Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Nasdaq’s conference call:

• Strong third-quarter performance: Net revenue rose 14% to $1.5 billion, solutions revenue increased 18%, ARR grew 14% to $3.4 billion, and diluted EPS climbed 19% to $1.04. Operating and EBITDA margins each expanded by one percentage point.
• Financial technology and AI momentum remained robust: FinTech revenue increased 16% and ARR grew a record 18%, with 85% of bookings tied to cloud solutions. Nasdaq also reported growing adoption and monetization of agentic AI tools, including more than 850 Verafin clients using its AI workforce and 70 paying clients.
• Listings and market modernization initiatives advanced, including 15 new operating-company listings, the planned December launch of 23/5 Nasdaq trading, the Level ATS acquisition, and plans to launch a Nasdaq equity token in the first half of 2027. Management noted, however, that the IPO environment softened modestly in recent weeks.
• Shareholder returns increased: Nasdaq returned nearly $500 million through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter, repurchased $1.2 billion of stock through the first three quarters, and launched an additional $315 million-$385 million accelerated share repurchase plan. The company maintained gross leverage at 2.5x.
• Expense guidance was raised to $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion for 2026, reflecting acquisition costs and stronger business activity, while Market Services’ operating margin declined five percentage points year over year due partly to weaker revenue performance and a prior-year benefit.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $5.59 on Thursday, hitting $101.71. 856,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,753,371. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $76.55 and a 12-month high of $102.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total value of $105,896.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,195,183.18. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,172 shares of company stock worth $4,245,088. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.