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Nasdaq
(NASDAQ:NDAQ)
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Rating:77Outperform
Price Target:
$103.00
â–²(11.85% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:07/24/26
NDAQ scores well primarily on financial quality and earnings-call momentum: strong margins, solid cash generation, improving leverage, and accelerating ARR-driven growth with significant capital returns. Technicals are supportive (price above key moving averages with positive MACD) but not a breakout signal. The main constraint on the score is valuation (P/E ~26 with a modest ~1.24% yield) and management’s higher expense outlook plus select segment/mix headwinds.
Positive Factors
Recurring revenue / ARR momentum
Growing ARR to $3.3B and a rising SaaS mix indicate a larger base of predictable, contractually recurring revenue. This reduces dependence on transaction volatility, supports steadier cash flow and margin visibility, and underpins multi-quarter revenue durability and valuation resilience.
Negative Factors
High absolute debt load
Although leverage metrics improved, a sizable $9.2B absolute debt stock constrains capital flexibility. In a rising‑rates or weaker‑cash environment, interest and covenant sensitivity could limit buybacks/M&A or force tighter operating priorities over the next several quarters.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Recurring revenue / ARR momentum
Growing ARR to $3.3B and a rising SaaS mix indicate a larger base of predictable, contractually recurring revenue. This reduces dependence on transaction volatility, supports steadier cash flow and margin visibility, and underpins multi-quarter revenue durability and valuation resilience.
Read all positive factors
Nasdaq Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Breaks total revenue into the company's business lines (for example market services, information/data, technology and issuer solutions), showing which areas drive growth, margins, and risk. A shift toward higher-margin, recurring segments points to more durable earnings and lower cyclicality, while concentration in volume-dependent segments makes results sensitive to trading activity and market volatility. Tracking segment trends helps reveal strategic focus, margin potential, and exposure to competitive or regulatory changes.
Breaks total revenue into the company's business lines (for example market services, information/data, technology and issuer solutions), showing which areas drive growth, margins, and risk. A shift toward higher-margin, recurring segments points to more durable earnings and lower cyclicality, while concentration in volume-dependent segments makes results sensitive to trading activity and market volatility. Tracking segment trends helps reveal strategic focus, margin potential, and exposure to competitive or regulatory changes.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyNasdaq (NDAQ) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$54.23B
Dividend Yield1.15%
Average Volume (3M)4.74M
Price to Earnings (P/E)28.0
Beta (1Y)0.80
Revenue Growth7.35%
EPS Growth31.93%
CountryUS
Employees9,630
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryFinancial - Data & Stock Exchanges
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)3.47
Shares Outstanding558,977,360
10 Day Avg. Volume4,342,334
30 Day Avg. Volume4,736,809
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.51
Price to Book (P/B)4.53
Price to Sales (P/S)6.75
P/FCF Ratio27.87
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$112.38Price Target Upside22.04% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering14
EPS Forecast (FY)4.13
Revenue Forecast (FY)$5.91B
Nasdaq Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Nasdaq, Inc., a technology powerhouse founded in 1971 and based in New York City, is dedicated to supporting capital markets and various other sectors worldwide. Its Market Technology division specializes in fighting financial crime, offering prod...
How the Company Makes Money
Nasdaq generates revenue through a mix of market services, recurring data/technology subscriptions, and issuer services. A major revenue stream comes from Market Services, which includes transaction-based fees tied to trading activity across its e...
Nasdaq Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 23, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 21, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized broad-based, multi-division growth, record milestones (Index AUM >$1T, EPS growth, strong free cash flow) and accelerating AI-driven product adoption. Weaknesses were mostly operational and timing-related: higher expenses, a challenging Corporate Solutions environment, mix-driven capture pressure in certain Market Services lines, tougher comps and slower international sales cycles in some areas. Overall, the positive financial momentum, recurring revenue strength and capital returns outweigh the manageable execution and timing headwinds.Positive Updates
Strong Top-Line Growth
Net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15% year-over-year; Solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 17%.
Negative Updates
Expense Increase and Updated Guidance
Operating expense of $641 million, up 10% YoY driven by employee compensation, incentive comp, marketing and severance; updated 2026 non-GAAP expense guidance increased to $2.530–$2.570 billion (from $2.485–$2.545 billion).
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Top-Line Growth
Net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15% year-over-year; Solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 17%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Nasdaq updated 2026 guidance and near‑term plans: non‑GAAP operating expense guidance was raised to $2.530–$2.570 billion (from $2.485–$2.545B) driven by higher employee compensation and increased IPO‑related marketing, and the non‑GAAP tax rate guidance was maintained at 22.5%–24.5%; management warned of a tougher Q3 comp because Q3 2025 included a $5 million contra‑expense. Key timing milestones include a planned 23/5 trading launch on December 6, 2026, SEC approval to list event options with a targeted Q4 launch, auto‑dispositioning coming in Q3 and flexible AI deployment by year‑end. On capital allocation they returned over $530 million in Q2 (Q2 dividend $0.31/sh or $174M, a 31% annualized payout; repurchases of 4.1M shares for $356M), repurchased $903M in H1 vs $616M in all of 2025, launched a $200–$250M variable accelerated share repurchase to complete in Q3, and reported Q2 free cash flow of $477M, $2.2B FCF over the last 12 months (97% conversion) with gross leverage of 2.6x; management also noted two small portfolio transactions would add ~$4M pro‑forma revenue over 12 months and that, even under an extreme adoption scenario, perpetual‑style products would represent less than 1% of total revenue.Nasdaq Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
79
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 8.71B | 8.22B | 7.40B | 6.06B | 6.23B | 5.89B |
| Gross Profit | 5.17B | 3.94B | 2.99B | 2.55B | 2.34B | 2.23B |
| EBITDA | 3.19B | 3.13B | 2.46B | 2.00B | 1.85B | 1.93B |
| Net Income | 1.97B | 1.79B | 1.12B | 1.06B | 1.13B | 1.19B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 27.34B | 31.05B | 30.39B | 32.29B | 20.87B | 20.11B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 2.79B | 842.00M | 776.00M | 641.00M | 683.00M | 601.00M |
| Total Debt | 9.24B | 9.93B | 9.87B | 10.87B | 5.85B | 6.22B |
| Total Liabilities | 15.35B | 18.82B | 19.20B | 21.47B | 14.70B | 13.71B |
| Stockholders Equity | 11.99B | 12.23B | 11.19B | 10.82B | 6.15B | 6.39B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 1.95B | 1.99B | 1.73B | 1.54B | 1.55B | 920.00M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 2.25B | 2.25B | 1.94B | 1.70B | 1.71B | 1.08B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -482.00M | -1.10B | -953.00M | -5.99B | 49.00M | -2.65B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -5.17B | -2.95B | -2.56B | 4.22B | 1.04B | 1.42B |
Nasdaq Risk Analysis
Nasdaq disclosed 2 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Nasdaq reported the most risks in the "Legal & Regulatory" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 1 New Risks
Nasdaq Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
82 Outperform | $30.93B | 23.01 | 25.75% | 1.01% | 11.68% | 50.39% | |
79 Outperform | $97.01B | 22.77 | 15.53% | 4.41% | 5.10% | 14.78% | |
79 Outperform | $123.46B | 25.49 | 15.47% | 0.86% | 9.67% | 26.18% | |
77 Outperform | $54.23B | 27.96 | 16.31% | 1.22% | 7.35% | 31.93% | |
76 Outperform | $86.86B | 21.76 | 13.81% | 1.37% | 12.60% | 35.84% | |
69 Neutral | $41.38B | 31.31 | -54.14% | 1.40% | 11.62% | 21.00% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% |
* Financial Sector Average
NDAQ
Nasdaq
97.02
3.86
4.14%
CBOE
Cboe Global Markets
296.14
52.73
21.66%
CME
CME Group
269.80
9.52
3.66%
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange
154.73
-20.96
-11.93%
SPGI
S&P Global
418.80
-98.23
-19.00%
MSCI
MSCI
569.13
21.32
3.89%
Nasdaq Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Nasdaq Reports Strong Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Positive
Jul 23, 2026
Nasdaq reported strong second quarter 2026 results, with net revenue rising 15% year over year to $1.5 billion and Solutions revenue up 17%, driven by broad-based growth across Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology. Annualized recurrin...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Nasdaq Establishes New $1.5 Billion Revolving Credit Facility
Positive
Jul 1, 2026
On June 30, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. entered into an amended and restated revolving credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders and Bank of America, N.A. as administrative agent, replacing its prior facility and establishing a $1.5 billion senior unsec...
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Nasdaq Shareholders Endorse Board, Pay and Auditor Slate
Positive
Jun 16, 2026
At its annual meeting of shareholders held on June 10, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. saw all 12 director nominees elected to serve until the 2027 meeting, with voting results adjusted to exclude excess shares limited under the company’s 5% voting cap i...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.