Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ)

Nasdaq reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $1.5 billion on 22 October, up 13 percent from a year earlier 1.

Net revenue is revenue less transaction-based expenses, which are trading rebates and brokerage, clearance and exchange fees 14.

Financial Technology revenue was $529 million, up 16 percent, and Index revenue was $286 million, up 39 percent 1.

Index funds that track Nasdaq indices took in a record $141 billion over the past twelve months, including $49 billion in the quarter 1.

Earnings per share under US accounting rules were $0.96, up 31 percent 1.

A current report filed in late October says the board elected Börje Ekholm, the former chief executive of Ericsson, as an independent director effective 1 November 2.

In October 2026 Nasdaq acquired the remaining ownership of LeveL Holdings, the parent of the trading venue LeveL Markets, which joins a new group called Digital Liquidity Networks 3.

The company says The Nasdaq Stock Market remains on track to begin 23/5 trading on 6 December 2026 1.

Nasdaq was founded in 1971 as a wholly owned subsidiary of FINRA 4. FINRA fully divested its ownership in 2006, and The Nasdaq Stock Market became an independent registered national securities exchange in 2007 4.

In February 2008 Nasdaq combined with OMX AB, which turned a US exchange operator into a global exchange company that also offers the technology other marketplaces run on 4.

The next shift was toward software 4. Nasdaq acquired Verafin in 2021, then Adenza, whose AxiomSL and Calypso products handle risk management and regulatory reporting, on 1 November 2023 4.

The total purchase consideration for Adenza was $9,984 million, made up of $5.75 billion in cash and 85.6 million Nasdaq shares issued to Thoma Bravo, Adenza's sole shareholder 4.

Total revenues rose from $6,064 million in 2023 to $7,400 million in 2024, up 22.0 percent 4. Financial Technology revenue grew 47.5 percent to $1,621 million in 2024, and Nasdaq says the Adenza purchase mainly affects the comparison of those years 4.

In 2025 total revenues were $8,262 million, up 11.6 percent, and revenue less transaction-based expenses was $5,249 million, up 12.9 percent 4. Operating income rose 29.7 percent to $2,331 million, and net income attributable to Nasdaq was $1,788 million 4.

Market Services was the largest segment, with $4,214 million of revenue in 2025, up 11.7 percent 4. Nasdaq says it delivered record revenue on strength in US cash equities and US equity options volumes 4. Transaction rebates of $2,572 million were paid out against it 4.

Capital Access Platforms revenue was $2,137 million, up 9.9 percent, led by Index at $827 million, up 17.1 percent on higher average assets in exchange-traded products that track Nasdaq indices 4. Financial Technology reached $1,850 million, up 14.1 percent 4.

In October 2025 Nasdaq sold Solovis, a portfolio monitoring and analytics platform 4.

Capital Access Platforms

This segment offers market data, company listings, indexes and workflow tools to companies and investors 4. Data & Listing Services earned $804 million in 2025, and its flagship product, Nasdaq TotalView, supplies market depth quotes 4.

At the end of 2025, 4,480 companies were listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market, and the year's new listings included 155 operating company IPOs and 126 SPAC IPOs 4.

Index licenses the Nasdaq name to funds 4. At the end of 2025, 451 exchange-traded products tracked a Nasdaq index with $882 billion in assets, and funds on Nasdaq-100 core indices were 73 percent of that 4.

Assets in products tracking Nasdaq indices ended the latest quarter at a record $1.160 trillion, and Nasdaq launched 32 new Index products in the quarter 1.

Workflow & Insights offers analytics such as eVestment, which helps investors and consultants research and monitor funds, plus investor relations, board meeting and sustainability tools 4. eVestment now covers more than 95,000 private funds, up 19 percent from the end of 2025, the company said 1.

Financial Technology

This segment offers software to banks, exchanges and regulators 4. It powers more than 135 marketplaces and serves approximately 3,800 clients, including all Global Systemically Important Banks 4.

It has three parts 4. Financial Crime Management Technology, led by Nasdaq Verafin, earned $331 million in 2025, Regulatory Technology (AxiomSL and surveillance) earned $428 million, and Capital Markets Technology (Calypso and market technology) earned $1,091 million 4.

Verafin helps more than 2,750 North American financial institutions detect fraud and money laundering 4. Annualized recurring revenue, the yearly value of subscription contracts, in this segment grew 18 percent in the latest quarter, with 54 new clients signed 1.

Nasdaq says it partnered with HSBC on derivatives clearing in Calypso and won surveillance business with Kalshi and Kraken 1.

Market Services

This segment runs 19 exchanges across several asset classes in North America and Europe 4. In the US it operates six options exchanges and three cash equity exchanges, including The Nasdaq Stock Market, plus Nordic, Baltic and Canadian markets and Nasdaq Clearing 4.

Market Services net revenue was $309 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 2 percent 1.

People and rivals

Adena Friedman is chair and chief executive, and Sarah Youngwood is executive vice president and chief financial officer 1. Headcount was 9,525 at the end of 2025 4.

Nasdaq names NYSE as its primary competitor for larger company listings in the US, and LSE, Euronext and Deutsche Börse as rivals for listings in Europe 4.

Current problems

In November 2025 the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into whether Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse breached EU competition rules in financial derivatives 3. Nasdaq says it is uncertain about the duration or outcome 3.

The umbrella, in words

Nasdaq owns the exchange brands above and the software brands Nasdaq Verafin, AxiomSL, Calypso, eVestment and Nasdaq Data Link 4. Its investor relations tool is Nasdaq IR Insight, and its board meeting tool is Nasdaq Boardvantage 4.

In September 2026 Nasdaq completed the acquisition of Dasseti, an AI-powered due diligence platform in which it already had a minority investment 3. LeveL Markets, also a former minority interest, became wholly owned in October 2026 3.

In September 2026 Nasdaq sold Nasdaq Fund Secondaries to NPM for additional equity interests in NPM, and it keeps a minority interest in NPM 3.

Nasdaq leases its facilities and owns no real property, with its US headquarters in New York and its European headquarters in Stockholm 4.

Thoma Bravo, which received 85.6 million Nasdaq shares in the Adenza deal, no longer owns any Nasdaq shares as of 31 December 2025 4.

Nasdaq says The Nasdaq Stock Market remains on track to go live with 23/5 trading on 6 December 2026 1. Simpson Thacher reported that the SEC approved the plan on 10 April 2026, with weekday trading split into a day session and a night session 7.

Ledger Insights reported on 19 March 2026 that the SEC approved a Nasdaq rule change allowing tokenized securities trading, covering Russell 1000 stocks and index ETFs 8. It added that the trade still clears and settles conventionally on a T+1 basis 8.

The company updated its 2026 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $2.550 billion to $2.580 billion and kept its non-GAAP tax rate guidance at 22.5 percent to 24.5 percent 1.

As of 30 September 2026, $2.2 billion remained under the board's share repurchase authorization 1. The board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, payable on 18 December 2026 to shareholders of record on 4 December 2026 5.

Nasdaq entered a $1.5 billion five-year senior unsecured revolving credit facility on 30 June 2026, with an option to raise commitments by up to $1.0 billion 6.

Nasdaq expects the wind-down of its sustainability advisory business to continue through 2027 3.