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Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-23Learn Why The Bull Case For Nasdaq (NDAQ) Could Change Following Earnings Beat
Simply Wall St.
Learn Why The Bull Case For Nasdaq (NDAQ) Could Change Following Earnings Beat
- Nasdaq reported third quarter 2026 revenue of US$1.48b and net income of US$540m, with basic EPS from continuing operations at US$0.97 and diluted EPS at US$0.96, alongside a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.31 per share payable on December 18, 2026 to shareholders of record on December 4, 2026. - The latest update highlights Nasdaq's expanding software, data, index and Financial Technology activities, with record US$3.4b in annual recurring revenue and Solutions lines contributing a large share of overall net revenue. - This article examines how Nasdaq's investment narrative is influenced by the earnings results powered by Capital Access Platforms and FinTech. Capitalize on the momentum in Nasdaq's results by scanning a curated set of peers with resilient earnings and recurring revenue profiles through the 29 high quality undervalued stocks. To own Nasdaq, you need to be comfortable with a business that is leaning hard into software, data and Financial Technology while still running large exchange and clearing operations. The latest quarter shows that earnings power and Annual Recurring Revenue are currently supporting that pivot. The near term catalyst is execution on Capital Access Platforms and FinTech ARR, while the main risk is that higher operating expenses erode margin if revenue momentum cools. The recent earnings beat and share price move matter mostly because they buy Nasdaq a little more room to keep investing in 23/5 trading, tokenization and AI platforms without immediate pressure to cut back. If those projects fail to convert into durable client demand, the debate about the stock already embedding rich expectations could resurface quickly. The regular US$0.31 quarterly dividend, payable on December 18, 2026 to holders on December 4, 2026, is the announcement that ties most directly to this update. It reinforces that Nasdaq is continuing its pattern of returning cash to shareholders alongside heavy spending on growth projects, which is central to how many investors frame the story. That payout, combined with roughly US$500m of quarterly capital returns through dividends and buybacks, puts more focus on balance sheet flexibility and debt levels as the firm funds cloud platforms, Verafin expansion and new market infrastructure. For you, the practical question is whether the current mix of recurring revenue growth, capital intensity and capit…Read full documentShow less
- Nasdaq reported third quarter 2026 revenue of US$1.48b and net income of US$540m, with basic EPS from continuing operations at US$0.97 and diluted EPS at US$0.96, alongside a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.31 per share payable on December 18, 2026 to shareholders of record on December 4, 2026. - The latest update highlights Nasdaq's expanding software, data, index and Financial Technology activities, with record US$3.4b in annual recurring revenue and Solutions lines contributing a large share of overall net revenue. - This article examines how Nasdaq's investment narrative is influenced by the earnings results powered by Capital Access Platforms and FinTech. Capitalize on the momentum in Nasdaq's results by scanning a curated set of peers with resilient earnings and recurring revenue profiles through the 29 high quality undervalued stocks. To own Nasdaq, you need to be comfortable with a business that is leaning hard into software, data and Financial Technology while still running large exchange and clearing operations. The latest quarter shows that earnings power and Annual Recurring Revenue are currently supporting that pivot. The near term catalyst is execution on Capital Access Platforms and FinTech ARR, while the main risk is that higher operating expenses erode margin if revenue momentum cools. The recent earnings beat and share price move matter mostly because they buy Nasdaq a little more room to keep investing in 23/5 trading, tokenization and AI platforms without immediate pressure to cut back. If those projects fail to convert into durable client demand, the debate about the stock already embedding rich expectations could resurface quickly. The regular US$0.31 quarterly dividend, payable on December 18, 2026 to holders on December 4, 2026, is the announcement that ties most directly to this update. It reinforces that Nasdaq is continuing its pattern of returning cash to shareholders alongside heavy spending on growth projects, which is central to how many investors frame the story. That payout, combined with roughly US$500m of quarterly capital returns through dividends and buybacks, puts more focus on balance sheet flexibility and debt levels as the firm funds cloud platforms, Verafin expansion and new market infrastructure. For you, the practical question is whether the current mix of recurring revenue growth, capital intensity and capital returns still lines up with your own risk tolerance and time horizon. Analysts are effectively sketching out a destination for Nasdaq, then working backwards to see what needs to happen. The current framework points to revenue growing at 7.9% a year and earnings moving from US$2.0b today to US$2.5b by 2029, which is a US$0.5b step up in profit. That path also bakes in a slight lift in profit margins from 35.0% to 35.4% and a gradual reduction in the share count of about 2.1% a year, so part of the earnings story comes from buybacks rather than just higher operating performance. Nasdaq's narrative projects US$7.1b revenue and US$2.5b earnings by 2029, which implies 7.9% yearly revenue growth and a US$0.5b earnings increase from US$2.0b today. Those same assumptions feed directly into how the stock is being valued. The analyst group is using US$7.1b of revenue and US$2.5b of earnings in 2029 as the anchor, then applying a P/E of 29.2x and discounting that back at roughly 8.2% to 8.23%. That compares with about 26.6x today and a higher multiple across the wider US capital markets peer set. The current view is that Nasdaq could justify a richer earnings tag than it has now, but still sit below the sector average. For you, the useful step is to stress test these building blocks rather than fixate on the price targets. Ask whether a 7.9% annual rise in revenue, a small margin lift and a US$0.5b rise in profit over three years look consistent with how you see Capital Access Platforms, Verafin, AxiomSL and the core exchanges developing. If your own sense of what Nasdaq can deliver is more cautious or more upbeat than that scaffold, your implied value for the stock will naturally land in a different place to the consensus range of US$84 to US$135. Uncover why Nasdaq's fair value indicates a 6% potential upside to its current price that could narrow quickly. Five fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community cluster between about US$88 and US$110, so some retail analysts see Nasdaq as close to fairly priced, while others lean toward meaningful upside. You can weigh that spread against rising expense guidance and the heavy FinTech and AI spend, and then explore how strongly your own view differs. Explore 4 other Nasdaq fair value estimates, including one that suggests up to 14% downside from the current price. Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts. - A great starting point for your Nasdaq research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision. - See our latest analysis for Nasdaq. The report includes a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual, the Snowflake, making it easy to evaluate Nasdaq's overall financial health at a glance. If Nasdaq is only one piece of your watchlist, it can help to scan a wider set of companies with different risk and income profiles before making any moves. - If you want income to do more of the heavy lifting, start with companies that already offer substantial yields and have the balance sheet to back them by reviewing 6 dividend fortresses. - If capital preservation ranks high on your list, narrow your search to businesses with stronger financial buffers and steadier fundamentals through the list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals (26 results). - If you are hunting for mispriced opportunities with quality metrics to match, focus on stocks that combine resilient fundamentals with attractive valuations using the 29 high quality undervalued stocks. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NDAQ. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-23Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Results Fuel Margin Driven Stock Rally
Simply Wall St.
Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Results Fuel Margin Driven Stock Rally
Nasdaq came into Q3 2026 with a premium reputation as the data and market plumbing giant, and the stock already pricing in years of solid execution. The latest report just added fuel. Shares rose 7.5% to about $103 after the release, even as headline revenue was around $1.5 billion and diluted earnings per share were close to $1.04. Profitability stood out. Net income from ongoing operations was in the mid-$500 million range and free cash flow over the past twelve months was roughly $2.3 billion, leaving investors focused on the durability of Nasdaq's high-margin model. Love Nasdaq's rich margins and strong free cash flow but want more options that pair that kind of profitability with resilient balance sheets and fundamentals? Take a look at our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (26 results) - Revenue (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$1,481 million vs. US$1,315 million (up 12.6%) - Net Income from Ongoing Operations (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$540 million vs. US$423 million (up 27.6%) - Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$0.97 vs. US$0.74 (up 31.0%) - Net Profit Margin (Trailing 12 Months vs. Prior Year): 36.1% vs. 32.0% (margin higher by 4.1 percentage points) Earnings tell you how Nasdaq performed this quarter, but investors who care about what they are paying for those results usually focus on the cash coming through the door. On Nasdaq's cash flows alone, the stock could be a solid 17% overvalued. A key bullish claim is that Nasdaq can turn its AI and financial crime platforms into a durable growth engine, not just a nice product demo. "A key factor is that Nasdaq successfully scales its AI and financial crime platforms, tokenization modules, and 23/5 trading data services so that client adoption and pricing support the current growth initiatives." Q3 points in the right direction. FinTech revenue rose 16% with ARR up 18%, while Verafin delivered 23% revenue growth, 19% ARR and 111% net revenue retention. More than 850 Verafin clients now use Agentic workers and 85% of FinTech bookings are cloud based. Index revenue increased 39% in Capital Access Platforms with ETP AUM above US$1.1t and US$141b of 12 month net inflows, supporting the idea that Nasdaq's two pillar model is taking shape. The bear story argues that higher spend and stretched expectations could catch up with Nasdaq if new initiatives fail to pay for themselves. "Higher operating co…Read full documentShow less
Nasdaq came into Q3 2026 with a premium reputation as the data and market plumbing giant, and the stock already pricing in years of solid execution. The latest report just added fuel. Shares rose 7.5% to about $103 after the release, even as headline revenue was around $1.5 billion and diluted earnings per share were close to $1.04. Profitability stood out. Net income from ongoing operations was in the mid-$500 million range and free cash flow over the past twelve months was roughly $2.3 billion, leaving investors focused on the durability of Nasdaq's high-margin model. Love Nasdaq's rich margins and strong free cash flow but want more options that pair that kind of profitability with resilient balance sheets and fundamentals? Take a look at our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (26 results) - Revenue (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$1,481 million vs. US$1,315 million (up 12.6%) - Net Income from Ongoing Operations (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$540 million vs. US$423 million (up 27.6%) - Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$0.97 vs. US$0.74 (up 31.0%) - Net Profit Margin (Trailing 12 Months vs. Prior Year): 36.1% vs. 32.0% (margin higher by 4.1 percentage points) Earnings tell you how Nasdaq performed this quarter, but investors who care about what they are paying for those results usually focus on the cash coming through the door. On Nasdaq's cash flows alone, the stock could be a solid 17% overvalued. A key bullish claim is that Nasdaq can turn its AI and financial crime platforms into a durable growth engine, not just a nice product demo. "A key factor is that Nasdaq successfully scales its AI and financial crime platforms, tokenization modules, and 23/5 trading data services so that client adoption and pricing support the current growth initiatives." Q3 points in the right direction. FinTech revenue rose 16% with ARR up 18%, while Verafin delivered 23% revenue growth, 19% ARR and 111% net revenue retention. More than 850 Verafin clients now use Agentic workers and 85% of FinTech bookings are cloud based. Index revenue increased 39% in Capital Access Platforms with ETP AUM above US$1.1t and US$141b of 12 month net inflows, supporting the idea that Nasdaq's two pillar model is taking shape. The bear story argues that higher spend and stretched expectations could catch up with Nasdaq if new initiatives fail to pay for themselves. "Higher operating costs could erode the benefit of Nasdaq's current revenue strength, as the company has already lifted its 2026 non-GAAP expense guidance to a range of US$2.530b to US$2.570b due to increased compensation and marketing." Q3 margins did not signal immediate damage. Company level operating margin reached 57% and EBITDA margin 60%, supported by US$616m free cash flow in the quarter and US$2.3b over 12 months with 98% conversion. Market Services margin slipped 5 percentage points to 61%, hinting that always on trading and Level ATS integration carry some cost weight. Yet the 7.5% share price move to about US$103 after results suggests investors still credit management with converting spend into earnings for now. That disagreement has a full argument behind it. → Uncover the higher Fair Value this Narrative argues for. Nasdaq just showed how quickly sentiment can adjust when a story and the numbers line up. The real opportunity could be finding stocks that look mispriced before expectations reset. - Company 1 - 17% below our estimate - builds power and wiring systems contractors use as data center projects expand. - Company 2 - 43% below our estimate - expands from solar trackers into storage and inverter hardware to deepen project revenue. - Company 3 - 31% below our estimate - supplies custom chips and networking gear that connect traffic across data centers and networks. That is three of the list. See every one of the 30 undervalued companies on it → This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NDAQ. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-23Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Earnings (Revised)
Zacks
Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Earnings (Revised)
For the quarter ended September 2026, Nasdaq (NDAQ) reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 12.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.04, compared to $0.88 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.02, the EPS surprise was +1.96%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Nasdaq performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Cash Equity Trading - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 14.5% versus 14.5% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 28.1% versus 27.9% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total industry average daily volume: 63.8 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of 63.83 million. - Cash Equity Trading - Total industry average daily share volume: 16.9 billion compared to the 16.92 billion average estimate based on three analysts. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology: $529 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $524.26 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +15.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net: $309 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $302.13 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2%. - Net Revenues- Capital Access Platforms: $641 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $633.95 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +17.4%. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Financial Crime Management Technology: $103 million compared to the $103.28 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +22.6% year over year. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Regulatory…Read full documentShow less
For the quarter ended September 2026, Nasdaq (NDAQ) reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 12.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.04, compared to $0.88 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.02, the EPS surprise was +1.96%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Nasdaq performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Cash Equity Trading - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 14.5% versus 14.5% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 28.1% versus 27.9% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total industry average daily volume: 63.8 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of 63.83 million. - Cash Equity Trading - Total industry average daily share volume: 16.9 billion compared to the 16.92 billion average estimate based on three analysts. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology: $529 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $524.26 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +15.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net: $309 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $302.13 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2%. - Net Revenues- Capital Access Platforms: $641 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $633.95 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +17.4%. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Financial Crime Management Technology: $103 million compared to the $103.28 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +22.6% year over year. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Regulatory Technology: $123 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $122.17 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +12.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- U.S. Equity Derivatives Trading: $110 million compared to the $104.69 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -11.3% year over year. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- Cash Equity Trading (U.S. & European): $144 million versus $141.55 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +13% change. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- U.S. Tape Plans: $33 million compared to the $33.01 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of 0% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for Nasdaq here>>> Shares of Nasdaq have returned +0.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's no change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. (We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on October 22, 2026, should no longer be relied upon.) Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Earnings
Zacks
Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 Earnings
For the quarter ended September 2026, Nasdaq (NDAQ) reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 12.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.04, compared to $0.88 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.02, the EPS surprise was +1.96%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Nasdaq performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Cash Equity Trading - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 14.5% versus 14.5% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 28.1% versus 27.9% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total industry average daily volume: 63.8 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of 63.83 million. - Cash Equity Trading - Total industry average daily share volume: 16.9 billion compared to the 16.92 billion average estimate based on three analysts. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology: $529 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $524.26 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +15.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net: $309 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $302.13 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2%. - Net Revenues- Capital Access Platforms: $641 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $633.95 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +17.4%. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Financial Crime Management Technology: $103 million compared to the $103.28 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +22.6% year over year. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Regulatory…Read full documentShow less
For the quarter ended September 2026, Nasdaq (NDAQ) reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 12.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.04, compared to $0.88 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.02, the EPS surprise was +1.96%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Nasdaq performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Cash Equity Trading - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 14.5% versus 14.5% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq?s exchanges: 28.1% versus 27.9% estimated by five analysts on average. - Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing - Total industry average daily volume: 63.8 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of 63.83 million. - Cash Equity Trading - Total industry average daily share volume: 16.9 billion compared to the 16.92 billion average estimate based on three analysts. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology: $529 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $524.26 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +15.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net: $309 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $302.13 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2%. - Net Revenues- Capital Access Platforms: $641 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $633.95 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +17.4%. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Financial Crime Management Technology: $103 million compared to the $103.28 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +22.6% year over year. - Net Revenues- Financial Technology- Regulatory Technology: $123 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $122.17 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +12.8%. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- U.S. Equity Derivatives Trading: $110 million compared to the $104.69 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -11.3% year over year. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- Cash Equity Trading (U.S. & European): $146 million versus $141.55 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +15% change. - Net Revenues- Total Market Services, net- U.S. Tape Plans: $33 million compared to the $33.01 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of 0% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for Nasdaq here>>> Shares of Nasdaq have returned +0.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's no change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Nasdaq Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Strong Execution Drives $1.2 Billion of Solutions Revenue & Record ARR of $3.4 Billion
GlobeNewswire
Nasdaq Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Strong Execution Drives $1.2 Billion of Solutions Revenue & Record ARR of $3.4 Billion
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2026. - Third quarter 2026 net revenue1 was $1.5 billion, an increase of 13% over the third quarter of 2025, or 14% on an organic2 basis. Solutions revenue3 increased 17%, or 18% on an organic basis. - Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)3,4 of $3.4 billion increased 12% on a reported basis over the third quarter of 2025, or 14% on an organic basis. Annualized SaaS revenue increased 12%, or 16% on an organic basis, and represented 38% of ARR. - Financial Technology revenue was $529 million, an increase of 16% on both a reported and organic basis over the third quarter of 2025. - Index revenue of $286 million grew 39% on both a reported and organic basis over the third quarter of 2025, with $141 billion of net inflows over the trailing twelve months, including $49 billion in the third quarter of 2026. - GAAP diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2026 was $0.96, an increase of 31% over the third quarter of 2025. Non-GAAP5 diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2026 was $1.04, an increase of 18% on a reported basis over the third quarter of 2025, or 19% on an organic basis. - In the third quarter of 2026, the company returned $173 million to shareholders through dividends and $323 million through repurchases of common stock. Third Quarter 2026 Highlights (US$ millions, except per share) | 3Q26 | YoY change % | Organic2 YoY change % | Adjusted2 YoY change % Solutions revenue | $1,172 | 17% | 18% | 18% Market Services net revenue | $309 | 2% | 2% | 2% Net revenue | $1,481 | 13% | 14% | 14% GAAP operating income | $732 | 25% | | Non-GAAP operating income | $843 | 15% | 16% | 16% ARR | $3,365 | 12% | 14% | 14% GAAP diluted EPS | $0.96 | 31% | | Non-GAAP diluted EPS | $1.04 | 18% | 19% | 19% Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO said, "Nasdaq's third quarter performance demonstrates the strength and momentum of our business, with new milestones achieved across all three divisions, including record Index net inflows, record FinTech ARR growth, and the establishment of Nasdaq Digital Liquidity Networks within Market Services. Markets are evolving towards an AI-driven, Always-On future that is increasingly integrated across asset classes and geographies. Nasdaq is shaping the next generation of market infrastructure while…Read full documentShow less
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2026. - Third quarter 2026 net revenue1 was $1.5 billion, an increase of 13% over the third quarter of 2025, or 14% on an organic2 basis. Solutions revenue3 increased 17%, or 18% on an organic basis. - Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)3,4 of $3.4 billion increased 12% on a reported basis over the third quarter of 2025, or 14% on an organic basis. Annualized SaaS revenue increased 12%, or 16% on an organic basis, and represented 38% of ARR. - Financial Technology revenue was $529 million, an increase of 16% on both a reported and organic basis over the third quarter of 2025. - Index revenue of $286 million grew 39% on both a reported and organic basis over the third quarter of 2025, with $141 billion of net inflows over the trailing twelve months, including $49 billion in the third quarter of 2026. - GAAP diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2026 was $0.96, an increase of 31% over the third quarter of 2025. Non-GAAP5 diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2026 was $1.04, an increase of 18% on a reported basis over the third quarter of 2025, or 19% on an organic basis. - In the third quarter of 2026, the company returned $173 million to shareholders through dividends and $323 million through repurchases of common stock. Third Quarter 2026 Highlights (US$ millions, except per share) | 3Q26 | YoY change % | Organic2 YoY change % | Adjusted2 YoY change % Solutions revenue | $1,172 | 17% | 18% | 18% Market Services net revenue | $309 | 2% | 2% | 2% Net revenue | $1,481 | 13% | 14% | 14% GAAP operating income | $732 | 25% | | Non-GAAP operating income | $843 | 15% | 16% | 16% ARR | $3,365 | 12% | 14% | 14% GAAP diluted EPS | $0.96 | 31% | | Non-GAAP diluted EPS | $1.04 | 18% | 19% | 19% Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO said, "Nasdaq's third quarter performance demonstrates the strength and momentum of our business, with new milestones achieved across all three divisions, including record Index net inflows, record FinTech ARR growth, and the establishment of Nasdaq Digital Liquidity Networks within Market Services. Markets are evolving towards an AI-driven, Always-On future that is increasingly integrated across asset classes and geographies. Nasdaq is shaping the next generation of market infrastructure while expanding our growth opportunities and enhancing the value we deliver to our clients and shareholders." Sarah Youngwood, Executive Vice President and CFO said, "Nasdaq delivered excellent third quarter results, headlined by outstanding Solutions revenue growth, continued operating leverage, and strong EPS growth. Our durable business model and disciplined execution underpin our capital allocation strategy that prioritizes funding investments in long-term growth while returning more than $1.7 billion to shareholders year to date through share repurchases and dividends." FINANCIAL REVIEW - Third quarter 2026 net revenue was $1.5 billion, reflecting 13% growth on a reported basis versus the prior year period, or 14% growth on an organic basis. - Solutions revenue was $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of 17% versus the prior year period, or 18% on an organic basis. Performance in the quarter reflected strong growth across Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology. Capital Access Platforms revenue growth was 20% year-over-year on both a reported and organic basis. Financial Technology revenue growth was 16%, on both a reported and organic basis. - ARR was $3.4 billion as of the third quarter of 2026, growing 12% year-over-year on a reported basis, or 14% on an organic basis. The difference between total reported and organic ARR growth results from the impact of divestitures, which were excluded from ARR in the prior year period. Financial Technology ARR growth was 18% on both a reported and organic basis, and Capital Access Platforms ARR growth was 8% on both a reported and organic basis. - Market Services net revenue was $309 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 2% on both a reported and organic basis versus the prior year period. - Third quarter 2026 GAAP operating expenses were $749 million, an increase of 3% versus the prior year quarter. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $638 million, up 9% versus the prior year quarter, or 12% on an organic basis. The increases were primarily driven by higher compensation and benefits costs from our strong revenue execution and increased investments in technology to drive long-term growth. On a GAAP basis, the increase was partially offset by lower general and administrative expenses, primarily due to a favorable legal settlement, and lower restructuring charges. - Cash flow from operations was $521 million in the third quarter, enabling the return of capital through Nasdaq's efficient capital allocation framework. In the third quarter of 2026, the company returned $173 million to shareholders through dividends and $323 million through repurchases of common stock. As of September 30, 2026, there was $2.2 billion remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program. 2026 EXPENSE AND TAX GUIDANCE UPDATE6 - The company is updating its 2026 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $2.550 billion to $2.580 billion. The company is maintaining its 2026 non-GAAP tax rate guidance in the range of 22.5% to 24.5%. STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS UPDATES - Financial Technology delivered record 18% organic ARR growth and double-digit revenue growth in each subdivision for the third consecutive quarter. FinTech signed 54 new clients and 135 upsells in the quarter with cloud-based solutions accounting for 85% of ACV bookings. FinTech performance reflected continued execution on the One Nasdaq strategy with 5 cross-sells signed in the quarter and cross-sells accounting for over 15% of the sales pipeline. Nasdaq achieved a second-place ranking on the Chartis RiskTech100, up from fifth place in the prior year. - Financial Crime Management Technology revenue and ARR growth accelerated with momentum across SMBs and enterprise clients. Nasdaq Verafin signed 45 new small-and-medium bank (SMB) clients and 3 enterprise deals in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date enterprise signings to 12, surpassing the 9 enterprise deals signed in all of 2025. Nasdaq Verafin announced the general availability of two new AI workers, the Agentic AML Analyst and the Agentic Fraud Analyst, and now has more than 850 clients using its Agentic AI Workforce. - Regulatory Technology achieved the fifth straight quarter of accelerating ARR growth led by strong performance across Surveillance and AxiomSL. The subdivision added 10 new clients, including 2 cross-sells, and 86 upsells in the third quarter, driven by demand for cloud infrastructure, AI, digital assets, and regulatory requirements. Surveillance signed 9 new clients, including 2 cross-sells and strategic wins with Kalshi and Kraken, while also achieving 51 upsells. AxiomSL added 1 new client and 35 upsells in the third quarter, including an expansion with a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) for a Basel III implementation. - Capital Markets Technology delivered robust organic ARR growth with broad-based strength across the subdivision. The subdivision signed 2 new clients, including 1 cross-sell, and 48 upsells in the third quarter. Calypso added 2 new clients, including 1 cross-sell, and 23 upsells. Nasdaq partnered with HSBC to co-develop comprehensive exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) clearing capabilities in Calypso, creating a unified platform HSBC has selected for clearing across OTC, ETD, and repos. Nasdaq also launched a new operating environment which enables clients to connect their own AI infrastructure and serve as an access point for Calypso's agentic capabilities. Market Technology signed 25 upsells in the quarter and continued to shape Always-On markets, signing a deal with Bruce Markets to power the first 24/7 continuous trading in U.S. equities. - Index set new ETP assets under management (AUM) and net inflow records while executing on its growth pillars of product innovation, international expansion, and institutional adoption. Index had a record $141 billion in net inflows over the trailing twelve months, including $49 billion in the third quarter. End-of-period ETP AUM was $1.160 trillion and average ETP AUM over the third quarter was $1.108 trillion, both new records. Nasdaq launched 32 new Index products in the third quarter, including 10 in the institutional annuity space. Half of the new products launched in the third quarter were outside the U.S. - Nasdaq extended its listings leadership with 8 of the 10 largest operating company IPOs in the third quarter. Nasdaq welcomed 15 new operating companies that raised $32 billion in capital7, reflecting a 79% win rate8 of new operating company listings. The quarter's strong performance contributed to a 74% year-to-date new listings win rate. Year-to-date through the third quarter, new operating company listings raised $144 billion in proceeds, reflecting 89% of total proceeds raised. - Nasdaq expanded its distribution of private markets data through a partnership with Juniper Square. The partnership embeds eVestment's private markets data directly into Juniper Square's client workflows, strengthening Nasdaq's position as a trusted provider of institutional investment intelligence. eVestment also expanded its coverage of private funds to more than 95,000, a 19% increase from the end of 2025. - Nasdaq executed several strategic actions to advance the evolution of capital markets. Nasdaq formed Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN), a new organization within Nasdaq Market Services focused on advancing the company's leadership in digital assets and market modernization. Within DLN, Nasdaq completed the acquisition of LeveL Markets, the third-largest Alternative Trading System (ATS) in the U.S. by trading volume with more than 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients. The acquisition, which closed early in the fourth quarter, enhances Nasdaq's ability to serve a wider liquidity pool across off-exchange venues and deliver institutional-grade liquidity and execution solutions to clients. - Market Services set a new record in third quarter net revenue and continued to lead the evolution of markets including the transition to Always-On markets. Third quarter Market Services net revenue benefitted from higher industry volumes across U.S. options and European equities with robust performance in U.S. cash equities, which achieved higher market share and near record capture. The Nasdaq Stock Market remains on track to go live with 23/5 trading on December 6, 2026, expanding global access to U.S.-listed equities. ____________ 1 Represents revenue less transaction-based expenses. 2 Organic change is generally calculated by removing the impacts of changes in foreign exchange rates, and acquisitions and divestitures during the one-year period post transaction. Adjusted and organic change for 3Q26 as compared to 3Q25 are equivalent as they include the same period over period adjustments. 3 Solutions revenue constitutes revenue from our Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology segments as well as certain Other revenues. These Other revenues of $2 million and $4 million in 3Q26 and 3Q25, respectively, relates to the sale of our Nasdaq Fund Secondaries business and the sale of the Nasdaq Metrio platform and related customer contracts, which were both sold in 3Q26. Other revenues in 3Q25 also included $8 million related to the sale of the Solovis business, which was sold in 4Q25. These revenues were previously included in our Capital Access Platforms Segment. ARR and Annualized SaaS revenues for 3Q25 includes $42 million and $40 million, respectively, related to these businesses. 4 ARR for a given period is the current annualized value derived from subscription contracts with a defined contract value. This excludes contracts that are not recurring, are one-time in nature or where the contract value fluctuates based on defined metrics. For AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts, the amount included in ARR is consistent with the amount that we invoice the customer during the current period. Additionally, for AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts that include annual values that increase over time, we include in ARR only the annualized value of components of the contract that are considered active as of the date of the ARR calculation. We do not include the future committed increases in the contract value as of the date of the ARR calculation. ACV Bookings for our Financial Technology segment excluding Financial Crime Management Technology refers to the maximum annualized committed contract value at the time of signature, excluding one-time fees and not accounting for initial discounts. For Financial Crime Management Technology, ACV bookings is calculated by averaging the total contract value over the contract term, including fixed increases. ARR and ACV are supplemental metrics to help evaluate the performance of the business. These measures are not a replacement for, and should be viewed independently of, U.S. GAAP revenue and deferred revenue as they are performance metrics, and are not intended to be combined with any of these items. ARR and ACV are not a forecast, and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating these measures may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers. There is no U.S. GAAP measure comparable to ARR or ACV. As these metrics do not have any standardized definition they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and are not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. 5 Refer to our reconciliations of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP metrics and organic and adjusted impacts, included in the attached schedules. 6 U.S. GAAP operating expense and tax rate guidance are not provided due to the inherent difficulty in quantifying certain amounts due to a variety of factors including the unpredictability in the movement in foreign currency rates, as well as future charges or reversals outside of the normal course of business. 7 Listings proceeds for the quarter reflect current quarter IPO activity only and YTD proceeds reflect greenshoe shares exercised after the quarter in which the IPO occurred. 8 Listings win rate includes eligible U.S. operating companies, direct listings, and SPAC business combinations. ABOUT NASDAQ Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading technology platform that powers the world's economies. We architect the infrastructure of the world's most modern markets, power the innovation economy, and build trust in the financial system. We empower economic opportunity by designing and deploying advanced technology, data, and intelligence solutions that enable our clients to capture opportunities, navigate risk, and strengthen resilience. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com. NON-GAAP INFORMATION In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Nasdaq also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including, but not limited to, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP operating expenses, that include certain adjustments or exclude certain charges and gains that are described in the reconciliation tables of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Management uses this non-GAAP information internally, along with U.S. GAAP information, in evaluating our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. We believe our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and supplemental data relating to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe the presentation of these measures is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of results as the items described below in the reconciliation tables do not reflect ongoing operating performance. These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure. Investors should not rely on any single financial measure when evaluating our business. This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for our operating results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recommend investors review the U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release. When viewed in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, we believe these non-GAAP measures provide greater transparency and a more complete understanding of factors affecting our business than U.S. GAAP measures alone. We understand that analysts and investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, such as those noted above, to assess operating performance. We use these measures because they highlight trends more clearly in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on U.S. GAAP financial measures, since these measures eliminate from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our ongoing operating performance. Foreign exchange impact: In countries with currencies other than the U.S. dollar, revenue and expenses are translated using monthly average exchange rates. Certain discussions in this release isolate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations to better measure the comparability of operating results between periods. Operating results excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations are calculated by translating the current period's results by the prior period's exchange rates. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, dividend program, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq's ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, geopolitical instability, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, and U.S. and global competition. Further information on these and other factors are detailed in Nasdaq's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on Nasdaq's investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. WEBSITE DISCLOSURE Nasdaq intends to use its website, ir.nasdaq.com, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with SEC Regulation FD and other disclosure obligations. Media Relations Contact David Lurie 914.538.0533 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact Ato Garrett 212.401.8737 [email protected] -NDAQF- Nasdaq, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (in millions, except per share amounts) (unaudited) | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | | | | | | | Revenues: | | | | | | | Capital Access Platforms | $ | 641 | | | $ | 534 | | | $ | 1,820 | | | $ | 1,552 | Financial Technology | | 529 | | | | 457 | | | | 1,585 | | | | 1,352 | Market Services | | 1,221 | | | | 967 | | | | 3,640 | | | | 3,208 | Other Revenues | | 2 | | | | 21 | | | | 18 | | | | 63 | | Total revenues | | 2,393 | | | | 1,979 | | | | 7,063 | | | | 6,175 | Transaction-based expenses: | | | | | | | Transaction rebates | | (623 | ) | | | (658 | ) | | | (2,059 | ) | | | (1,882 | ) Brokerage, clearance and exchange fees | | (289 | ) | | | (6 | ) | | | (616 | ) | | | (436 | ) Revenues less transaction-based expenses | | 1,481 | | | | 1,315 | | | | 4,388 | | | | 3,857 | | | | | | | | Operating Expenses: | | | | | | | Compensation and benefits | | 379 | | | | 353 | | | | 1,118 | | | | 1,033 | Professional and contract services | | 42 | | | | 38 | | | | 124 | | | | 112 | Technology and communication infrastructure | | 93 | | | | 80 | | | | 264 | | | | 236 | Occupancy | | 34 | | | | 32 | | | | 103 | | | | 90 | General, administrative and other | | 2 | | | | 22 | | | | 54 | | | | 51 | Marketing and advertising | | 17 | | | | 13 | | | | 61 | | | | 41 | Depreciation and amortization | | 165 | | | | 158 | | | | 496 | | | | 471 | Regulatory | | 11 | | | | 12 | | | | 29 | | | | 41 | Merger and strategic initiatives | | 6 | | | | 9 | | | | 14 | | | | 53 | Restructuring charges | | — | | | | 12 | | | | 24 | | | | 27 | | Total operating expenses | | 749 | | | | 729 | | | | 2,287 | | | | 2,155 | Operating income | | 732 | | | | 586 | | | | 2,101 | | | | 1,702 | Interest income | | 10 | | | | 8 | | | | 23 | | | | 32 | Interest expense | | (86 | ) | | | (87 | ) | | | (259 | ) | | | (279 | ) Net gain (loss) on divestitures | | (4 | ) | | | (2 | ) | | | 84 | | | | 37 | Other income (loss) | | 11 | | | | — | | | | (4 | ) | | | — | Net income from unconsolidated investees | | 38 | | | | 24 | | | | 86 | | | | 73 | Income before income taxes | | 701 | | | | 529 | | | | 2,031 | | | | 1,565 | Income tax provision | | 162 | | | | 106 | | | | 466 | | | | 296 | Net income | $ | 539 | | | $ | 423 | | | $ | 1,565 | | | $ | 1,269 | Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | | 1 | | | | — | | | | 1 | | | | 1 | Net income attributable to Nasdaq | $ | 540 | | | $ | 423 | | | $ | 1,566 | | | $ | 1,270 | | | | | | | | Per share information: | | | | | | | Basic earnings per share | $ | 0.97 | | | $ | 0.74 | | | $ | 2.78 | | | $ | 2.21 | Diluted earnings per share | $ | 0.96 | | | $ | 0.73 | | | $ | 2.76 | | | $ | 2.19 | Cash dividends declared per common share | $ | 0.31 | | | $ | 0.27 | | | $ | 0.89 | | | $ | 0.78 | | | | | | | | Weighted-average common shares outstanding | | | | | | | for earnings per share: | | | | | | | Basic | | 558.9 | | | | 573.3 | | | | 563.3 | | | | 574.1 | Diluted | | 563.3 | | | | 579.0 | | | | 567.6 | | | | 579.3 | Nasdaq, Inc. Revenue Detail (in millions) (unaudited) | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | | | | | | CAPITAL ACCESS PLATFORMS | | | | | | | Data and Listing Services | $ | 224 | | | $ | 204 | | | $ | 655 | | | $ | 594 | Index | | 286 | | | | 206 | | | | 778 | | | | 595 | Workflow and Insights | | 131 | | | | 124 | | | | 387 | | | | 363 | Total Capital Access Platforms revenues | | 641 | | | | 534 | | | | 1,820 | | | | 1,552 | | | | | | | | FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY | | | | | | | Financial Crime Management Technology | | 103 | | | | 84 | | | | 294 | | | | 241 | Regulatory Technology | | 123 | | | | 109 | | | | 361 | | | | 315 | Capital Markets Technology | | 303 | | | | 264 | | | | 930 | | | | 796 | Total Financial Technology revenues | | 529 | | | | 457 | | | | 1,585 | | | | 1,352 | | | | | | | | MARKET SERVICES | | | | | | | Market Services | | 1,221 | | | | 967 | | | | 3,640 | | | | 3,208 | Transaction-based expenses: | | | | | | | Transaction rebates | | (623 | ) | | | (658 | ) | | | (2,059 | ) | | | (1,882 | ) Brokerage, clearance and exchange fees | | (289 | ) | | | (6 | ) | | | (616 | ) | | | (436 | ) Total Market Services revenues, net | | 309 | | | | 303 | | | | 965 | | | | 890 | | | | | | | | OTHER REVENUES | | 2 | | | | 21 | | | | 18 | | | | 63 | | | | | | | | REVENUES LESS TRANSACTION-BASED EXPENSES | $ | 1,481 | | | $ | 1,315 | | | $ | 4,388 | | | $ | 3,857 | Nasdaq, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions) | | | | | | September 30, | | December 31, | | 2026 | | 2025 Assets | | (unaudited) | | Current assets: | | | | Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 365 | | | $ | 604 | Restricted cash and cash equivalents | | | 28 | | | | 210 | Default funds and margin deposits | | | 2,530 | | | | 5,842 | Short-term investments | | | 151 | | | | 28 | Receivables, net | | | 1,171 | | | | 943 | Other current assets | | | 287 | | | | 376 | Total current assets | | | 4,532 | | | | 8,003 | Property and equipment, net | | | 767 | | | | 728 | Goodwill | | | 14,247 | | | | 14,371 | Intangible assets, net | | | 6,106 | | | | 6,511 | Operating lease assets | | | 481 | | | | 447 | Other non-current assets | | | 1,250 | | | | 993 | Total assets | | $ | 27,383 | | | $ | 31,053 | | | | | Liabilities | | | | Current liabilities: | | | | Accounts payable and accrued expenses | | $ | 252 | | | $ | 280 | Section 31 fees payable to SEC | | | 90 | | | | — | Accrued personnel costs | | | 320 | | | | 364 | Deferred revenue | | | 819 | | | | 785 | Other current liabilities | | | 237 | | | | 259 | Default funds and margin deposits | | | 2,530 | | | | 5,842 | Short-term debt | | | 269 | | | | 431 | Total current liabilities | | | 4,517 | | | | 7,961 | Long-term debt | | | 8,471 | | | | 8,573 | Deferred tax liabilities, net | | | 1,654 | | | | 1,584 | Operating lease liabilities | | | 476 | | | | 462 | Other non-current liabilities | | | 262 | | | | 241 | Total liabilities | | | 15,380 | | | | 18,821 | | | | | Commitments and contingencies | | | | Equity | | | | Nasdaq stockholders' equity: | | | | Common stock | | | 6 | | | | 6 | Additional paid-in capital | | | 4,067 | | | | 5,122 | Common stock in treasury, at cost | | | (784 | ) | | | (716 | ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss | | | (1,944 | ) | | | (1,773 | ) Retained earnings | | | 10,654 | | | | 9,588 | Total Nasdaq stockholders' equity | | | 11,999 | | | | 12,227 | Noncontrolling interests | | | 4 | | | | 5 | Total equity | | | 12,003 | | | | 12,232 | Total liabilities and equity | | $ | 27,383 | | | $ | 31,053 | Nasdaq, Inc. Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Nasdaq and Diluted Earnings Per Share (in millions, except per share amounts) (unaudited) | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | | | | | | | | U.S. GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq | | $ | 540 | | | $ | 423 | | | $ | 1,566 | | | $ | 1,270 | Non-GAAP adjustments: | | | | | | | | Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets1 | | | 121 | | | | 122 | | | | 364 | | | | 365 | Merger and strategic initiatives expense2 | | | 6 | | | | 9 | | | | 14 | | | | 53 | Restructuring charges3 | | | — | | | | 12 | | | | 24 | | | | 27 | Gain from extinguishment of debt4 | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (19 | ) Legal and regulatory matters5 | | | (16 | ) | | | 1 | | | | (3 | ) | | | 3 | Net (gain) loss on divestitures6 | | | 4 | | | | 2 | | | | (84 | ) | | | (37 | ) Net income from unconsolidated investees7 | | | (38 | ) | | | (24 | ) | | | (86 | ) | | | (73 | ) Other (income) loss8 | | | (11 | ) | | | 4 | | | | 9 | | | | 6 | Total non-GAAP adjustments | | | 66 | | | | 126 | | | | 238 | | | | 325 | Non-GAAP adjustment to the income tax provision9 | | | (14 | ) | | | (32 | ) | | | (58 | ) | | | (84 | ) Other tax adjustments10 | | | (4 | ) | | | (6 | ) | | | (4 | ) | | | (51 | ) Total non-GAAP adjustments, net of tax | | | 48 | | | | 88 | | | | 176 | | | | 190 | Non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq | | $ | 588 | | | $ | 511 | | | $ | 1,742 | | | $ | 1,460 | | | | | | | | | | U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share | | $ | 0.96 | | | $ | 0.73 | | | $ | 2.76 | | | $ | 2.19 | Total impact from NonGAAP adjustments above | | | 0.08 | | | | 0.15 | | | | 0.31 | | | | 0.33 | Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share | | $ | 1.04 | | | $ | 0.88 | | | $ | 3.07 | | | $ | 2.52 | | | | | | | | | | Weighted-average diluted common shares outstanding for earnings per share: | | | 563.3 | | | | 579.0 | | | | 567.6 | | | | 579.3 | Nasdaq, Inc. Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Income and Operating Margin (in millions) (unaudited) | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 U.S. GAAP operating income | | $ | 732 | | | $ | 586 | | | $ | 2,101 | | | $ | 1,702 | Non-GAAP adjustments: | | | | | | | | Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets1 | | | 121 | | | | 122 | | | | 364 | | | | 365 | Merger and strategic initiatives expense2 | | | 6 | | | | 9 | | | | 14 | | | | 53 | Restructuring charges3 | | | — | | | | 12 | | | | 24 | | | | 27 | Gain from extinguishment of debt4 | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (19 | ) Legal and regulatory matters5 | | | (16 | ) | | | 1 | | | | (3 | ) | | | 3 | Other loss | | | — | | | | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | 4 | Total non-GAAP adjustments | | | 111 | | | | 146 | | | | 400 | | | | 433 | Non-GAAP operating income | | $ | 843 | | | $ | 732 | | | $ | 2,501 | | | $ | 2,135 | | | | | | | | | Revenues less transaction-based expenses | | $ | 1,481 | | | $ | 1,315 | | | $ | 4,388 | | | $ | 3,857 | | | | | | | | | | U.S. GAAP operating margin11 | | | 49 | % | | | 45 | % | | | 48 | % | | | 44 | % | | | | | | | | | Non-GAAP operating margin12 | | | 57 | % | | | 56 | % | | | 57 | % | | | 55 | % | | | | | | | | | Note: The percentages are calculated based on exact dollars, and therefore may not recalculate exactly using rounded numbers as presented in US$ millions. | | | | | | | | | Nasdaq, Inc. Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Expenses (in millions) (unaudited) | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | | | | | | | | U.S. GAAP operating expenses | | $ | 749 | | | $ | 729 | | | $ | 2,287 | | | $ | 2,155 | Non-GAAP adjustments: | | | | | | | | Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets1 | | | (121 | ) | | | (122 | ) | | | (364 | ) | | | (365 | ) Merger and strategic initiatives expense2 | | | (6 | ) | | | (9 | ) | | | (14 | ) | | | (53 | ) Restructuring charges3 | | | — | | | | (12 | ) | | | (24 | ) | | | (27 | ) Gain on extinguishment of debt4 | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | 19 | Legal and regulatory matters5 | | | 16 | | | | (1 | ) | | | 3 | | | | (3 | ) Other loss | | | — | | | | (2 | ) | | | (1 | ) | | | (4 | ) Total non-GAAP adjustments | | | (111 | ) | | | (146 | ) | | | (400 | ) | | | (433 | ) Non-GAAP operating expenses | | $ | 638 | | | $ | 583 | | | $ | 1,887 | | | $ | 1,722 | | | | | | | | | | Nasdaq, Inc. Footnotes to Press Release Financial Tables 1 | We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Intangible asset amortization expense can vary from period to period due to episodic acquisitions completed, rather than from our ongoing business operations. 2 | We have pursued various strategic initiatives and completed acquisitions and divestitures in recent years that have resulted in expenses which would not have otherwise been incurred. These expenses generally include integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing and complexity of the transaction. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026, these costs included amounts associated with various strategic initiative costs. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, these costs primarily included amounts associated with the transfer of open positions in our Nordic power futures business, Adenza integration costs and other strategic initiative costs. 3 | In the fourth quarter of 2023, following the closing of the Adenza acquisition, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring program, "Adenza Restructuring" to optimize our efficiencies as a combined organization. We initiated the program upon the acquisition of Adenza and further expanded the program in the fourth quarter of 2024 following the achievement of our initial targets. We have incurred costs principally related to employee-related costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other related cost. Actions taken as part of this program were completed as of December 31, 2025, and all costs were incurred as of June 30, 2026. 4 | For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, we recorded a gain on the extinguishment of debt. This gain is recorded in general, administrative and other expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. 5 | For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026, this includes a favorable legal settlement, recorded in general, administrative and other expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025, this also includes accruals relating to certain legal matters, which are recorded in professional and contract services in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. 6 | Net loss on divestitures for the three months ended September 30, 2026 relates to the net impact of the sale of the Nasdaq Metrio platform and related customer contracts, and the sale of Nasdaq Fund Secondaries. Net gain on divestitures for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 and September 30, 2025 primarily relates to the divestiture of our Nordic power futures business, net of costs to sell, partially offset by the net loss described above for the nine months ended September 30, 2026. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, this also includes a gain on sale of our Nasdaq Risk Modelling for Catastrophes business, net of costs to sell. 7 | We exclude our share of the earnings and losses of our equity method investments. This provides a more meaningful analysis of Nasdaq's ongoing operating performance or comparisons in Nasdaq's performance between periods. 8 | For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025, other items primarily include net gains and losses from strategic investments entered into through our corporate venture program. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, this also includes intangible asset impairments of customer relationships and licenses relating to the wind-down of our Nordic power futures business. The net effect of these items is included in other income (loss) in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. 9 | For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025, the non-GAAP adjustment to the income tax provision includes the tax impact of each non-GAAP adjustment. 10 | For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, other tax adjustments primarily reflect a tax benefit related to payments made to certain former Adenza employees and the release of the prior years' reserves following a favorable audit settlement. 11 | U.S. GAAP operating margin equals U.S. GAAP operating income divided by revenues less transaction-based expenses. 12 | Non-GAAP operating margin equals non-GAAP operating income divided by revenues less transaction-based expenses. Nasdaq, Inc. Reconciliation of Organic Impacts (in millions, except per share amounts) (unaudited) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Total Variance | | FX/Divestitures/ Acquisitions impact | | Organic Variance1 | 2026 | | 2025 | | $ | % | | $ | % | | $ | % Capital Access Platforms | | | | | | | | | | | | Data and Listing Services | $ | 224 | | $ | 204 | | $ | 20 | | 10 | % | | $ | (1 | ) | — | % | | $ | 21 | 10 | % Index | | 286 | | | 206 | | | 80 | | 39 | % | | | — | | — | % | | | 80 | 39 | % Workflow and Insights | | 131 | | | 124 | | | 7 | | 6 | % | | | 1 | | — | % | | | 6 | 5 | % Total Capital Access Platforms revenues | | 641 | | | 534 | | | 107 | | 20 | % | | | — | | — | % | | | 107 | 20 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Financial Technology | | | | | | | | | | | | Financial Crime Management Technology | | 103 | | | 84 | | | 19 | | 23 | % | | | — | | — | % | | | 19 | 23 | % Regulatory Technology | | 123 | | | 109 | | | 14 | | 13 | % | | | — | | — | % | | | 14 | 13 | % Capital Markets Technology | | 303 | | | 264 | | | 39 | | 15 | % | | | 1 | | — | % | | | 38 | 14 | % Total Financial Technology revenues | | 529 | | | 457 | | | 72 | | 16 | % | | | 1 | | — | % | | | 71 | 16 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Market Services net revenues | | 309 | | | 303 | | | 6 | | 2 | % | | | — | | — | % | | | 6 | 2 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Other revenues | | 2 | | | 21 | | | (19 | ) | (91) % | | | (19 | ) | (88) % | | | — | — | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Revenues less transaction-based expenses | $ | 1,481 | | $ | 1,315 | | $ | 166 | | 13 | % | | $ | (18 | ) | (1) % | | $ | 184 | 14 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Solutions revenue2 | $ | 1,172 | | $ | 1,003 | | $ | 169 | | 17 | % | | $ | (9 | ) | (1) % | | $ | 178 | 18 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-GAAP Operating Expenses | $ | 638 | | $ | 583 | | $ | 55 | | 9 | % | | $ | (15 | ) | (3) % | | $ | 70 | 12 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-GAAP Operating Income | $ | 843 | | $ | 732 | | $ | 111 | | 15 | % | | $ | (3 | ) | — | % | | $ | 114 | 16 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.04 | | $ | 0.88 | | $ | 0.16 | | 18 | % | | $ | — | | — | % | | $ | 0.16 | 19 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Note: The percentages are calculated based on exact dollars, and therefore may not recalculate exactly using rounded numbers as presented in US$ millions. The sum of the percentage changes may not tie to the percentage change in total variance due to rounding. | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 Organic variance is calculated by removing the impacts of changes in foreign exchange rates, acquisitions, and divestitures. | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 Total Solutions revenues includes Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology revenues as well as $2 million and $4 million of Other revenue in the third quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025, respectively, related to the sale of our Nasdaq Fund Secondaries business and the sale of the Nasdaq Metrio platform and related customer contracts, which were both sold in the third quarter of 2026. The third quarter of 2025 also includes $8 million of Other revenue, related to the sale of the Solovis business, which was sold in the fourth quarter of 2025. Nasdaq, Inc. Key Drivers Detail (unaudited) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 Capital Access Platforms | | | | | | | | Annualized recurring revenues (in millions)1 | $ | 1,411 | | | $ | 1,303 | | | $ | 1,411 | | | $ | 1,303 | | Initial public offerings | | | | | | | | The Nasdaq Stock Market | | 46 | | | | 76 | | | | 177 | | | | 218 | | Nasdaq operating company IPOs | | 15 | | | | 46 | | | | 56 | | | | 129 | | SPACs | | 31 | | | | 30 | | | | 121 | | | | 89 | | Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic | | 7 | | | | 2 | | | | 20 | | | | 12 | | Total new listings | | | | | | | | The Nasdaq Stock Market | | 167 | | | | 205 | | | | 531 | | | | 569 | | Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic2 | | 8 | | | | 4 | | | | 28 | | | | 19 | | Number of listed companies | | | | | | | | The Nasdaq Stock Market3 | | 4,726 | | | | 4,359 | | | | 4,726 | | | | 4,359 | | Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic4 | | 1,103 | | | | 1,133 | | | | 1,103 | | | | 1,133 | | Index | | | | | | | | Number of licensed exchange traded products | | 487 | | | | 439 | | | | 487 | | | | 439 | | Period end ETP assets under management (AUM) tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions) | $ | 1,160 | | | $ | 829 | | | $ | 1,160 | | | $ | 829 | | Total average ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions) | $ | 1,108 | | | $ | 777 | | | $ | 1,000 | | | $ | 701 | | TTM5 net inflows ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions) | $ | 141 | | | $ | 91 | | | $ | 141 | | | $ | 91 | | TTM5 net appreciation ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions) | $ | 190 | | | $ | 138 | | | $ | 190 | | | $ | 138 | | | | | | | | | Financial Technology | | | | | | | | Annualized recurring revenues (in millions)1 | | | | | | | | Financial Crime Management Technology | $ | 375 | | | $ | 316 | | | $ | 375 | | | $ | 316 | | Regulatory Technology | | 443 | | | | 389 | | | | 443 | | | | 389 | | Capital Markets Technology | | 1,136 | | | | 957 | | | | 1,136 | | | | 957 | | Total Financial Technology | $ | 1,954 | | | $ | 1,662 | | | $ | 1,954 | | | $ | 1,662 | | | | | | | | | Market Services | | | | | | | | Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing | | | | | | | | U.S. equity options | | | | | | | | Total industry average daily volume (in millions) | | 63.8 | | | | 55.8 | | | | 64.3 | | | | 54.0 | | Nasdaq PHLX matched market share | | 10.4 | % | | | 10.4 | % | | | 11.4 | % | | | 9.7 | % | The Nasdaq Options Market matched market share | | 3.2 | % | | | 2.5 | % | | | 2.8 | % | | | 3.9 | % | Nasdaq Texas Options matched market share (formerly Nasdaq BX) | | 1.2 | % | | | 1.6 | % | | | 1.3 | % | | | 1.7 | % | Nasdaq ISE Options matched market share | | 6.6 | % | | | 7.0 | % | | | 6.4 | % | | | 6.8 | % | Nasdaq GEMX Options matched market share | | 3.2 | % | | | 3.5 | % | | | 3.3 | % | | | 3.9 | % | Nasdaq MRX Options matched market share | | 3.5 | % | | | 3.5 | % | | | 3.9 | % | | | 3.0 | % | Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq's exchanges | | 28.1 | % | | | 28.5 | % | | | 29.1 | % | | | 29.0 | % | Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic options and futures | | | | | | | | Total average daily volume of options and futures contracts | | 193,881 | | | | 184,267 | | | | 221,178 | | | | 220,416 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cash Equity Trading | | | | | | | | Total U.S.-listed securities | | | | | | | | Total industry average daily share volume (in billions) | | 16.9 | | | | 17.6 | | | | 19.0 | | | | 17.2 | | Matched share volume (in billions) | | 157.5 | | | | 158.6 | | | | 525.7 | | | | 454.4 | | The Nasdaq Stock Market matched market share | | 14.1 | % | | | 13.7 | % | | | 14.4 | % | | | 13.8 | % | Nasdaq Texas matched market share (formerly Nasdaq BX) | | 0.3 | % | | | 0.3 | % | | | 0.3 | % | | | 0.3 | % | Nasdaq PSX matched market share | | 0.1 | % | | | 0.1 | % | | | 0.1 | % | | | 0.1 | % | Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq's exchanges | | 14.5 | % | | | 14.1 | % | | | 14.8 | % | | | 14.2 | % | Market share reported to the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility | | 47.7 | % | | | 47.6 | % | | | 46.5 | % | | | 47.7 | % | Total market share6 | | 62.2 | % | | | 61.7 | % | | | 61.3 | % | | | 61.9 | % | Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic securities | | | | | | | | Average daily number of equity trades executed on Nasdaq's exchanges | | 653,117 | | | | 627,568 | | | | 730,953 | | | | 736,829 | | Total average daily value of shares traded (in billions) | $ | 5.3 | | | $ | 4.5 | | | $ | 6.0 | | | $ | 5.2 | | Total market share executed on Nasdaq's exchanges7 | | 75.0 | % | | | 72.8 | % | | | 74.6 | % | | | 71.8 | % | | | | | | | | 1 | Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) for a given period is the current annualized value derived from subscription contracts with a defined contract value. This excludes contracts that are not recurring, are one-time in nature, or where the contract value fluctuates based on defined metrics. ARR is currently one of our key performance metrics to assess the health and trajectory of our recurring business. ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and is not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. For AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts, the amount included in ARR is consistent with the amount that we invoice the customer during the current period. Additionally, for AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts that include annual values that increase over time, we include in ARR only the annualized value of components of the contract that are considered active as of the date of the ARR calculation. We do not include the future committed increases in the contract value as of the date of the ARR calculation. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers. 2 | New listings include IPOs and represent companies listed on the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges and companies on the alternative markets of Nasdaq First North. 3 | Number of total listings on The Nasdaq Stock Market for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025 included 1,292 and 1,000 ETPs, respectively. 4 | Represents companies listed on the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges and companies on the alternative markets of Nasdaq First North. 5 | Trailing twelve months. 6 | Includes transactions executed on The Nasdaq Stock Market's, Nasdaq Texas's (formerly Nasdaq BX) and Nasdaq PSX's systems plus trades reported through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility. 7 | European cash equities markets include cash equities exchanges of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Minor adjustments to prior periods reflect data from a new consolidated data provider that accurately captures all primary trading venues and Multilateral Trading Facilities. |
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Motley Fool
Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 - Senior Vice President and Investor Relations Officer - Ato Garrett - Chair and Chief Executive Officer - Adena Friedman - Chief Financial Officer - Sarah Youngwood Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Nasdaq third quarter 2026 results conference call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. We ask that you please limit your questions to no more than one, but please feel free to go back into the queue, and if time permits, we will be happy to take your follow-up questions at that time. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker, Ato Garrett, Senior Vice President and Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead. Ato Garrett: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Nasdaq's third quarter 2026 financial results. On the line are Adena Friedman, our Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Youngwood, our Chief Financial Officer, and other members of the management team. After our prepared remarks, we will open the line for Q&A. The press release and earnings presentation accompanying this call can be found on the Investor Relations website. I would like to remind you that certain statements we make on this call, including statements about our outlook, expectations, plans and strategies, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A summary of the risks is contained in our press release, and on a more complete description in our annual report on Form 10-K. These statements speak only as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them. We will discuss our financial performance on a non-GAAP basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, and the impact of changes in FX. Definitions and reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable US GAAP measures can be found in our earnings present…Read full documentShow less
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 - Senior Vice President and Investor Relations Officer - Ato Garrett - Chair and Chief Executive Officer - Adena Friedman - Chief Financial Officer - Sarah Youngwood Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Nasdaq third quarter 2026 results conference call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. We ask that you please limit your questions to no more than one, but please feel free to go back into the queue, and if time permits, we will be happy to take your follow-up questions at that time. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker, Ato Garrett, Senior Vice President and Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead. Ato Garrett: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Nasdaq's third quarter 2026 financial results. On the line are Adena Friedman, our Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Youngwood, our Chief Financial Officer, and other members of the management team. After our prepared remarks, we will open the line for Q&A. The press release and earnings presentation accompanying this call can be found on the Investor Relations website. I would like to remind you that certain statements we make on this call, including statements about our outlook, expectations, plans and strategies, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A summary of the risks is contained in our press release, and on a more complete description in our annual report on Form 10-K. These statements speak only as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them. We will discuss our financial performance on a non-GAAP basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, and the impact of changes in FX. Definitions and reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable US GAAP measures can be found in our earnings presentation, as well as in a file located in the Financial section of our investor relations website at ir.nasdaq.com. With that, I will now turn the call over to Adena. Adena Friedman: Thank you, Ato, and good morning, everyone. Today, I will start with a review of our third quarter financial results, and will then review the operating performance across our divisions. I will then hand the call over to Sarah to walk through the financial results in more detail. In the third quarter, Nasdaq delivered strong results across each of our divisions, building on the outstanding momentum from the first half of the year and reinforcing our position as a trusted transformation partner to our clients. Nasdaq is positioned to lead some of the most significant and enduring trends reshaping the financial system, many of which are still in the early stages of their impact. The investing landscape is undergoing significant change, from the continued growth of passive investing to expanding levels of direct retail ownership, creating opportunities that reinforce Nasdaq's role at the center of the capital markets. The shift towards more connected and always-on markets is gaining momentum, and Nasdaq is shaping the next generation of market infrastructure. At the same time, artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly foundational to how institutions make decisions, manage risk, and allocate capital, and Nasdaq is extending its leadership through solutions embedded across our platform. The economic environment remains constructive for the progression of these key trends. The U.S. economy continues to demonstrate resilience while managing through inflation and elevated interest rates, and is supported by strong corporate earnings, healthy consumer spending, and continued investment in AI and digital infrastructure. Now I'd like to turn to our results. In the third quarter, we delivered $1.5 billion in net revenue, up 14% year-over-year, and solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 18%. Our overall annualized recurring revenue, or ARR, grew 14% year-over-year to $3.4 billion. Expenses were $638 million, up 12%. We delivered 19% diluted EPS growth, driven by 16% growth in operating income and the benefit of our share repurchase program. Within our divisions, Capital Access Platforms generated 20% revenue growth and 8% ARR growth. Financial Technology delivered 16% revenue growth and 18% ARR growth, and Market Services delivered 2% net revenue growth. Now turning to the divisional results, I will start with Capital Access Platforms, where I will first discuss data and listings. Our listings franchise continued its strong momentum from the first half of the year. We welcomed 15 new operating companies, raising $32 billion in proceeds, including eight of the top 10 largest IPOs in the quarter, contributing to a 79% win rate. On a year-to-date basis, we have a 74% win rate, including 56 new operating company listings, raising a total of $144 billion in proceeds. We look forward to welcoming Hilton to Nasdaq in early November, following its announcement on October 20th that it plans to transfer its listing of common stock to the Nasdaq stock market. Our European listings business continued to drive growth in the Nordics, where we welcomed eight new operating companies, including IQM Quantum Computers, which was the largest European listing by market capitalization in the quarter. While we have seen a modest softening in the IPO environment in recent weeks, with some companies in certain sectors reevaluating the timing of their IPOs, our listings pipeline remains robust, and we are well positioned to support the diverse group of companies preparing to enter the public markets across a wide range of sectors. Our data business achieved double-digit growth driven by the strong client demand for our gold standard data, powering AI solutions and the transition to always-on markets. During the quarter, we delivered a 34% year-over-year increase in the number of enterprise licenses across various client types and multiple geographies. Our index franchise achieved a record $141 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months and $49 billion in the quarter, driven by product innovation, global expansion, and growing investor demand for our products. We launched 32 new products in the quarter, including 10 insurance product launches, bringing total year-to-date launches to 97 products, ahead of our pace at this point last year. 50% of all products launched during the quarter were introduced outside the United States. Product innovation continues to generate significant growth for our index business, with 35% of the trailing 12 months net inflows driven by products launched over the last five years. We continue to experience early momentum from our partnerships with BlackRock and State Street, with combined AUM exceeding $1 billion. We also continue to grow our long-standing partnership with Invesco, expanding the Invesco QQQ Innovation Suite through the launch of the Invesco Nasdaq International Innovators 100 ETF. Turning to workflow and insights, our growth was driven by analytics, with double-digit revenue growth in both eVestment and Data Link. This was supported by strong bookings growth and expanding client adoption. The rising demand for AI-enabled solutions continues to fuel growth within eVestment. Year-to-date, 25% of eVestment bookings were related to AI use cases. We expanded the coverage of eVestment's data assets to more than 95,000 private funds, a 19% increase from the end of 2025, strengthening our position as a trusted provider of institutional investment intelligence. We also expanded eVestment's reach through a new partnership with Juniper Square, launching Capital Intelligence, which embeds Nasdaq eVestment data directly into Juniper Square's workflows for their private markets clients. In Data Link, we continue to expand distribution as clients develop AI-native workflows. For example, we recently entered a partnership with Robinhood to embed a new proprietary data set into its agentic trading platform. This gives investors access to sophisticated market sentiment and institutional-grade investor insights to power agentic decision-making. Turning to financial technology, we achieved another excellent quarter, delivering revenue growth of 16% and record ARR growth of 18%. Clients continue to choose our solutions to modernize and transform their organizations, driving resilient demand for our mission-critical technology, with sales cycles, contract term lengths, and bookings mix remaining consistent. In the quarter, we signed 54 new clients, five cross-sells, and 135 up-sells. Our long-standing investments in our cloud capabilities continue to underpin our performance. This quarter, 85% of bookings across our fintech portfolio were for cloud-based solutions. Nasdaq achieved its highest-ever ranking in Chartis RiskTech100 this quarter, placing number two globally and earning 14 category awards across risk management, financial crime prevention, trade surveillance, and corporate governance. This achievement is a testament to our One Nasdaq strategy in action, building integrated capabilities that help clients solve their most pressing challenges. In financial crime management technology, Nasdaq Verafin delivered 23% revenue growth, with ARR growth increasing 2 percentage points sequentially to 19%. During the quarter, we signed 45 new SMB clients and three enterprise deals, bringing the total enterprise signings to 12 year to date, exceeding the nine enterprise signings we delivered in the entirety of last year. Nasdaq Verafin continues to accelerate AI innovation across both its products and operations, with more than 850 clients using our agentic AI workforce. Expanding those capabilities, we moved two new agentic workers into production in the quarter, the Agentic AML Analyst for structuring, and our first fraud-focused worker, the Agentic Fraud Analyst for ACH. Regulatory technology delivered a sustained growth, driven by a client demand for Nasdaq solutions that support modernization initiatives across cloud, AI, and digital assets. Overall, we signed 10 new clients, including two cross-sells and 86 up-sells. In AxiomSL, we delivered higher subscription revenue, driven by strong client engagement and up-sells. We continued to build momentum internationally, expanding geographic coverage with one of the largest private banks in Switzerland and adding a lead Brazilian bank as a client. We continue to see strong engagement from a wide range of banks across both size and geography as they prepare for the evolving regulatory landscape. For instance, we signed a G-SIB to a Basel III implementation this quarter. We also deepened our relationship with a super-regional U.S. bank, which expanded its use of our cloud-based solutions to modernize its operations. In surveillance, we saw strong demand as markets moved towards always-on operations, including client wins with Kraken, Kalshi, and APAC. These engagements highlight our role in helping emerging market operators safeguard market integrity and investor confidence at scale. We also expanded client adoption of our AI capabilities, signing new clients for Calibration Copilot and GenAI News Copilot, while building a growing sales pipeline for our broader AI solutions. Capital Markets Tech continued its strong momentum, driven by robust growth in trade management services, as well as new client wins and up-sells in our software solutions. Across the business, we signed two new clients, including one cross-sell and 48 up-sells. In Calypso, we're driving the platform across AI, post-trade, and digital asset capabilities, supporting clients as they modernize and automate critical workflows. We announced that HSBC is extending its 15-year partnership with Nasdaq, adding Calypso's comprehensive exchange traded derivatives clearing capabilities. This new capability brings clearing across OTC, exchange-traded derivatives, and repos into a unified platform, helping HSBC manage margin, collateral, and risk more efficiently. This milestone reflects our continued investment in Calypso to provide the integrated technology, collateral efficiency, and AI-ready data foundation that clients need as markets move towards an always-on future. This quarter, we also launched agentic AI capabilities within Calypso, enabling clients to deploy and scale AI agents across the trade life cycle. These agentic capabilities will be critical as market infrastructure evolves towards an always-on environment. This new operating paradigm requires continuous risk management and real-time intelligence to help clients monitor, prioritize, and respond to events at scale. In market technology, the growing demand for always-on markets continues to fuel demand for our technology. This quarter, Bruce ATS signed an agreement to use Nasdaq's trading technology to power the first 24/7 U.S. equities trading ecosystem. Expanding continuous U.S. equities trading through the weekends through an institutional-grade ATS is a significant development for the markets. We're pleased to be Bruce's partner to achieve this next step. Turning to market services, we continue to lead the industry in share and capture. The division delivered 2% revenue growth to $309 million, a record for the third quarter. Our performance was fueled by higher share and near-record capture in U.S. equities. We also experienced higher volumes across U.S. equity options, Nordic cash equities, and fixed income. Looking ahead, we remain on track to launch 23/5 trading on the Nasdaq stock market on December 6, 2026. This launch of expanded, nearly continuous weekday trading hours is an important step in the journey to always-on markets, enabling broader investor access and greater transparency for all market participants. Within market services, Nasdaq has established Digital Liquidity Networks, which unifies the capabilities, investments, and solutions we've been developing to advance tokenization and always-on markets under one strategy. Within Digital Liquidity Networks, we closed our acquisition of LeveL Markets on October 15, adding the third largest alternative trading system, or ATS, in the U.S. by trading volume. This acquisition strengthens our ability to deliver institutional-grade liquidity and execution solutions to our clients. We now have new flexibility in serving our clients' needs in the existing U.S. equity market environment through an off-exchange venue. We also have the ability to expand LeveL ATS to new markets and to connect its 2,500 institutional and retail brokerage clients to multiple global markets and asset classes through LeveL Connect. Additionally, we continue to work closely with DTCC as it prepares to launch its tokenization service this month, and we remain on track to launch the Nasdaq equity token in the first half of next year. Together, these efforts advance the modernization of U.S. equity markets while putting issuers at the center of tokenization. Our third quarter results demonstrate the durability of our strategy and our strong position at the intersection of the trends reshaping our industry. We remain focused on delivering trusted, scalable solutions that support both innovation and resilience across the financial system. Through the markets we operate, the technology we provide, and the intelligence and risk management solutions we deliver, we're partnering with clients to navigate an increasingly interconnected financial ecosystem. With that, I'll turn the call over to Sarah to walk through our financial results in more detail. Sarah Youngwood: Thank you, Adena, and good morning, everyone. In the third quarter of 2026, Nasdaq delivered excellent results, headlined by diluted EPS growth of 19%, solutions revenue growth of 18%, and ARR growth of 14%, including record Fintech ARR growth of 18%. Let's start with quarterly results on slide 11. We reported net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 14%, with solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 18%. Operating expense was $638 million, up 12%, leading to an operating margin of 57% and an EBITDA margin of 60%, both up one percentage point over the prior year period. This resulted in net income of $588 million and diluted EPS of $1.04, up 19%. Slide 12 shows the drivers of our 14% net revenue growth for the quarter. We generated 10.5 percentage points of alpha, supported by new and existing clients and product innovation. Meanwhile, beta factors contributed 3.5 percentage points of growth, driven by higher valuations in Nasdaq indices, higher derivatives volume in index, and higher overall volume, primarily in U.S. options. Let's review division results starting on slide 14. In Capital Access Platforms, we delivered revenue of $641 million, up 20%, with ARR growth of 8%. Data and listings revenue and ARR were both up 10%. The move towards always-on markets and expanding AI use cases are supporting client demand for our data franchise, and we expect them to be durable trends for years ahead. The strong data revenue growth this quarter was driven primarily by upsells, new bookings, pricing, and usage. Listings revenue benefited from IPOs and pricing increases, partially offset by 2025 delistings and lower amortization of prior period initial listing fees, which were consistent with the last quarter. Index revenue was up 39%, with 15 percentage points of growth driven by Alpha. ARR, which covers a very small portion of index revenue, increased 10%. Revenue growth was primarily driven by a record average ETP AUM, which surpassed $1.1 trillion in the third quarter. The performance was bolstered by record net inflows of $141 billion over the last 12 months, including $49 billion in the third quarter. We are driving strong momentum in the Nasdaq 100 franchise, which is supported by secular growth in passive investing, with strong retail ownership and further market share expansion. Volume-based revenue was also a contributor to growth, with record derivatives contract volumes up 70% in the quarter, and amidst the continued mix shift in derivatives from higher priced E-mini contracts to lower priced micro E-mini contracts. In Workflow and Insights, revenue was up 5% in the quarter, with ARR growth up 6%, driven by double-digit revenue growth in both eVestment and Nasdaq Data Link, while Corporate Solutions revenue was essentially flat. Quarterly operating margin for the division was 64%, up three percentage points versus the prior year period. Before we wrap on Capital Access Platforms, an update on our portfolio optimization. In addition to the previously announced sale of Nasdaq Fund Secondaries to Nasdaq Private Market and the acquisition of Dasseti, which both closed in the third quarter, we announced the wind-down of our sustainability advisory business and the sale of Nasdaq Metrio to osapiens, which closed on August 19th. In the third quarter, the net effect of these three items would have been a net increase in the Workflow and Insights pro forma adjusted revenue growth rate of approximately 50 basis points. Moving to Financial Technology on Slide 15. Revenue was $529 million, up 16%, driven by double-digit revenue growth across all three subdivisions, with record ARR growth of 18%. Our business continues to see strong demand across all Fintech subdivisions, with cloud deals accounting for 85% of ACV bookings in the quarter. The division signed 54 new clients, 135 upsells, and five cross-sells in the quarter. Cross-sells continue to represent over 15% of the Fintech pipeline. Financial Crime Management Technology revenue grew 23% in the quarter, with ARR growth of 19% and net revenue retention of 111%. We signed 45 new SMB clients in the third quarter, contributing to 26% year-to-date ACV bookings growth versus the prior year period, and reflecting sustained demand in the SMB segment. In Enterprise, we signed two cross-sales and one expansion. Enterprise clients signed in the second half of 2025 progressed through their implementations during the quarter, contributing to the sequential improvement in revenue and ARR growth. Regulatory Technology delivered revenue growth of 13% and ARR growth of 15%, reflecting strong performance across both Surveillance and AxiomSL. The subdivision delivered 10 new clients, including two cross-sells and 86 upsells in the quarter. Capital Markets Technology revenue grew 14%, with ARR growth of 19%. The subdivision signed two new clients, including one cross-sell and 48 upsells. The quarter's strong performance reflects the pricing increase in trade management services, which we announced earlier this year, demand for data center service and an elevated level of testing, demand for market technology driven by infrastructure modernization initiatives, and continued execution at Calypso despite a tough comp on revenue growth in the quarter due to upfront revenue in the prior year period. This was partially offset by lower professional services revenue, which was part of the difference between revenue and ARR growth. As a reminder, Capital Markets Technology revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 benefited from a contribution from Calypso upfront revenue, which will create a tough comp for Capital Markets Technology in the upcoming quarter. Financial Technology quarterly operating margin was 46%, up 1 percentage point versus the prior year period. Wrapping up the divisions with Market Services on slide 16. The division delivered net revenue of $309 million, up 2%, and representing a third quarter record. Growth in the quarter was driven primarily by alpha in U.S. equities, with extremely strong capture due to the lower volatility environment, as well as higher market share in both U.S. and European equities, with an additional beta contribution from higher industry volumes in U.S. options and European cash equities. This performance was partially offset by a change in capture in U.S. options, which was a strong $0.09, but rounded down due to the continued mix shift in the composition of order flow towards consolidators in a lower volatility environment, lower capture in European equities due to a pricing change for retail volumes in support of market share, and lower revenue in Canadian equities due to market volatility in commodities. Our leading positions in both equities and options provide a natural balance across market conditions. As volatility and trading activity evolve, we benefit from a diversified portfolio that is not dependent on a single market environment. We continue to manage effectively the balance between capture and market share across our markets. We maintain a strong lead over our closest competitor in U.S. multi-listed options with a year-to-date market share gap of over 500 basis points, combined with a lower sequential decline in capture. Further, we are well-aligned with industry growth vectors, including the off-exchange segment with the acquisition of LeveL, the continued expansion of index options, and the launch of 23/5 trading. Quarterly operating margin for the division was 61%, down 5 percentage points versus the prior year period, primarily due to revenue performance and a $5 million contra expense benefit in the prior year period, which we previously mentioned. Before we wrap on market services, as Adena mentioned, we closed the acquisition of LeveL on October 15th and launched Digital Liquidity Networks, which will unify the capabilities, investments, and solutions which we have been developing to advance tokenization and always-on markets under one strategy. The LeveL revenue contribution for the fourth quarter is expected to be $7 million-$8 million, and the expense are included in our updated expense guidance. Moving forward, we will report revenue from LeveL and Digital Liquidity Networks within other revenue in our market services division. Moving to expense on slide 17. We had operating expense of $638 million in the third quarter, an increase of 12%, driven by employee compensation, reflecting a strong revenue execution and severance costs, increased marketing expense due to a strengthening IPO environment, and investments in technology to support revenue and drive innovation and growth. The third quarter operating margin was 57% and the EBITDA margin was 60%, both up 1 percentage point versus the prior year period. We are updating our non-GAAP expense guidance for the year to a range of $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion, from $2.530 billion-$2.570 billion, with two primary drivers. We are raising the top end of the range to reflect expected costs from the recently closed acquisition, with the two transactions contributing about equally to the increase. We are raising the midpoint due to the combination of the impact of the recent M&A and the strong revenue performance we have experienced year-to-date. We maintain our 2026 non-GAAP tax rate guidance of 22.5%-24.5%. Turning to capital allocation on slide 18. Nasdaq generated free cash flow of $616 million in the third quarter. Over the last 12 months, Nasdaq generated $2.3 billion in free cash flow at a conversion ratio of 98%. We paid a dividend of $0.31 per share, or $173 million in the quarter, representing a 30% annualized payout ratio. During the quarter, we repurchased a total of 3.6 million shares of our common stock for $323 million. In combination with the dividend, Nasdaq returned nearly $500 million to shareholders in the third quarter. Through the first three quarters of the year, we have repurchased $1.2 billion, almost doubling the $616 million of repurchases in all of 2025. Additionally, in October, we launched a variable notional accelerated share repurchase plan of $315 million-$385 million. It will be completed in the fourth quarter. We finished the quarter with a gross leverage of 2.5x. In closing, Nasdaq delivered another quarter of excellent execution. Our third quarter results, in combination with our performance in the first half of the year, demonstrate the strength of our business model and strategy. Our position as a trusted transformation partner to our clients and our leadership in helping to shape the next generation of financial markets. As we enter the fourth quarter and move towards the new year, we are extremely confident in our opportunity, and we remain focused on executing on our strategic objectives and delivering long-term value to shareholders. With that, I'll open the floor for Q&A. Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one on your telephone. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. We ask that you please limit your questions to no more than one, but please feel free to go back into the queue, and if time permits, we'll be happy to take your follow-up questions at that time. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. I show our first question comes from the line of Ashish Sabadra from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Ashish Sabadra: Thanks for taking my question. Adena, you highlighted several agentic AI solutions across your portfolio, and AI is obviously driving greater demand for your data and workflow platform. Can you elaborate further on how AI is becoming a source of competitive differentiation and how that dynamic is translating into the upsell and cross-sell momentum across your platform? Thanks. Adena Friedman: Sure. Yeah, thank you. We really appreciate that question. We are really focused on making sure that we deliver data that is AI-ready, and we deliver capabilities within our software solutions that really drive towards agentic capabilities for our clients. As you can see, we're starting to broaden out how we're doing that and where we're delivering that. So starting actually in CAP with eVestment and Data Link and our market data, we have created MCP connectors to allow our clients to absorb and ingest the data in a really flexible way to allow them to integrate them into agentic workflows. I do want to say we're very careful in how we deliver that, making sure we can track and trace it, and also understanding the use cases that our clients are using the data for, but it is definitely driving, I wouldn't say upsells, but just demand for our products for sure. We've mentioned a couple stats, 25% of the new bookings for eVestment related to AI use cases as an example. Data Link, which is oftentimes the partners are using this is for agentic workflows, and I think Robinhood has a good example of that. Within FinTech, we have a whole range of capabilities we're delivering, and we mentioned that we have over 850 users now of the agentic workers within Verafin, and we have over 70 clients signed now to paying deals. They have signed contracts to make sure that they're paying for those solutions. We have a nice pipeline of opportunity to continue to upsell our clients with those capabilities. So we're really excited about the momentum there. I think we mentioned in prior quarters, it's kind of a freemium model. Now we're actually propagating that freemium model into Calypso and Surveillance. We're introducing agentic workers and agentic AI into Calypso for risk management and into Surveillance for basically workflow management on alerts. Those are just starting. So we're building a pipeline, and I think we mentioned that we've been selling more of those solutions through Surveillance. Calypso, we just announced it a couple of weeks ago at Sibos. It had a really, really strong resounding actually support from the clients. So we're excited about building a pipeline there. Lastly, I should mention a broader strategy, which is as clients are thinking about how they are going to deploy AI, they are moving more and more of their own infrastructure into cloud. We are seeing an uptick in cloud signings within our FinTech solutions. I mentioned we had 85% of bookings in cloud, and that allows us to be more of a managed service provider, which of course delivers an uplift in the ACV that we are signing. We feel all in, we are really driving and playing to the demands that our clients are needing, and I think we are delivering ahead of what they would expect. Their level of support is really, really high. Operator: Thank you. I show our next question comes from the line of Michael Cho from JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Michael Cho: Hi. Great. Thanks for taking my question. I just want to continue on the same line of discussion here around AI and maybe Nasdaq Verafin more specifically, but just more so from a pricing angle. Adena, you talked about the 850 Nasdaq Verafin clients using the agentic workforce. I think that is up from 500 a quarter or two ago. It also feels like more broadly that the world is probably becoming a bit more accustomed to paying more for AI. I know you called out 70 paying clients, but how are you really thinking about the broader pricing roadmap for these agentic solutions, whether it is Nasdaq Verafin or more broadly across Nasdaq, really in terms of maybe pace and magnitude from here? Thanks. Adena Friedman: Sure. The entire industry is kind of at the beginning of a trend. We want to make sure that the very first thing we do is build trust with our clients and therefore build adoption from our clients. That is why we have chosen an intentional approach to giving them a capability with some limits on it where they can try before you buy. I think we are really starting to prove that out to be a successful approach within Nasdaq Verafin. As I mentioned, we do have the 70 paid clients. We have a really nice pipeline. We are also signing them to shorter-term contracts, and that has actually been both ways. I think both the clients are looking at this and saying, "Let me make sure that it's really going to drive the efficiencies I want," and us saying, "Well, we want to make sure that we know that these capabilities have a lot of value." We're going to be able to prove really strong return on investment for these products. We want to make sure that we have the flexibility to continue to get paid for the value we're providing as we expand the agentic workforce with our clients. I think that we're just now getting to the point where we feel really good about the monetization strategy we have. Now we're able to replicate that with some of the other fintech solutions as we're driving agentic capabilities in those solutions. You're going to continue to hear us rolling out new agentic capabilities across fintech and in CAP in the quarters to come. I also would say in the data space, we are up charging. So if you are taking our data through an MCP connector, we are up charging for that MCP connector. We've done that in the past where if it's a new delivery method, we will pay an upcharge for that delivery method. That's a way for us to get some immediate revenue. Then over time, as we understand how they're expanding the use cases and we're driving our data into more expanded AI capabilities, we'll look at different pricing models that will support that as well. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Patrick Moley from Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Patrick Moley: Yes, thanks for taking the question. Adena, I just had one on the SEC's innovation exemption was announced a month or so ago. We've seen the first TSV filings coming in. So was just hoping to get your thoughts on that innovation exemption and how you think Nasdaq is positioned. Then on the issuer side, how have your conversations with listed companies gone around tokenized equities? Are they aware that this affects them? Do you have any sort of idea what percentage of your listed companies you think would be interested in potentially tokenizing equity at this point? Thanks. Adena Friedman: Sure. Yeah, I think in a way, those are two distinct conversations, but they are related obviously. If we think about the innovation exemption as it stands and how it is constructed, and we have been very clear with the SEC on our views on it. Our view is that the innovation exemption does not. Well, it allows the issuers to opt out. The overall construct of the innovation exemption, we think is we are not supportive of. Let me just say it that way. So, it sits outside of all the general rules that govern the trading venues that trade U.S. equities today. None of the trades get reported to the tape. There is no transparency into those venues at all. There is no way for issuers even to understand how to manage their own insider trading programs if they have this kind of trading that is happening outside the confines of Reg NMS. Our view is that tokenization, we should be focused as an industry as on tokenizing all of the trading, not trying to create this kind of sidecar kind of experimentation. But the good news is, I think the SEC did limit the extent to which these innovation exemptions can have an impact on equities. The most important thing is that there are hard limits on the trading in terms of 25 basis points for stocks that are essentially in the Russell 1000 and 250 basis points for smaller companies. So there is not going to have a huge impact on our business. It is just the notion of it and how we go about creating change in the industry. I think it is important for us to work together. There was no comment period for this either, and so we feel they are asking for comments now. I think we are providing them. We have been having conversations with our issuers, making sure they understand the risk as we see it. We have made a public statement that we will not be including our stock into TSVs. If a TSV reaches out to us, we will opt out. As we then pivot the conversation with issuers to, well, how would tokenization work? How can it benefit them? We then talk more about the efforts that we are undertaking, which is that we are building the Nasdaq equity token standard. We are working with DTCC and other post-trade providers. We are working with Kraken to innovate in the space to deliver a underlying tokenized equity that goes down to the CUSIP and the Master Security File and also offers real-time settlement through an ecosystem. The really neat thing is that with the LeveL ATS now, when we distribute the tokenized equities out through Kraken, they will use LeveL ATS to execute those equity orders. So it is a really, really nice elegant solution, and then we will have instantaneous settlement through another partner. That is a really interesting, innovative way, but it also allows the issuer to have line of sight into those investors. The Nasdaq equity token actually delivers the ability for us to track and trace to provide, not down to who it is, but just to have the issuer understand that the tokens are sitting where and how do they communicate to them, and how do we allow for things like proxy to happen in a more elegant way. So a long answer, but we really care about this and we are working very hard to drive it through the center of markets. And then also to offer this as part of our global solutions from a technology perspective. As markets move to always on, we think that this is a core part of the demand drivers across our fintech solutions, our index business, and our data business. Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Owen Lau from Clear Street. Please go ahead. Owen Lau: Hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I do want to follow up with this tokenization debate. There are some companies publicly pushing back on tokenizing their shares, and Nasdaq could do the same thing as well. Do you think your approach on tokenization can convince yourself and maybe some other companies to essentially tokenize their shares? I know you explained some of the answers already, but I want to get a better sense about how you think about your way can convince them to tokenize their shares. Thanks a lot. Adena Friedman: Sure. In the conversations, they actually have been very constructive conversations because it is an opportunity for us both to make sure they understand and are aware of the TSVs that are asking to tokenize their shares, but also that we get a chance to educate on what is tokenization and how can it be beneficial to them and why should they care. I can say that as we have pivoted from a discussion with a TSV to what is the Nasdaq equity token, what are we building, and how will it create a better way for them to be able to manage their shares in the public markets, and communicate with investors. They actually get, I am going to say some at least get excited. Some are neutral, some get excited about it. And we have had a couple of clients say, "Well, we would like to be an early adopter of the Nasdaq equity token." So that's great for us because it's allowing us to kind of have a level of engagement that's important. And we'll see. We're going to launch in the first half of next year, so we have some time to continue to work on it and engage those issuers as to what is it we're delivering to them and how does the platform work. We're also partnering with some really important key partners that are part of the core infrastructure of the markets today, and we look forward to having further opportunity to announce that going forward. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alex Blostein from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Alex Blostein: Hi, good morning, everybody. Thank you for the question. I was hoping to go back to some of the discussion around the anti-financial crime business and just to think through two things. One, the ARR seems to be growing at an accelerating pace. You obviously highlighted a number of sizable wins, including a couple of enterprise wins as well within that business. Can you maybe expand on where you're seeing the incremental demand for these services and maybe weave that in with some of the cybersecurity risks that we continue to hear about that's partially related to AI as well, and how that could inform your longer-term growth algorithm in that business? Adena Friedman: Sure. The incremental, I think first is as we're moving upmarket into enterprise, the strongest entry point for us is fraud and in the fraud space. What's great is that we can basically implement our layer on top of whatever existing AML system they already have. So we can just make their alerting better, take down their false positives. Every time we run a POC, a proof of concept with a client, we can demonstrate clear, measurable ROI, which is terrific on reducing false positives and increasing fraud found. So it's a very, I won't say easy, but it's a very straightforward way for us to enter in and help them. I think the AI and the ability for criminals and networks to use AI to really amplify their activities is making this a very urgent problem. It is a $500 billion+ problem in the world, just fraud alone, $4.4 trillion in AML. This is such an urgent issue and an area where we have seen a complete change in the attitude of banks towards this is a collective action problem we need to solve as an industry. We cannot do it alone. The value of our consortia data lake is becoming extremely valuable. The other thing is we can use GenAI now into that consortia data lake, and we have been adding new data sources into it as well that allows us to see criminal networks much more holistically. We are able to look at what would be seemingly unrelated fraud alerts and kind of bring them all together and realize this is a criminal ring. We found one criminal ring that was across 1,000 accounts in 45 institutions that had different topologies of behavior. I mean, they were executing different criminal activities. We are able to see that now that we can then deliver that into our clients and say, "This is not just an isolated SARs. This is something that is part of a bigger ring," and they can do joint SARs reporting. So it is really quite exciting, and I think the large banks realize that they cannot do it alone anymore. So that is what has been driving both the demand but also a sense of urgency that they have to solve the problem differently. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alex Kramm from UBS. Please go ahead. Alex Kramm: Yeah. Hey, good morning, everyone. Can we dive a little bit deeper into the capital markets technology strength? I know there are a few things that you have talked about already, some of the pricing changes, but it does seem like this quarter in particular, if I kind of try to back into new sales, continues to be really strong. So maybe just talk about where that is coming from and how sustainable you think this acceleration is because, again, some of these things you probably were one-timers, like pricing increases, but as we think about next year, it seems like if this momentum continues, there can continue to be upside to your targets. Adena Friedman: Sure. Yeah. Capital Markets Tech, as you know, has the three components, Alex, and TMS continues to be a strong driver of growth. As you said, we did announce that we had a pricing action earlier this year. It is effective January 1, so it has been in effect all year, and that is certainly creating lift. The second thing is there is just demand for connectivity, demand for new forms of connectivity. We also have some new innovations we have brought into our infrastructure around liquid cooling, and we are still benefiting from some of the expansion that we have done in the data center in the last couple of years. In recent quarters, this quarter, next quarter, and actually I think one of the quarters earlier this year, there is some benefit of elevated testing. It is not just us who do migrations, but we have other systems inside our data center where they are managing through migrations and we offer testing for a fee, and that actually is creating an uplift in revenue. This quarter, you will see it again. Next quarter, it starts to trail off a little bit in Q1. That is kind of episodic. I do want to say that some of that comes and goes. But the overall demand for TMS is high and we have been innovating to offer new capabilities. In Calypso, very exciting what we are doing to innovate there. I do want to emphasize, actually, the launch of the exchange traded clearing solution. That is almost a brand-new product. We had very narrow capabilities in exchange traded clearing before, and HSBC has been a great partner to work with us to build out a complete capability there that really allows us to go to market with essentially a new module, a new product within Calypso and be much more comprehensive in allowing people to manage risk. Our view is always on markets and AI are going to make it so that the convergence of markets and asset classes, geographies is going to be amplified very significantly. And so risk management, you cannot just look at risk management in one asset class anymore. You have got to look at it across, whether it is OTC or exchange traded, and it has got to be global. Then you have to use agentic capabilities to manage risk in real time and take action in real time over time. All of the capabilities we are building in Calypso are related to that, in addition to tokenization, and it has been a big investment year for us, but we see it unlocking durable demand. The last thing in Market Tech is we are continuing to find really great opportunities in Market Tech. We mentioned Bruce, but we have other markets that are using us for managed services, and we are continuing to help them modernize their platforms in moving to cloud. I would agree, Alex, I think it is a really good demand environment right now. Operator: Thank you. I show our next question comes from the line of Brian Bedell from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Brian Bedell: Great. Thanks. Good morning, folks. Thanks for taking my question. My question is on tokenization. I think you answered really well. I am going to just add one in a different frame, and that is the Digital Liquidity Networks and then the addressable market that you identified in the investor day earlier this year of the $3 billion-$6 billion TAM from tokenization by 2030. If you can just comment on whether you see more visibility into that TAM, and do you see this as more of an opportunity for your solutions businesses versus Market Services and maybe which areas? Adena Friedman: Yeah, actually, in the nearer term, we actually see it as being actually more of a driver towards data and our solutions businesses. Over time, as we develop out the Nasdaq equity token and build that platform and start to offer capabilities on top of that platform, we see that as a new revenue opportunity that would sit within Market Services. The last thing is, of course, tokenization, if it is done right, and it is done across asset classes and unlocks collateral and makes it so that markets are more liquid and markets are more accessible to more investors, you are increasing the liquidity of markets, which will obviously have a tailwind to Market Services. But to me, that is a little bit of, I do not want to say a lagging indicator, but it is a little longer term than I have got to get my infrastructure ready for always on, and I need to get my infrastructure ready for tokenized collateral. Those are things that have, we think, a nearer-term demand driver within Calypso and Market Tech, and in Trade Surveillance. So we see add visibility into the TAM. We kind of understand where it could come from. We have now very specific points of execution that we are starting to articulate to you as to where are we focusing on driving tokenization, always on markets, tokenization. They are all related to each other. LeveL becomes a part of that. The Nasdaq equity token design, Calypso's digital assets capabilities and AI capabilities, trade surveillance in terms of demand there, and then, of course, increased demand for our data as the markets globalize. We see all of those things coming together to create our ability to execute against the TAM. Operator: Thank you. I show our next question comes from the line of Ben Budish from Barclays. Please go ahead. Ben Budish: Hi, good morning, and thanks for taking my question. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the growth in the E-mini, the Nasdaq 100 futures franchise. It looks like the micros, as you kind of alluded to, have kind of been growing off the charts. Curious what you're doing to invest behind that, thoughts on the sustainability. Maybe you could talk a bit about the platforms this is coming from, and do you see any potential opportunity to translate this into maybe some more growth at NDX, which I know has also been a bit of a priority for you? Thank you. Adena Friedman: Yeah. Great. Well, as you know, we have a really wonderful partnership with CME, and they do a terrific job. They had earnings yesterday, so I was reading their comments, and they talked about the growth of direct retail investors into their platform. They are very focused on creating more accessibility to retail for their futures franchise, and it's obviously showing up in the numbers. A 70% increase in volumes is really spectacular. But as you said, it's also coming from some of those smaller price. So as they make the notional value of each futures contract cheaper, it makes it so it just opens up a new avenue towards retail, and I think that's very intentional and very smart in how they're doing that. They are connected to a whole range of retail platforms to be able to execute that. The partnership is as strong as ever. Then you are right about NDX, because if you also NDX and I would say 23/5 trading are amplifiers of demand for the futures, for the ETF, for the underlying. Then over time we do not currently have extended hours and options, but we would expect over time that options hours will expand, and that will give us a chance to expand the NDX franchise. But the NDX franchise just in U.S. market hours is continuing to grow, and it is a flywheel between the underlying, the ETF, the option and the future. Strategies can be executed and more sophisticated strategies can be executed. I think they all play off each other really nicely. Operator: Thank you. I show our next question comes from the line of Michael Cyprys from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Michael Cyprys: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. Just another one on tokenization. You have outlined several initiatives, including tokenized equities, collateral mobility. Just curious, as you are engaging with customers today, where are you seeing the clearest commercial demand for tokenization today? Can you elaborate a bit on some of the milestones that you are working towards over the next 12, 18 months? I think you mentioned instant settlement, if I heard you right, on the Nasdaq token. Just curious how you think about the financial system's ability to fund instant settlements given the substantial benefits from netting today. Thank you. Adena Friedman: Yeah, that's actually a great question. I want to make sure I cover that. The more immediate opportunities sit in this idea of collateral management, collateral mobility, because it's not just equities that are getting tokenized, but treasuries are getting tokenized, money market funds are getting tokenized, money is getting tokenized. All forms of collateral are moving and repos are getting tokenized. All forms of collateral are moving into a tokenized state, and that allows for the opportunity for banks to think about moving their money from one collateral pool to another in a much more seamless way. Nasdaq Calypso is the premier provider of collateral management capabilities to the industry around the world. Then we have a partnership with Baton Systems, that basically they connect into clearing houses and clearing pools, and they can move the collateral from one to another. They're working with us to move that in a tokenized state. We actually also were able to demonstrate that. So we had a proof of concept with two major investment management firms leveraging Canton to move collateral from one collateral pool to another, and it worked instantly, and it worked perfectly. So that proof of concept was a really good one. Yeah, I was checking to make sure I could name them. So it was Vanguard and Wellington, so it was really exciting to have such large and premier asset managers working with us on this. So that's the most immediate. I do want to get to the point of instant settlement. So let me be clear, in terms of what we think is netting is very important in U.S. equities. Very important. We trade about $1 trillion a day. So having to gross up trading in equities is an incredibly expensive proposition. It's not something that the industry feels that's and it's also, it's a huge benefit. There's so many reasons why netting is important, and that generally comes with batching the clearing. The question is, do you need to do it all T+1? Can you batch intraday? Can you batch maybe even at the end of the day and just start to eliminate more and more of the risk, the overnight risk and the time risk associated with clearing? I think that's a real possibility with tokenization. You put it into a more elegant form and money can move and stocks can move more easily, then you can start to think about how you bring settlement up faster. In the meantime, there's also the opportunity for us to work on a very innovative capability where you would have gross trading. So this is pre-funded or essentially gross settlements real-time of retail trades. So you have to think about it as like in a retail ecosystem with much smaller trade sizes and a different way of managing accounts, the crypto world is already pre-funded in cash anyway. So it's a continuation of that model, but with tokenized equities, and that's what we're doing with Kraken. We would then settle them through a very innovative custodian solution that we're working on with a partner. So I think it's very, very exciting to see how we can think differently about the future of markets this way. Operator: Thank you. I show our next question comes from the line of Dan Fannon from Jefferies. Please go ahead. Dan Fannon: Thanks. Good morning. Adena, was hoping to get your updated thoughts on large-scale M&A in the current environment, and then more broadly, as you think about capital return priorities as we look beyond the ASR and into 2027. Adena Friedman: Go for it, Sarah. Sarah Youngwood: Yeah. So we have, as you know, very strong free cash flow, over $2 billion. That enables us to do a lot. We have also been at 2.5x. So within our leverage target range, you have seen us continuing to be focused on organic growth. You are seeing the execution on that organic growth this quarter. You are seeing the very large sum and time opportunities that we have. So a lot to do there, and we are well-invested in that regard. You have seen us do partnerships, you have seen us do tuck-ins, and so whether it is Dasseti or whether it is LeveL, those are very additive, and we have talked about those. We might do bolt-ons Also. I have talked about our share repurchase program. We love buying our stock. It has been a core part of our program, and $1.2 billion, which is twice what we did approximately last year just in three quarters, is really participating in the EPS growth formula for us. We are very, very happy to return capital to shareholders in that very equitable form, especially given how attractive from that point of view, it is the only point of view, the stock price is. As a buyer of our stock, we love doing it. A lot of flexibility, a lot of opportunities, and we are continuing to be very rigorous for shareholders. Operator: Thank you. Our next question in the queue comes from the line of Jeff Schmitt from William Blair. Please go ahead. Jeff Schmitt: Hi, good morning. How much runway remains for cloud migrations across AxiomSL and Calypso? Could you remind us just how much those migrations affect contract values in your ability to sell AI modules? Adena Friedman: Yeah. I think that last point is a really good one. In terms of the runway, it is actually a fair amount of runway because we have a lot of established clients in both of those products that have been on-prem clients for a long time. As they are renewing, and those renewal cycles are long, right? We could sign a client for anywhere from, I would say anywhere from the shortest being three, but most of the time, five to seven years and sometimes 10. They come along in waves but during that renewal, we really work towards getting them into a cloud state. Those migrations are big and it requires a lot of conversation with the client. We still have a long runway. We tend to say that it's about a 1.5x uplift on ACV as we move into a cloud migration because we then become a managed service provider to them, and we're doing more for them to manage their infrastructure, and they're not having to do as much. It is turning out to be about that. One thing that we also focus on is what is the percentage of SaaS revenue to our total ARR, and that's slowly creeping up. We're at 38%. It's slowly creeping up as we continue to move more and more of our ARR, our annualized clients to cloud. In terms of AI workflows, great question because we basically are delivering those AI capabilities in the cloud form. It doesn't necessarily, like for Calypso, I don't think you have to be a full-cloud client to be able to take advantage of the AI layer we've created. Generally speaking, we deliver our AI capabilities through our cloud-based solutions. It's important to make sure that we innovate in our products and we deliver those innovations in a modern state that allows our clients to innovate as well. We just don't want to choke them off, and particularly Calypso, we don't want to make it a prerequisite necessarily, but for other products, we will. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Simon Clinch from Rothschild & Co Redburn. Please go ahead. Simon Clinch: Thanks. Thanks for taking my question. Adena, I guess a broader question here, and this maybe ties in with some of the comments made about capital allocation and also the sort of feedback loop between solutions and the market services business. I mean, with all the conversations we've had about tokenization and the future of markets, it feels like we're going to a market environment where eventually your customers will have a huge amount of choice in how they do their trades, how they implement their needs. I was wondering, how do you expect that to alter the mix of business Nasdaq has today between the solutions and market services? Should we expect any sort of shift in that dynamic over the next decade or so? Just curious about your thoughts on that. Thanks. Adena Friedman: Well, actually, we just look at the growth drivers underpinning solutions businesses versus markets. We have had really nice strong growth in markets, and we actually expect, as we move to globalized markets and tokenized markets, we will have an uplift in liquidity that should come from those activities because that is a big driver of why it is so attractive, is opening up the accessibility of markets. But our solutions businesses generally are growing at a rate that is faster than our markets businesses on a longer-term basis. Our indexes is, for instance, 39% growth in the quarter, but just imagine that the growth of index alone is really at a very high rate. We expect, we just see a lot of demand drivers there to underwrite that innovation economy and investors' appetite for that. We would expect...The last thing is, of course, in all of our software and data solutions, those are intimately linked with the ability to actually increase the liquidity, right? So all of that is kind of that flywheel, and I cannot sit there and say what exactly the mix of business is going to be. But as a general matter, our solutions businesses are becoming a bigger part of our business over time, just based on a relative growth rate. In the future, we have kind of growth opportunities in both elements of our business that is really strong and exciting. Operator: Thank you. We have completed our Q&A session for today. At this time, I would like to turn the call back over to Adena Friedman, President and CEO, for closing remarks. Adena Friedman: Great. Thank you. Our third quarter results reflect the disciplined execution of our strategy and reinforce our role as a trusted transformation partner to the global financial system. I want to thank all of you for joining the call today, and have a great day. Thank you. Operator: Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout, a massive technology build-out that Google's CEO says could be more profound than fire or electricity. While everyone watches the chip designers, one "backbone" company provides the critical technology that Nvidia and AMD literally cannot function without. We've detailed this under-the-radar player in our new AI Playbook. Continue » This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Nasdaq: Q3 Earnings Snapshot
Associated Press
Nasdaq: Q3 Earnings Snapshot
NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Nasdaq Inc. (NDAQ) on Thursday reported third-quarter profit of $540 million. On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of 96 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.04 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.02 per share. The exchange operator posted revenue of $2.39 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $1.48 billion, which also topped Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.47 billion. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NDAQ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NDAQ
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22What Nasdaq (NDAQ) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call
MarketBeat
What Nasdaq (NDAQ) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call
- Interested in Nasdaq, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. - Nasdaq delivered strong third-quarter growth: Net revenue rose 14% to $1.5 billion, diluted EPS increased 19% to $1.04, and operating and EBITDA margins each improved by one percentage point. Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology were the main growth drivers. - Technology and AI demand expanded: Financial Technology revenue increased 16%, with record 18% ARR growth, while Nasdaq reported growing client adoption of AI tools and cloud-based products, including more than 850 Verafin clients using its agentic AI workforce. - Nasdaq is expanding market infrastructure and returning capital: The company remains on track to launch 23/5 trading on Dec. 6, 2026, completed its LeveL Markets acquisition, and plans to launch an equity token in the first half of 2027. It returned nearly $500 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks during the quarter while slightly raising its full-year expense outlook. - Nasdaq's Business Is Outrunning Its Stock Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 14% from a year earlier, as growth in its Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology businesses helped drive a 19% increase in diluted earnings per share to $1.04. Chair and Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman said the company's results reflected demand for data, cloud technology, artificial intelligence-enabled tools and market infrastructure supporting increasingly connected and extended-hour trading. Solutions revenue rose 18% to $1.2 billion, while annualized recurring revenue grew 14% to $3.4 billion. → Aurora Rejects Curaleaf's Higher Bid, But the Takeover Fight Isn't Over - Up All Night: How Nasdaq's 23-Hour Trading Could Wake Up Wall Street Operating expenses increased 12% to $638 million. Nasdaq posted operating income growth of 16%, net income of $588 million, a 57% operating margin and a 60% EBITDA margin. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Youngwood said both margins improved by one percentage point from the prior-year period. Capital Access Platforms generated $641 million in revenue, up 20%, while ARR increased 8%. The segment includes data and listings, indexes, and workflow and insights products. → Could Quantinuum's Breakthrough Make Its Sell-Off a Bargain? - Analysts See Double-Digit Upside for These 3 Stocks Nasdaq's listings busines…Read full documentShow less
- Interested in Nasdaq, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. - Nasdaq delivered strong third-quarter growth: Net revenue rose 14% to $1.5 billion, diluted EPS increased 19% to $1.04, and operating and EBITDA margins each improved by one percentage point. Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology were the main growth drivers. - Technology and AI demand expanded: Financial Technology revenue increased 16%, with record 18% ARR growth, while Nasdaq reported growing client adoption of AI tools and cloud-based products, including more than 850 Verafin clients using its agentic AI workforce. - Nasdaq is expanding market infrastructure and returning capital: The company remains on track to launch 23/5 trading on Dec. 6, 2026, completed its LeveL Markets acquisition, and plans to launch an equity token in the first half of 2027. It returned nearly $500 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks during the quarter while slightly raising its full-year expense outlook. - Nasdaq's Business Is Outrunning Its Stock Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 14% from a year earlier, as growth in its Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology businesses helped drive a 19% increase in diluted earnings per share to $1.04. Chair and Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman said the company's results reflected demand for data, cloud technology, artificial intelligence-enabled tools and market infrastructure supporting increasingly connected and extended-hour trading. Solutions revenue rose 18% to $1.2 billion, while annualized recurring revenue grew 14% to $3.4 billion. → Aurora Rejects Curaleaf's Higher Bid, But the Takeover Fight Isn't Over - Up All Night: How Nasdaq's 23-Hour Trading Could Wake Up Wall Street Operating expenses increased 12% to $638 million. Nasdaq posted operating income growth of 16%, net income of $588 million, a 57% operating margin and a 60% EBITDA margin. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Youngwood said both margins improved by one percentage point from the prior-year period. Capital Access Platforms generated $641 million in revenue, up 20%, while ARR increased 8%. The segment includes data and listings, indexes, and workflow and insights products. → Could Quantinuum's Breakthrough Make Its Sell-Off a Bargain? - Analysts See Double-Digit Upside for These 3 Stocks Nasdaq's listings business added 15 operating companies that raised $32 billion in proceeds during the quarter. The company said it won eight of the 10 largest IPOs of the period, representing a 79% win rate. Through the first nine months of the year, Nasdaq said it had won 56 operating-company listings, raising $144 billion in proceeds. Friedman said the IPO market had softened modestly in recent weeks as some companies reassessed timing, but she described the listings pipeline as robust. Nasdaq also expects Hilton to transfer its common-stock listing to the Nasdaq Stock Market in early November. → IonQ's Bold Expansion Could Leave Shareholders Paying the Price The company's index business reported record net inflows of $49 billion in the quarter and $141 billion over the past 12 months. Index revenue climbed 39%, supported by record average exchange-traded product assets under management above $1.1 trillion. Nasdaq launched 32 new index-linked products during the quarter, half of them outside the United States. Data and listings revenue and ARR each rose 10%. Friedman said demand was supported by clients using Nasdaq data in artificial intelligence applications and preparing for more continuous market operations. Enterprise licenses increased 34% year over year. Within workflow and insights, revenue rose 5% and ARR increased 6%, led by double-digit growth at eVestment and Nasdaq Data Link. Friedman said 25% of eVestment bookings year to date were related to AI use cases. Nasdaq expanded eVestment's private-fund coverage to more than 95,000 funds and entered partnerships with Juniper Square and Robinhood. Financial Technology revenue rose 16% to $529 million, with ARR growing a record 18%. The company signed 54 new clients, 135 upsells and five cross-sells in the quarter. Cloud-based products accounted for 85% of annual contract value bookings. Financial Crime Management Technology, which includes Nasdaq Verafin, delivered 23% revenue growth and 19% ARR growth. The business signed 45 new small and medium-sized business clients and three enterprise deals. Friedman said more than 850 clients were using Verafin's agentic AI workforce, while more than 70 clients had signed paid contracts for those solutions. Management said it has used a limited "try before you buy" approach for some AI offerings to build client adoption and assess value. Friedman said Nasdaq is beginning to establish a monetization strategy for those tools and expects to extend similar models to other financial-technology products. Regulatory Technology revenue grew 13%, while Capital Markets Technology revenue increased 14%. Nasdaq cited demand for trade-management services, data-center offerings, market-technology modernization and Calypso products. The company also said HSBC expanded its relationship with Nasdaq by adding Calypso's exchange-traded derivatives clearing capabilities. Friedman said cloud migrations remain an opportunity across AxiomSL and Calypso because many established clients continue to operate on-premises systems. Nasdaq estimates cloud transitions generally result in roughly a 1.5-times uplift in annual contract value as the company provides more managed services. Market Services generated a third-quarter record $309 million in net revenue, up 2%. The increase was driven by higher U.S. equities share and capture, as well as higher trading volumes in U.S. equity options, Nordic cash equities and fixed income. Nasdaq said it remains on track to begin 23/5 trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Dec. 6, 2026. The expanded weekday schedule is part of the company's broader push toward always-on markets. On Oct. 15, Nasdaq completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets, adding what it described as the third-largest U.S. alternative trading system by volume. Youngwood said LeveL is expected to contribute $7 million to $8 million in fourth-quarter revenue. Nasdaq will report LeveL and its Digital Liquidity Networks initiative within other revenue in Market Services. Friedman said Nasdaq remains on track to launch the Nasdaq equity token in the first half of 2027. She said the company is working with DTCC, Kraken and other partners on tokenized equities, while emphasizing that Nasdaq does not support trading structures that operate outside the transparency and reporting framework governing U.S. equities. Nasdaq generated $616 million in free cash flow during the quarter and $2.3 billion over the past 12 months. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, totaling $173 million, and repurchased 3.6 million shares for $323 million. Combined dividends and repurchases totaled nearly $500 million in the quarter. Through the first three quarters, Nasdaq repurchased $1.2 billion of stock. In October, it also launched a variable-notional accelerated share repurchase plan valued between $315 million and $385 million, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. The company raised its full-year non-GAAP expense outlook to a range of $2.55 billion to $2.58 billion, from a prior range of $2.53 billion to $2.57 billion. Youngwood attributed the increase to recently completed acquisitions and stronger-than-expected revenue performance. Nasdaq maintained its projected 2026 non-GAAP tax rate of 22.5% to 24.5%. Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology and market infrastructure company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, one of the world's largest electronic stock exchanges. The company provides listing services for public companies and operates trading venues for equities, options and other financial products. Its exchange business serves companies, investors and market participants in the United States, as well as through Nasdaq's Nordic and Baltic market operations. Beyond its exchange activities, Nasdaq provides market data, analytics, indexes and technology used by exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "What Nasdaq (NDAQ) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for October 2026.
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Update: Nasdaq Shares Rise After Q3 Non-GAAP Earnings, Revenue Beat Estimates
MT Newswires
Update: Nasdaq Shares Rise After Q3 Non-GAAP Earnings, Revenue Beat Estimates
(Updates with share movement in the headline and first paragraph; dividend details in the last paragraph) Nasdaq (NDAQ) shares rose by more than 6% in Thursday trading after the financial markets and technology company reported Q3 earnings and revenue that beat analyst estimates. Nasdaq reported Q3 non-GAAP earnings of $1.04 per diluted share, up from $0.88 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.02. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $1.48 billion, compared with $1.32 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $1.47 billion. Nasdaq maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.31 a share, payable on Dec. 18 to shareholders of record on Dec. 4.
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22NDAQ Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Index and FinTech Growth
Zacks
NDAQ Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Index and FinTech Growth
Nasdaq, Inc. NDAQ reported third-quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.04 per share, which increased 18% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 by 1.96%. Net revenues increased 13% to $1.48 billion and topped the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion by 1.4%. Growth was driven by strong Index and Financial Technology performance. Annualized recurring revenues rose 12% to $3.37 billion, with organic growth reaching 14%. Nasdaq, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nasdaq, Inc. Quote Solutions revenues advanced 17% year over year to $1.17 billion, representing 79% of net revenues, up from 76% in the prior-year quarter. Organic growth reached 18%, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit organic growth. Annualized SaaS revenues increased 12% to $1.27 billion, with organic growth of 16%. SaaS accounted for 38% of ARR, reflecting Nasdaq's expanding subscription-based business and recurring revenue contribution. Capital Access Platforms revenues climbed 20% to $641 million. Index revenues surged 39% to $286 million, supported by higher exchange-traded product assets under management and record derivatives volumes. Data and Listing Services revenues rose 10% to $224 million, while Workflow and Insights revenues increased 6% to $131 million. Average Index ETP assets under management reached a record $1.11 trillion, up $331 billion year over year. Net inflows totaled $49 billion during the quarter and a record $141 billion over the trailing 12 months. Nasdaq launched 32 new Index products and welcomed eight of the 10 largest operating-company IPOs during the quarter. Financial Technology revenues increased 16% to $529 million, with organic growth matching the reported rate. Financial Crime Management Technology revenues rose 23% to $103 million, Regulatory Technology revenues advanced 13% to $123 million, and Capital Markets Technology revenues increased 15% to $303 million on a reported basis. Financial Technology ARR increased 18% to $1.95 billion. The division signed 54 new clients, five cross-sells and 135 upsells, while cloud-based solutions represented 85% of annual contract value bookings. Nasdaq Verafin signed 45 small- and medium-sized bank clients and three enterprise deals. Its Agentic AI Workforce expanded to more than 850 clients. Regulatory Technology added 10 new clients and 86 upsells, reflecting dema…Read full documentShow less
Nasdaq, Inc. NDAQ reported third-quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.04 per share, which increased 18% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 by 1.96%. Net revenues increased 13% to $1.48 billion and topped the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion by 1.4%. Growth was driven by strong Index and Financial Technology performance. Annualized recurring revenues rose 12% to $3.37 billion, with organic growth reaching 14%. Nasdaq, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nasdaq, Inc. Quote Solutions revenues advanced 17% year over year to $1.17 billion, representing 79% of net revenues, up from 76% in the prior-year quarter. Organic growth reached 18%, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit organic growth. Annualized SaaS revenues increased 12% to $1.27 billion, with organic growth of 16%. SaaS accounted for 38% of ARR, reflecting Nasdaq's expanding subscription-based business and recurring revenue contribution. Capital Access Platforms revenues climbed 20% to $641 million. Index revenues surged 39% to $286 million, supported by higher exchange-traded product assets under management and record derivatives volumes. Data and Listing Services revenues rose 10% to $224 million, while Workflow and Insights revenues increased 6% to $131 million. Average Index ETP assets under management reached a record $1.11 trillion, up $331 billion year over year. Net inflows totaled $49 billion during the quarter and a record $141 billion over the trailing 12 months. Nasdaq launched 32 new Index products and welcomed eight of the 10 largest operating-company IPOs during the quarter. Financial Technology revenues increased 16% to $529 million, with organic growth matching the reported rate. Financial Crime Management Technology revenues rose 23% to $103 million, Regulatory Technology revenues advanced 13% to $123 million, and Capital Markets Technology revenues increased 15% to $303 million on a reported basis. Financial Technology ARR increased 18% to $1.95 billion. The division signed 54 new clients, five cross-sells and 135 upsells, while cloud-based solutions represented 85% of annual contract value bookings. Nasdaq Verafin signed 45 small- and medium-sized bank clients and three enterprise deals. Its Agentic AI Workforce expanded to more than 850 clients. Regulatory Technology added 10 new clients and 86 upsells, reflecting demand for cloud infrastructure, AI and regulatory solutions. Market Services net revenues increased 2% to a third-quarter record of $309 million. U.S. cash equities revenues advanced 15% to $114 million, supported by higher market share and a near-record capture rate. European cash equities revenues rose to $30 million, while U.S. tape plan revenues totaled $33 million. U.S. equity derivatives revenues declined 12% to $110 million due to lower capture rates and market share, partially offset by higher industry volumes. Nasdaq held a 28.1% matched market share in U.S. multi-listed options and a 14.5% share in U.S.-listed cash equities. Its European cash equities market share reached 75%. Non-GAAP operating income increased 15% to $843 million. The non-GAAP operating margin expanded 100 basis points to 57%, as revenue growth outpaced the 9% increase in non-GAAP operating expenses to $638 million. Higher compensation costs and technology investments contributed to the expense increase. Cash flow from operations totaled $521 million, while free cash flow reached $616 million. Nasdaq returned $173 million through dividends and $323 million through share repurchases. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $365 million at quarter-end, while long-term debt totaled $8.47 billion. The company's gross leverage ratio improved to 2.5 times from 2.6 times in the preceding quarter, reflecting continued deleveraging. Nasdaq updated its 2026 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to $2.550-$2.580 billion from the previous range of $2.530-$2.570 billion. The revision follows increased compensation costs tied to revenue execution and continued investments in technology. NDAQ maintained its non-GAAP tax rate guidance at 22.5-24.5%. Strategically, Nasdaq established Digital Liquidity Networks to advance digital assets and market modernization. It also completed the acquisition of LeveL Markets early in the fourth quarter and remains on track to introduce 23/5 trading on Dec. 6, 2026, expanding access to U.S.-listed equities. NDAQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. CME Group Inc. CME reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $3.02, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3%. The bottom line increased 12.7% year over year. CME Group's revenues of $1.73 billion increased 13% year over year. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher clearing and transaction fees, market data and information services, and other factors. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2%. Total expenses rose 5.5% year over year to $595.9 million, attributable to higher technology, depreciation and amortization, licensing and other fee agreements, and other expenses. Operating income increased 17.3% from the prior-year quarter to $1.14 billion. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 29, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings per share is pegged at $1.97, suggesting an increase of 15.2% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure. ICE's earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 30, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings per share is pegged at $3.40, suggesting an increase of 27.3% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure. CBOE's earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) : Free Stock Analysis Report CME Group Inc. (CME) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 Per Share
GlobeNewswire
Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 Per Share
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 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 December 18, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 4, 2026. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors. About Nasdaq Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading technology platform that powers the world's economies. We architect the infrastructure of the world's most modern markets, power the innovation economy, and build trust in the financial system. We empower economic opportunity by designing and deploying advanced technology, data, and intelligence solutions that enable our clients to capture opportunities, navigate risk, and strengthen resilience. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance, and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, information regarding our dividend program and future payment obligations. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, or other factors beyond Nasdaq's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq's ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq's investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Media Re…Read full documentShow less
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 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 December 18, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 4, 2026. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors. About Nasdaq Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading technology platform that powers the world's economies. We architect the infrastructure of the world's most modern markets, power the innovation economy, and build trust in the financial system. We empower economic opportunity by designing and deploying advanced technology, data, and intelligence solutions that enable our clients to capture opportunities, navigate risk, and strengthen resilience. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance, and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, information regarding our dividend program and future payment obligations. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, or other factors beyond Nasdaq's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq's ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq's investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Media Relations Contact: David Lurie +1.914.538.0533 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Ato Garrett +1.212.401.8737 [email protected] -NDAQF-
Related articleQuarter not tagged2026-10-22Nasdaq, Inc. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Moby
Nasdaq, Inc. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. - Delivered 14% net revenue growth driven by a 10.5 percentage point alpha contribution from new client acquisition and product innovation. - Capitalized on the 'always-on' market trend, with data and listings revenue growing 10% as institutions modernize infrastructure for 24/7 operations. - Achieved record 18% Fintech ARR growth, supported by 85% of new bookings being cloud-based as clients transition away from on-premise legacy systems. - Expanded the Financial Crime Management segment with 23% revenue growth, driven by high demand for fraud solutions that utilize a consortia data lake to identify cross-institutional criminal rings. - Strengthened the Index franchise with $49 billion in quarterly net inflows, benefiting from the secular shift toward passive investing and retail ownership of the Nasdaq-100. - Integrated AI across the platform, with 25% of eVestment bookings now related to AI use cases and over 850 clients utilizing agentic AI workers in Verafin. - Maintained a 79% win rate for large IPOs despite a modest softening in the environment, supported by a robust pipeline of companies reevaluating timing. - Confirmed the launch of 23/5 trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market for December 6, 2026, as a primary step toward continuous weekday trading. - Anticipates the launch of the Nasdaq equity token in the first half of 2027, aiming to modernize settlement and issuer-investor communication. - Updated 2026 non-GAAP expense guidance to $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion to account for the acquisitions of LeveL and Dasseti and strong year-to-date performance. - Expects a 1.5x uplift in annual contract value (ACV) as legacy AxiomSL and Calypso clients migrate from on-premise to cloud-managed services. - Projected a tough year-over-year comparison for Capital Markets Technology in Q4 2026 due to significant upfront revenue recognized in the prior year period. - Closed the acquisition of LeveL Markets on October 15, adding the third-largest U.S. ATS to provide off-exchange liquidity and execution flexibility. - Announced the wind-down of the sustainability advisory business and the sale of Nasdaq Metrio to optimize the Workflow and Insights portfolio. - Flagged a 'modest softening' in the IPO environment as certa…Read full documentShow less
Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. - Delivered 14% net revenue growth driven by a 10.5 percentage point alpha contribution from new client acquisition and product innovation. - Capitalized on the 'always-on' market trend, with data and listings revenue growing 10% as institutions modernize infrastructure for 24/7 operations. - Achieved record 18% Fintech ARR growth, supported by 85% of new bookings being cloud-based as clients transition away from on-premise legacy systems. - Expanded the Financial Crime Management segment with 23% revenue growth, driven by high demand for fraud solutions that utilize a consortia data lake to identify cross-institutional criminal rings. - Strengthened the Index franchise with $49 billion in quarterly net inflows, benefiting from the secular shift toward passive investing and retail ownership of the Nasdaq-100. - Integrated AI across the platform, with 25% of eVestment bookings now related to AI use cases and over 850 clients utilizing agentic AI workers in Verafin. - Maintained a 79% win rate for large IPOs despite a modest softening in the environment, supported by a robust pipeline of companies reevaluating timing. - Confirmed the launch of 23/5 trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market for December 6, 2026, as a primary step toward continuous weekday trading. - Anticipates the launch of the Nasdaq equity token in the first half of 2027, aiming to modernize settlement and issuer-investor communication. - Updated 2026 non-GAAP expense guidance to $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion to account for the acquisitions of LeveL and Dasseti and strong year-to-date performance. - Expects a 1.5x uplift in annual contract value (ACV) as legacy AxiomSL and Calypso clients migrate from on-premise to cloud-managed services. - Projected a tough year-over-year comparison for Capital Markets Technology in Q4 2026 due to significant upfront revenue recognized in the prior year period. - Closed the acquisition of LeveL Markets on October 15, adding the third-largest U.S. ATS to provide off-exchange liquidity and execution flexibility. - Announced the wind-down of the sustainability advisory business and the sale of Nasdaq Metrio to optimize the Workflow and Insights portfolio. - Flagged a 'modest softening' in the IPO environment as certain sectors reevaluate timing due to macro factors, though the overall pipeline remains robust. - Expressed opposition to the SEC's innovation exemption for equity trading, citing concerns over lack of transparency and interference with issuer insider trading programs. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. - Management is utilizing a 'try before you buy' freemium model to build trust, with 70 clients already converted to paid contracts for agentic workers. - Pricing for AI is being structured through shorter-term contracts to allow for value-based adjustments as ROI is proven to clients. - Cloud-based delivery of AI capabilities is driving a natural upsell path and higher annual contract value (ACV) as clients modernize their tech stacks and move more infrastructure to the cloud. - The initiative focuses on creating a standard that integrates with existing infrastructure like DTCC, rather than 'sidecar' experiments that bypass transparency rules. - Management noted that while netting remains critical for U.S. equities to manage costs, tokenization allows for faster intraday batching and reduced overnight risk. - Early adopter interest is high among issuers who see tokenization as a way to improve proxy voting and direct communication with shareholders. - Growth is currently supported by a pricing action effective January 1, 2026, and elevated testing fees from clients migrating systems within Nasdaq data centers. - The launch of a new exchange-traded derivatives clearing module with HSBC represents a significant expansion of Calypso's addressable market. - Management expects testing-related revenue to trail off in Q1 2027, shifting the focus back to core subscription and cloud migration drivers.

