Nasdaq vs S&P Global
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Nasdaq and S&P Global side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- S&P Global is the larger business, with $15.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $8.3B for Nasdaq, about 1.9 times as much.
- Nasdaq grew revenue faster (11.7%, against 7.9%).
- S&P Global kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (42.2% operating margin, against 28.2%).
- S&P Global turned more of its sales into free cash flow (35.6% FCF margin, against 24.1%).
- S&P Global earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.7%, against 9.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nasdaq’s earnings: a P/E of 28.6x against 28.5x for S&P Global.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Nasdaq
NDAQ
3/11
Revenue growthReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
S&P Global
SPGI
8/11
5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | NDAQ FY25 | SPGI FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $59.0B | $134.1B |
| Revenue | $8.3B | $15.3B |
| Free cash flow | $2.0B | $5.5B |
| Net income | $1.8B | $4.5B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 11.7% | 7.9% |
| 5-year growth | 8.0% | 15.6% |
| Share count change | −0.1% | −2.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 63.5% | 70.3% |
| Operating margin | 28.2% | 42.2% |
| Net margin | 21.6% | 29.2% |
| FCF margin | 24.1% | 35.6% |
| Return on capital | 9.5% | 11.7% |
| Return on equity | 15.3% | 13.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $8.4B | $11.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.4x | 1.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $6.2B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 28.6x | 28.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 7 |
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.