Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Earnings

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Dec 2026upcoming

Next quarter

Expected to report Jan 28, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.

Consensus is $1.08 EPS for Dec 2026 across 9 estimates, ranging $1.01 to $1.10.

NDAQ Sep 2026

Reported Oct 22, 2026 · before the open

: 1.96%

: $1.02
: $1.04
: —
: $2.39B

Reported results

: $2.39B; from $1.98B
: 61.89%; from 66.45%
: $732.00M; from $586.00M
: 30.59%; from 29.61%
: $540.00M; from $423.00M
: $0.96; from $0.73

Highlights

Adjusted earnings beat: Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.04, up 18% year over year and 2 cents above the $1.02 consensus; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.96, up 31% from $0.73.
Solutions led growth: Net revenue, defined as revenue less transaction-based expenses, was $1.481 billion, up 13% reported and 14% organically; Solutions revenue grew 17% reported and 18% organically to $1.172 billion.
Recurring revenue expanded: ARR reached $3.365 billion, up 12% reported and 14% organically. Annualized SaaS revenue grew 12% reported and 16% organically, reaching 38% of ARR.
Index set records: Index revenue rose 39% to $286 million; trailing-12-month net inflows hit $141 billion, including $49 billion in Q3, and period-end ETP AUM reached a record $1.160 trillion.
FinTech momentum persisted: Financial Technology revenue grew 16% to $529 million and ARR grew a record 18%; cloud solutions represented 85% of bookings.
Margins and expenses: Non-GAAP operating income increased 15% to $843 million, with a 57% margin, up 1 percentage point. Non-GAAP operating expenses rose 9% to $638 million.
Market Services reached a Q3 record: Net revenue grew 2% to $309 million, supported by higher U.S. cash-equity share and capture, partly offset by lower U.S. options revenue.
Capital returns and outlook: Nasdaq returned $496 million through dividends and buybacks in Q3, and raised its 2026 non-GAAP expense guidance midpoint, setting a new range of $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion.

Analysis

Nasdaq delivered a growth-led quarter, with adjusted diluted EPS of $1.04 beating the $1.02 consensus by 1.96% and rising 18% year over year; GAAP EPS was $0.96 versus $0.73 a year earlier. The quarter-to-quarter comparison is mixed: the supplied reported-quarter series shows total revenue of $2.393 billion, down from $2.53 billion in Q2, while operating income rose to $732 million from $712 million, net income to $540 million from $507 million, and GAAP diluted EPS to $0.96 from $0.89. Total revenue includes transaction-based activity; the company’s net-revenue measure was $1.481 billion, up 13% year over year and 14% organically.

The defining strength was Solutions, where organic revenue grew 18% and ARR grew 14%, led by record Index inflows and broad FinTech demand. Index revenue climbed 39%, while Financial Technology posted 16% revenue growth and record 18% ARR growth. Market Services net revenue reached a third-quarter record but grew only 2%. Nasdaq maintained operating leverage: non-GAAP operating income rose 15% against 12% expense growth, lifting margin by 1 point to 57%. Management raised the 2026 non-GAAP expense range to $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion, citing strong performance and recent acquisitions.

Solutions and recurring revenue

Solutions growth: Revenue was $1.172 billion, up 17% reported and 18% organically. Capital Access Platforms grew 20% organically to $641 million; Financial Technology grew 16% to $529 million.
ARR base: ARR reached $3.365 billion, up 12% reported and 14% organically. Financial Technology ARR rose 18%, while Capital Access Platforms ARR increased 8%.
SaaS mix: Annualized SaaS revenue rose 12% reported and 16% organically, and accounted for 38% of ARR. Management cited continuing cloud migrations as a source of client value; cloud bookings were 85% of FinTech bookings, and cloud migrations can lift contract value by about 1.5 times.

Index inflows and listings

Index records: Revenue grew 39% to $286 million. Average ETP AUM was a record $1.108 trillion and period-end AUM was $1.160 trillion, compared with $829 billion a year earlier.
Investor demand: Trailing-12-month net inflows were a record $141 billion, including $49 billion in Q3. Nasdaq launched 32 products in the quarter, half outside the U.S.; 35% of trailing-12-month inflows came from products launched in the prior five years.
Listings activity: Nasdaq welcomed 15 U.S. operating-company IPOs raising $32 billion, won 8 of the 10 largest operating-company IPOs, and recorded a 79% quarterly win rate. Management said some companies had recently reassessed IPO timing, though it characterized the pipeline as robust.

Financial Technology

Broad client demand: Financial Technology revenue increased 16% to $529 million, with double-digit growth in all three subdivisions for the third consecutive quarter. The business signed 54 new clients, 135 upsells and five cross-sells.
Financial crime momentum: Verafin revenue grew 23% and ARR grew 19%, with net revenue retention of 111%. Nasdaq signed 45 new SMB clients and three enterprise deals in Q3; 12 enterprise deals had been signed year to date, versus nine in all of 2025.
AI and cloud adoption: More than 850 clients were using Verafin’s agentic AI workforce, and 70 clients had signed paid contracts for those capabilities. Cloud-based solutions accounted for 85% of quarterly bookings.
Other businesses: Regulatory Technology revenue grew 13% and ARR 15%; Capital Markets Technology revenue grew 14% and ARR 19%. Management cited trade-management pricing, data-center demand and testing activity, while noting some testing uplift is episodic and Q4 faces a tougher Calypso comparison.

Market Services and modernization

Trading performance: Market Services net revenue increased 2% to a third-quarter record $309 million. U.S. cash-equity net revenue rose 14% to $144 million, while U.S. equity-derivatives net revenue fell 12% to $110 million as lower capture offset higher industry options volumes.
Digital Liquidity Networks: Nasdaq formed the organization within Market Services and completed its LeveL Markets acquisition on October 15, after quarter-end. LeveL was described as the third-largest U.S. ATS by trading volume, with more than 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients; management expects $7 million-$8 million of Q4 revenue contribution.
Always-on markets: Nasdaq remained on track to launch 23/5 trading on December 6, 2026. The company also said it is targeting launch of its Nasdaq equity token in the first half of 2027.

Margins and capital allocation

Operating leverage: GAAP operating income was $732 million, up 25% year over year, while non-GAAP operating income rose 15% to $843 million. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 1 percentage point to 57%; non-GAAP expenses increased 9% to $638 million, primarily reflecting compensation and technology investment.
Guidance: Nasdaq raised its 2026 non-GAAP operating-expense range from $2.530 billion-$2.570 billion to $2.550 billion-$2.580 billion. The non-GAAP tax-rate range was unchanged at 22.5%-24.5%.
Cash returns: Nasdaq generated $616 million of free cash flow in Q3 and returned $173 million in dividends and $323 million through repurchases. It had repurchased $1.2 billion year to date and announced a further variable-notional accelerated repurchase of up to $385 million for completion in Q4.

Nasdaq, Inc.

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