Intercontinental Exchange vs Nasdaq
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Intercontinental Exchange is the larger business, with $12.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $8.3B for Nasdaq, about 1.5 times as much.
- Nasdaq grew revenue faster (11.7%, against 7.5%).
- Intercontinental Exchange kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (39.0% operating margin, against 28.2%).
- Intercontinental Exchange turned more of its sales into free cash flow (33.9% FCF margin, against 24.1%).
- Nasdaq earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (9.5%, against 7.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nasdaq’s earnings: a P/E of 28.6x against 22.6x for Intercontinental Exchange.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Intercontinental Exchange
ICE
6/10
5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Nasdaq
NDAQ
4/10
Revenue growthReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ICE FY25 | NDAQ FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $90.6B | $59.0B |
| Revenue | $12.6B | $8.3B |
| Free cash flow | $4.3B | $2.0B |
| Net income | $3.3B | $1.8B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 7.5% | 11.7% |
| 5-year growth | 8.9% | 8.0% |
| Share count change | −0.2% | −0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 63.5% |
| Operating margin | 39.0% | 28.2% |
| Net margin | 26.2% | 21.6% |
| FCF margin | 33.9% | 24.1% |
| Return on capital | 7.7% | 9.5% |
| Return on equity | 11.7% | 15.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $19.8B | $8.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.1x | 3.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.4B | $1.2B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 22.6x | 28.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 9 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.