Nasdaq (NDAQ) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $50.53B
• Dividend Yield: 1.07%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.93M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 28.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.71
• Revenue Growth: 16.41%
• EPS Growth: 68.03%
• Country: US
• Employees: 9,377
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges
• EPS (TTM): 0.96
• Shares Outstanding: 570,995,400
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 3,705,953
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,926,104
• PEG Ratio: -5.22
• Price to Book (P/B): 3.97
• Price to Sales (P/S): 6.01
• P/FCF Ratio: 25.67
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.15
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 7.12
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 17.33
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 19.43
• 1Y Price Target: $111.50
• Price Target Upside: 26.00% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 10
• EPS Forecast (FY): 3.89
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $5.70B

• Rating: 74 Outperform
• Price Target: $111.00 ▲(25.44% Upside)

The score is driven primarily by strong financial performance (profitability and revenue growth), supported by a positive earnings outlook highlighted by recurring revenue/ARR momentum. Technicals are constructive but not strongly bullish, while valuation (high P/E and modest yield) is the main constraint.

Positive Factors

Recurring revenue / ARR momentum

ARR growth to $3B (up 9%) and a rising SaaS mix materially increase revenue visibility and stickiness. A larger recurring base smooths cyclicality, supports predictable cash flows, enhances valuation resilience, and enables sustained investment in product and cross-sell initiatives.

High operating and EBITDA margins

Sustained high margins (56% operating, 58% EBITDA) reflect a scalable, technology-led model and pricing power across exchanges, data and solutions. Durable margin structure supports reinvestment, R&D and shareholder returns while providing a buffer through economic cycles.

Market position and listings strength

Leadership in listings and transfers (largest transfer, $46.65B raised) creates network effects that drive recurring listing fees, market services, and data demand. This dominant franchise underpins durable fee-generation and competitive defensibility across capital markets services.

Negative Factors

Free cash flow deterioration

A sharp -168.7% drop in free cash flow growth undermines cash conversion quality despite strong reported earnings. Persistently weaker FCF limits ability to fund buybacks, dividends and organic investment without tapping liquidity or increasing leverage, reducing financial flexibility.

Weakness in Financial Crime Management tech

Slower enterprise adoption in Financial Crime Management Technology impairs growth in a strategic, high-margin area. Execution shortfalls here can delay ARR expansion, weaken cross-sell momentum into existing clients, and allow competitors to capture enterprise pipeline opportunities.

Exposure to IPO/listing cyclicality

Nasdaq's listing and transaction fees are sensitive to capital markets cycles; management flagged delayed IPO activity. Prolonged market or regulatory downturns can materially compress listing volumes and trading fees, making top-line and ARR growth vulnerable to macro and market-structure shifts.

Nasdaq Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Nasdaq, Inc. operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. The Market Technology segment includes anti financial crime technology business, which offers Nasdaq Trade Surveillance, a SaaS solution for brokers and other market participants to assist them in complying with market rules, regulations, and internal market surveillance policies; Nasdaq Automated Investigator, a cloud-deployed anti-money laundering tool; and Verafin, a SaaS technology provider of anti-financial crime management solutions. This segment also handles assets, such as cash equities, equity derivatives, currencies, interest-bearing securities, commodities, energy products, and digital currencies. The Investment Intelligence segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indexes and financial products; and provides investment insights and workflow solutions. The Corporate Platforms segment operates listing platforms; and offers investor relations intelligence and governance solutions. As of December 31, 2021, it had 4,178 companies listed securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market, including 1,632 listings on The Nasdaq Global Select Market; 1,169 on The Nasdaq Global Market; and 1,377 on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The Market Services segment includes equity derivative trading and clearing, cash equity trading, fixed income and commodities trading and clearing, and trade management service businesses. This segment operates various exchanges and other marketplace facilities across various asset classes, which include derivatives, commodities, cash equity, debt, structured products, and exchange traded products; and provides broker, clearing, settlement, and central depository services. The company was formerly known as The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and changed its name to Nasdaq, Inc. in September 2015. Nasdaq, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

How the Company Makes Money

Nasdaq generates revenue through multiple streams, primarily from transaction fees, listing fees, and market data services. Transaction fees are earned from trades executed on its exchanges, while listing fees are charged to companies for being listed on Nasdaq. Additionally, Nasdaq provides market data services, selling real-time and historical data to financial institutions and traders. The company also earns revenues from technology solutions, offering proprietary trading technology to other exchanges and financial institutions. Strategic partnerships with financial organizations and technology firms further enhance its revenue potential, allowing Nasdaq to expand its service offerings and reach a broader client base.

Nasdaq Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong profitability and growth (TTM gross margin 49.72%, net margin 19.89%, revenue growth 69%) support a high score, while moderate leverage (debt-to-equity 0.79) is manageable. The main offset is the sharp decline in free cash flow growth (-168.7% TTM), which raises cash flow quality/consistency risk despite decent cash-to-earnings conversion.

Income Statement

Nasdaq's income statement shows strong profitability with a TTM gross profit margin of 49.72% and a net profit margin of 19.89%. The company has demonstrated impressive revenue growth of 69% in the TTM period, indicating robust business expansion. EBIT and EBITDA margins are healthy at 28.84% and 36.50%, respectively, reflecting efficient operations. Overall, the income statement reflects a strong financial performance with significant growth and profitability.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet indicates a stable financial position with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, showing moderate leverage. Return on equity is solid at 13.96%, suggesting effective use of equity capital. The equity ratio stands at 39.22%, indicating a balanced capital structure. While the company maintains a healthy balance sheet, the relatively high total debt requires monitoring to ensure continued financial stability.

Cash Flow

Cash flow analysis reveals a decline in free cash flow growth by 168.7% in the TTM period, which is a concern. However, the operating cash flow to net income ratio is 0.30, and the free cash flow to net income ratio is 0.90, indicating that the company generates sufficient cash relative to its net income. While cash generation remains strong, the negative free cash flow growth warrants attention.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	8.17B	7.40B	6.06B	6.23B	5.89B	5.63B
Gross Profit	3.36B	2.99B	2.55B	2.34B	2.23B	1.94B
EBITDA	2.99B	2.46B	2.00B	1.85B	1.93B	1.51B
Net Income	1.63B	1.12B	1.06B	1.13B	1.19B	933.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	30.65B	30.39B	32.29B	20.87B	20.11B	17.98B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	2.53B	776.00M	641.00M	683.00M	601.00M	2.94B
Total Debt	9.55B	9.87B	10.87B	5.85B	6.22B	5.93B
Total Liabilities	18.62B	19.20B	21.47B	14.70B	13.71B	11.54B
Stockholders Equity	12.02B	11.19B	10.82B	6.15B	6.39B	6.43B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	2.10B	1.73B	1.54B	1.55B	920.00M	1.06B
Operating Cash Flow	2.33B	1.94B	1.70B	1.71B	1.08B	1.25B
Investing Cash Flow	-1.47B	-953.00M	-5.99B	49.00M	-2.65B	-231.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-2.41B	-2.56B	4.22B	1.04B	1.42B	1.38B

Nasdaq Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 88.49
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Positive
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For NDAQ, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 88.49 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 97.76, below the 50-day MA of 95.17, and below the 200-day MA of 89.37, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.97 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 28.37 is Positive, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 17.54 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for NDAQ.

Nasdaq Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
ICE	80 Outperform	$93.99B	29.69	11.32%	1.19%	8.96%	30.16%
CME	77 Outperform	$106.24B	26.26	14.63%	3.92%	5.84%	8.51%
MSCI	76 Outperform	$42.91B	37.06	―	1.24%	9.02%	3.45%
CBOE	75 Outperform	$28.38B	28.84	21.51%	1.06%	16.74%	26.74%
NDAQ	74 Outperform	$50.53B	28.39	15.28%	1.07%	16.41%	68.03%
SPGI	73 Outperform	$140.96B	34.04	12.57%	0.73%	9.04%	21.35%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%

Nasdaq Corporate Events

Nasdaq Reports Strong Q4 and Full-Year 2025 Results

On January 29, 2026, Nasdaq reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, with net revenue reaching $5.25 billion, up 13% year over year, and Solutions revenue surpassing $4.0 billion, up 12%. Fourth-quarter net revenue rose 13% to $1.39 billion, driven by 13% growth in Solutions revenue, 16% growth in Market Services net revenue, and particularly robust performance in Financial Technology, where revenue climbed 14%, and Index revenue, which jumped 23% on the back of $99 billion in net inflows over the past twelve months. Annualized recurring revenue reached $3.05 billion, up 10%, with SaaS revenue representing 38% of ARR, underscoring the company’s shift toward recurring, technology-led income streams. Profitability improved markedly, with GAAP diluted EPS up 60% for the year and 47% in the quarter, and non-GAAP diluted EPS rising 24% for 2025 and 27% in the fourth quarter, while operating leverage benefited from only modest increases in operating expenses despite higher investment in technology and talent. Nasdaq also continued to return capital to shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2025, distributing $153 million in dividends and executing $286 million in share repurchases while repaying $100 million of senior unsecured notes, reinforcing management’s confidence in the durability of the business model and the strength of its cash generation.

The most recent analyst rating on (NDAQ) stock is a Buy with a $113.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Nasdaq stock, see the NDAQ Stock Forecast page.

Nasdaq Implements Governance Updates and Officer Exculpation Amendments

At its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on June 11, 2025, Nasdaq, Inc. obtained shareholder approval for a charter amendment to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to provide for limited officer exculpation, which subsequently received Securities and Exchange Commission clearance and became effective upon filing in Delaware on January 14, 2026. On the same effective date, Nasdaq also implemented SEC-approved amendments to its By-Laws, initially approved by the Board on April 23, 2025, that modernize advance notice procedures for shareholder nominations and business proposals in light of universal proxy rules, enhance procedural and administrative flexibility for the board, align the By-Laws with recent changes to Delaware corporate law, update emergency provisions, and establish exclusive forum selection for certain claims, collectively refining the company’s governance framework and potentially reducing litigation uncertainty for the company and its stakeholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (NDAQ) stock is a Buy with a $113.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Nasdaq stock, see the NDAQ Stock Forecast page.

Nasdaq Increases Cap on Tender Offers for Notes

On December 15, 2025, Nasdaq, Inc. announced the early results of its tender offers to purchase certain outstanding notes, increasing the cap for its 5.350% Senior Notes due 2028 to $83,011,000 and for its 3.950% Senior Notes due 2052 to $16,989,000. The company removed the $95,000,000 maximum tender payment cap and will accept notes on a prorated basis due to the high volume of tenders, impacting its financial operations by utilizing available cash and liquidity sources.

The most recent analyst rating on (NDAQ) stock is a Buy with a $93.85 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Nasdaq stock, see the NDAQ Stock Forecast page.

Nasdaq Announces $95 Million Cash Tender Offers

On December 1, 2025, Nasdaq, Inc. announced cash tender offers to purchase up to $95 million of its outstanding notes, aiming to reduce its total public debt. The tender offers include a sub-cap of $80 million for its 5.350% Senior Notes due 2028 and $10 million for its 3.950% Senior Notes due 2052, with the offers set to expire on December 30, 2025. This strategic move is intended to optimize Nasdaq’s financial structure by utilizing available cash and other liquidity sources, potentially impacting its debt profile and stakeholder interests.

The most recent analyst rating on (NDAQ) stock is a Buy with a $104.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Nasdaq stock, see the NDAQ Stock Forecast page.