied to energy and financial benchmarks. NASDAQ competes primarily through equity-focused liquidity, listing franchise, and index/data solutions for investment products.
  • Deutsche Börse (including Eurex): Broad European derivatives and data capabilities. NASDAQ’s focus differs through its U.S. equity and exchange ecosystem and its suite of indexes and market data offerings.

Across these rivals, NASDAQ’s differentiator is the linkage between its exchange ecosystem, data distribution authority, and index licensing—creating a compounding advantage when liquidity and reference-data usage are sustained.

🚀 Multi-Year Growth Drivers

Over a 5–10 year horizon, growth is supported by secular tailwinds that increase demand for market access, liquidity, and benchmark products:

  • Passive investing and index penetration: Ongoing expansion of ETF and index-tracking strategies increases structural demand for robust, licensable benchmarks and related index services.
  • Product innovation and market structure evolution: New listing categories, derivatives and hedging demand, and continued market-structure changes support continued usage of exchange infrastructure and data.
  • Data monetisation and workflow centrality: As market participants rely more on real-time and historical data for execution quality, analytics, and surveillance, subscription and licensing usage can expand beyond headline trading volumes.
  • Global participation and cross-asset connectivity: Growth in participation across regions and asset types supports continued integration of exchange-provided data and technology services.
  • Operating leverage: Technology scaling and disciplined cost management can convert stable to improving revenue streams—especially in data and indexes—into durable free cash flow.

⚠ Risk Factors to Monitor

  • Regulatory and fee structure changes: Exchanges and data providers face evolving market regulation and rules on market access, transparency, and data usage that can impact pricing and monetisation.
  • Technology and cybersecurity risk: Exchange platforms depend on high availability and secure operations; outages or security incidents can affect trust and demand.
  • Liquidity concentration and competitive pressure: Fee pressure and technology competition can affect take rates, while shifts in liquidity between venues can change the shape of trading revenue.
  • Benchmark and index governance risk: Changes in governance requirements, methodology scrutiny, or investor/regulatory expectations can affect index demand and licensing economics.
  • Capital intensity and compliance costs: Regulatory compliance, systems modernization, and resilience investments require ongoing spend to maintain market integrity.
  • Market cyclicality: Listing activity and trading volumes are linked to capital markets conditions; downturns can reduce transactional revenue contributions.

📊 Valuation & Market View

Market valuations for exchange and data franchises typically reflect the mix of (1) recurring, higher-visibility revenue from market data and index licensing and (2) cyclical transactional revenue from trading. As a result, investors often focus on metrics such as quality of revenue (recurring versus transaction-dependent), operating leverage, and durability of cash generation.

Key valuation drivers include the sustainability of market share in liquidity, pricing power in market data, index licensing growth tied to passive/ETF adoption, and cost discipline that supports margin stability through market cycles. Changes in regulatory frameworks affecting data and market structure are also valuation-relevant because they can alter take rates and the long-term pricing curve.

🔍 Investment Takeaway

NASDAQ Inc offers an evergreen capital-markets infrastructure profile: liquidity network effects and high switching costs anchor its exchange ecosystem, while market data authority and index IP provide a pathway to more recurring monetisation. The long-term thesis rests on sustained engagement from issuers and market participants, continued growth in index-linked investment products, and stable economics from data and licensing—balanced against regulatory, technology, and market-cycle risks.


⚠ AI-generated — informational only. Validate using filings before investing.

📰 Market News & Coverage

15 Stories Available

Real-time institutional reporting and market updates for NDAQ.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-31

Nasdaq.com has corrected Alpha Compute's Total Outstanding Share Count to reflect accurate data and market capitalization

New York, NY, July 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alpha Compute Corp. (“Alpha Compute” or the “Company”), a pioneering technology leader in AI GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) and AI Confidential Compute, today announced an update of the total shares outstanding for the company, which is currently being understated in market data feeds. The Company's outstanding share count is currently 72,845,260.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-31

Nasdaq Resumes Trading in Jiade Limited – Class A Ordinary Shares

NEW YORK, July 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market® (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced that trading will resume in Jiade Limited – Class A Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: JDZG) at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 31, 2026.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-31

Nasdaq Resumes Trading in Inno Holdings Inc.

NEW YORK, July 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market® (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced that trading will resume in Inno Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: INHD) at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 31, 2026.

businesswire.com•2026-07-30

Forbright, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results

CHEVY CHASE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forbright, Inc. (Nasdaq FRBT): Fellow Shareholders, Forbright, Inc. (Nasdaq FRBT) ("Forbright," the "Company," "we," "our," or "us") wants to begin by welcoming our new shareholders. Because this is our first letter, we will spend more time discussing our strategy, the market opportunity, and our plan to create long-term shareholder value. We think it is important to set the table clearly: how the market is evolving, why we are positioned to capitalize on thos.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-29

PMGC Holdings Confirms Compliance with Nasdaq's New $5 Million Market Value of Listed Securities Requirement

Company Reports 8,095,835 Shares of Common Stock Issued and Outstanding as of July 29, 2026, and Moves to Correct Third-Party Market Data That Understates Its Current Share Count and Market Capitalization Company Reports 8,095,835 Shares of Common Stock Issued and Outstanding as of July 29, 2026, and Moves to Correct Third-Party Market Data That Understates Its Current Share Count and Market Capitalization

globenewswire.com•2026-07-27

Catalyst Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering

SANTA MONICA, July 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catalyst Acquisition Corp. (“Catalyst” or the “Company”) announced today that it priced its initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) and trade under the ticker symbol “CATLU” beginning July 28, 2026. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one right entitling the holder thereof to receive one-seventh of one Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination. The Class A ordinary shares and rights comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading no later than the 52nd day following this date. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and rights are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbols “CATL” and “CATLR,” respectively.

zacks.com•2026-07-27

4 Securities & Exchanges Stocks to Watch Despite Intense Competition

Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry players like CME, ICE, NDAQ and CBOE gain from rising crypto adoption, a higher non-trading revenue base and tech investments. However, competition remains a drag.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-24

Nasdaq Announces Mid-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date July 15, 2026

NEW YORK, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the end of the settlement date of July 15, 2026, short interest in 3,836 Nasdaq Global MarketSM securities totaled 18,406,468,581 shares compared with 18,453,725,441 shares in 3,804 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of June 30, 2026. The mid-July short interest represents 3.07 days compared with 2.45 days for the prior reporting period.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-24

BRODSKY & SMITH SHAREHOLDER UPDATE: Notifying Investors of the Following Investigations: Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (Nasdaq – SAFT), Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE – UTZ), Distribution Solutions Group, Inc. (Nasdaq – DSGR), Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (Nasdaq – CCRN)

BALA CYNWYD, Pa., July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brodsky & Smith reminds investors of the following investigations. If you own shares and wish to discuss the investigation, contact Jason Brodsky ([email protected]) or Marc Ackerman ([email protected]) at 855-576-4847. There is no cost or financial obligation to you.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-23

Market Technology Acquisition Corp Announces the Pricing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering

New York, New York, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Market Technology Acquisition Corp (the “Company”), a newly organized special purpose acquisition company formed as a Cayman Islands exempted company today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, with each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The units are expected to trade on the Global Market tier of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbol “MTAKU” beginning July 24, 2026. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and the warrants are expected to be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MTAK” and “MTAKW,” respectively.

zacks.com•2026-07-23

NDAQ Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Index and FinTech Growth

Nasdaq's Q2 earnings beat estimates as index and FinTech growth lifted revenues, expanded margins and drove record Market Services results.

seekingalpha.com•2026-07-23

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

zacks.com•2026-07-23

Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q2 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

While the top- and bottom-line numbers for Nasdaq (NDAQ) give a sense of how the business performed in the quarter ended June 2026, it could be worth looking at how some of its key metrics compare to Wall Street estimates and year-ago values.

zacks.com•2026-07-23

Nasdaq (NDAQ) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Nasdaq (NDAQ) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.98 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.85 per share a year ago.

globenewswire.com•2026-07-23

Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 Per Share

NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share on the company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on September 25, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 11, 2026. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

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📊 AI Financial Analysis

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Earnings Data: Q Ending 2026-06-30

"NDAQ (Q2 2026, ended 2026-06-30) reported revenue of $2.532B and net income of $507M (EPS: $0.89 diluted), with net margin at ~20.0%. YoY, revenue rose +21.1% (from $2.090B in Q2’25) and net income increased +12.2% (from $452M). QoQ, revenue grew +18.5% (vs. $2.137B in Q1’26) while net income was slightly lower (-2.3% vs. $519M). Profitability was mixed across the last four quarters: gross margin expanded materially (Q2’26 gross margin ~59.2% vs. ~41.2% in Q2’25), but Q2 operating margin (~34.6%) was below the prior quarter’s unusual strength (~30.7% in Q1’26) after accounting for quarter-to-quarter mix. Cash generation remained strong: operating cash flow was $711M and free cash flow was $634M. Shareholder returns were supported by continued capital returns—$174M of dividends and $355M of buybacks in the quarter—while cash fell to $546M at quarter-end (net debt remained elevated at ~$8.7B), indicating leverage is still a structural feature. Total shareholder return looks favorable: the stock is up +23.6% over 1 year, which should positively influence the overall score."

Revenue Growth

Strong

Revenue grew +21.1% YoY (Q2’25 $2.090B -> Q2’26 $2.532B) and +18.5% QoQ (Q1’26 $2.137B -> Q2’26 $2.532B), showing an accelerating top-line trend.

Profitability

Positive

Net income rose +12.2% YoY but declined -2.3% QoQ. Margins show expansion vs. the same quarter last year (gross margin ~59.2% vs ~41.2% in Q2’25), though earnings growth did not fully match revenue growth QoQ.

Cash Flow Quality

Good

Operating cash flow of $711M and free cash flow of $634M in Q2’26 indicate solid conversion. Dividends ($174M) and buybacks ($355M) continued; cash declined during the quarter (net cash outflow -$336M), consistent with ongoing capital returns.

Leverage & Balance Sheet

Neutral

NDAQ maintains meaningful leverage (total debt ~$9.24B; net debt ~$8.70B). Equity is stable (~$12.0B), but cash dropped from prior quarter levels, implying reduced near-term liquidity versus recent quarters.

Shareholder Returns

Strong

Capital returns were substantial (dividends $174M; buybacks $355M). Additionally, the stock shows strong momentum with +23.6% 1Y price change, boosting total shareholder return.

Analyst Sentiment & Valuation

Positive

Consensus target is ~$112 vs. current price $88.61 (meaningful upside). Valuation multiples remain elevated (e.g., P/E ~21.9x), but the recent price momentum and earnings power support sentiment.

Disclaimer:This analysis is AI-generated for informational purposes only. Accuracy is not guaranteed and this does not constitute financial advice.

RevenueEarningsP/E RatioSharesDebtMargin %

Fundamentals Overview

Loading fundamentals overview...

Nasdaq delivered strong Q2 performance with net revenue of $1.5B (+15%) and diluted EPS of $1.07 (+25%), alongside margin expansion (operating 57%, EBITDA 60%, each +2pp). The earnings profile was powered by Index and data momentum: $1T+ ETP AUM for the first time, record $51B net inflows in the quarter, and a 34% YoY jump in enterprise licenses, attributed to AI adoption and growing digital asset platform demand. Management is accelerating AI monetization through both core integration (e.g., Calibration Copilot and AI in Boardvantage/IR Insight) and freemium upsells for Verafin/Surveillance digital workers, with clients already moving from free tiers to paid subscriptions. Offsets were visible in Market Services capture/mix (micro E-mini shift; U.S. tape/audit impacts; new consolidators) and a “challenging environment” in Corporate Solutions. Capital allocation remained aggressive: $356M buybacks plus $174M dividends and raised full-year non-GAAP expense guidance, while guidance for 23/5 trading (Dec 6, 2026) and event options (Q4) remains intact.

AI IconGrowth Catalysts

  • Index AUM surpassed $1 trillion for first time; record $51B net inflows in the quarter and $109B over 12 months
  • Data business momentum: 34% YoY increase in enterprise licenses across geographies driven by AI adoption and digital asset platform demand
  • Workflow/Insights: rollout of Data Link Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable frictionless integration of Nasdaq data into agentic/AI workflows
  • Financial Crime Management Technology: Verafin agentic AI workforce expanded (750 clients; added 2 beta workers for AML structuring alerts and ACH fraud alert triage)
  • Market Services: record U.S. options and cash equity volumes; Index options revenue more than doubled YoY for the fourth consecutive quarter
  • Market Technology modernization: continued Eqlipse migration commitments (2 existing clients) and completed go-lives (BYMA clearing; nuam trading)

Business Development

  • SpaceX historic IPO (June 12, 2026) raised $86B; SpaceX dual-listed on Nasdaq Texas
  • Selected IPOs: Cerebras, Quantinuum, Parabilis Medicines
  • SK hynix raised $27B in the largest ADR listing in U.S. capital markets history
  • ETF/product launches: BlackRock IQQ and State Street QNDX ETFs (expanded access to Nasdaq-100 in the U.S.)
  • Invesco relationship expansion: cross-listing and QQQ ETF access expansion in Japan
  • Cap Access portfolio changes: agreement to sell Nasdaq Fund Secondaries to Nasdaq Private Market; agreement to acquire Dasseti and integrate into Nasdaq eVestment
  • Calypso: deal with the Georgian Financial Markets Treasury Association; 5 commercial banks in Georgia to adopt Calypso initially
  • Canton Network pilot: tokenized collateral trades using Calypso with 2 leading asset managers

AI IconFinancial Highlights

  • Net revenue $1.5B (+15% YoY); Solutions revenue $1.2B (+17%)
  • Diluted EPS $1.07 (+25% YoY), exceeding $1 quarterly EPS for first time
  • Operating margin 57% (+2 percentage points); EBITDA margin 60% (+2 percentage points)
  • ARR grew 12% YoY to $3.3B; operating expense $641M (+10%)
  • Capital Access Platforms: Index revenue +35%; volume-based derivatives contract volumes +33%; operating margin 63% (+4 percentage points ex-one-time Index contract modification benefit
  • Index/volume mix: perps/derivatives volume mix shifted toward lower-priced micro E-mini contracts (partially offset growth)
  • Market Services: U.S. options/cash equities record volumes; Index options revenue >2x YoY; partial offsets from U.S. options capture mix shift (new consolidators) and lower U.S. tape plan revenue due to lower audit revenue after prior-year industry adjustment
  • Non-GAAP expense guidance raised to $2.530B–$2.570B (from $2.485B–$2.545B), driven by higher employee compensation and increased marketing expense tied to stronger IPO environment
  • 2026 non-GAAP tax rate guidance maintained at 22.5%–24.5%
  • Q3 comp pressure: a $5M regulatory fine in Q3 2025 recorded as contra expense implies tougher expense comparison

AI IconCapital Funding

  • Free cash flow $477M in the quarter; $2.2B FCF over last 12 months with 97% conversion ratio
  • Dividend paid $0.31/share ($174M) in the quarter; ~31% annualized payout ratio
  • Share repurchase: 4.1M shares for $356M during the quarter; dividend + buybacks returned >$530M to shareholders
  • First-half repurchases: $903M vs $616M in all of 2025
  • Launched variable ASR: $200M–$250M to be completed in Q3
  • Gross leverage ratio 2.6x; net repayment of gross debt approx. $162M in the quarter

AI IconStrategy & Ops

  • AI strategy is capability-by-capability: integrate into core products (e.g., Calibration Copilot; work within Boardvantage/IR Insight) or monetize as modules with freemium/usage-based upsells (Verafin/Surveillance digital workers; paid unlimited alerts)
  • AI readiness/data distribution emphasis: Data Link and investment data packaged for integration into AI workflows to increase demand for Nasdaq data assets
  • Product expansion: 34 new products in the quarter; 50% of new products launched outside the U.S.; 38% of trailing 12-month net inflows driven by products launched in last 5 years
  • Market modernization execution: Eqlipse migration (2 clients), BYMA clearing go-live, nuam trading go-live integrating Peru/Chile/Colombia
  • Calypso global scale: now operating in 70+ countries after Georgian treasury infrastructure deal
  • Near-term trading roadmap: projected launch of 23/5 trading and event options approval/use

AI IconMarket Outlook

  • Projected launch of 23/5 trading: December 6, 2026
  • SEC approval received to list event options; launch remains on track for Q4 2026

AI IconRisks & Headwinds

  • Workflow/Insights: Corporate Solutions described as operating in a challenging environment with essentially flat revenue
  • Market Services: U.S. options capture pressure from order-flow mix shift due to new consolidators; lower tape plan revenue driven by reduced audit revenue following a prior-year industry adjustment
  • Index volume economics: mix shift from higher-priced E-mini to lower-priced micro E-mini contracts partially offset growth
  • Third-quarter expense comparison headwind from prior-year Q3 regulatory fine recorded as contra expense
  • Regulatory execution risk remains for market-structure innovations (perpetual-style derivatives discussed as requiring SEC/CFTC joint approval for U.S. equity scope)

Q&A: Analyst Interest

  • AI monetization: Management said it monetizes product-by-product and capability-by-capability. Some AI features are integrated into core pricing (e.g., Calibration Copilot; Boardvantage/IR Insight), while others use freemium with paid upsells for higher alert volumes in Verafin/Surveillance/digital workers.
  • Trade Management Services drivers: Management clarified growth is not primarily GenAI-driven; it comes from new and existing clients demanding connectivity/power and higher trading activity. They also cited a prior pricing increase flowing through results and emphasized making Nasdaq data “AI ready” to expand data demand via AI workflows.
  • Perpetuals regulatory/pricing opportunity: Management discussed perpetuals repeatedly as a regulator-topic, but argued equities overlap is limited even if SEC/CFTC approval broadens. They framed perps’ crypto use cases (leverage/margin, shorting) as already addressed in equities via options/futures, lowering incremental need for perps-specific licensing.

Sentiment: POSITIVE

Note: This summary was synthesized by AI from the NDAQ Q2 2026 earnings transcript. Financial data is complex; please verify all metrics against official SEC filings before making investment decisions.

📋 Official Regulatory 10-K / 10-Q SEC Filings

Direct authenticated documentation links to audited SEC database reports for NDAQ.

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© 2026 Stock Market Info — Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Financial Profile