Nasdaq Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Dividend Raised

Nasdaq NDAQ posted non-GAAP earnings of 96 cents per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, up 22% from 79 cents a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.23%.

Net revenues came in at $1.407 billion, up 13.7% year over year. Revenues topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.367 billion by 2.9%. The quarter was powered by double-digit growth across the company’s three divisions, alongside continued expansion in recurring revenues.

The Nasdaq stock market welcomed 176 new company listings in the first quarter of 2026, including 63 initial public offerings. The number of listed companies was 4,570 at the end of the quarter.

NDAQ Solutions Strength Led the Growth Mix

Solutions revenues reached $1.082 billion, up 14% on both a reported and organic basis, showing that demand remained solid across Nasdaq’s higher-value, recurring businesses. Solutions also continued to represent a large share of the company’s revenue profile, reflecting the strategy of leaning into technology, data and analytics offerings.

Within Capital Access Platforms, revenues rose to $565 million, supported by gains across Data and Listing Services, Index and Workflow and Insights. The division benefited from higher data sales and net usage, a healthy listings environment, and strength in analytics tools, including eVestment and Data Link, even as the company noted that prior-year delistings partially offset growth in Data and Listing Services.

Nasdaq FinTech Momentum

Financial Technology delivered $517 million of revenues, climbing 20% year over year and 18% on an organic basis. Management pointed to sustained demand for mission-critical platforms and strong sales execution, with ACV bookings increasing more than 50% from the prior-year period and cloud-based solutions representing 80% of ACV bookings.

Operationally, the division signed 64 new clients, one cross-sell and 85 upsells during the quarter. Financial Crime Management Technology remained a standout performer, as Nasdaq Verafin added 58 new small-and medium-sized bank clients and also completed enterprise renewals and an expansion. Management also highlighted the growing adoption of Verafin’s Agentic AI Workforce, with more than 500 clients using the first agents in production, underscoring the company’s push to pair compliance workflows with AI-driven automation.

NDAQ Market Services Benefit From Volume and Innovation

Market Services net revenues were $317 million, rising 13% year over year and 10% on an organic basis. The quarter featured record U.S. cash equities and U.S. equity options volumes, and Nasdaq said index options revenues more than doubled year over year, helped by both market activity and product traction.

The company also emphasized leadership positions across key markets. In the U.S. multi-listed options market, Nasdaq reported a 30.1% executed matched share, while traded-listed U.S. cash equities saw Nasdaq serve as a large single venue of liquidity. In Europe, Nasdaq maintained the top share in Nordic cash equities markets, supported by elevated volumes. Management tied the performance to a combination of volume, market share and continued product innovation, including enhancements around short-dated options and other derivatives offerings.

Nasdaq Profitability Improved Alongside Capital Returns

Non-GAAP operating income increased to $799 million, translating to a 57% non-GAAP operating margin, up from 55% in the year-ago period. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $608 million, reflecting higher compensation and ongoing investments in people and technology, partly offset by lower regulatory and merger-related costs.

Cash generation remained a key feature of the quarter. Cash flow from operations totaled $689 million, supporting a meaningful pace of shareholder returns. Nasdaq paid $153 million in dividends and repurchased $548 million of common stock during the quarter, highlighting management’s continued emphasis on balancing reinvestment, deleveraging and capital returns.

The board of directors raised the quarterly dividend by 14.8% to 31 cents. The dividend will be paid out on June 26, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 12, 2026.

Financial Update

Nasdaq had cash and cash equivalents of $564 million as of March 31, 2026, which decreased from $814 million at the end of 2025. Long-term debt was $8.5 billion, as of March 31, 2026, flat from the end of 2025.

NDAQ Updates 2026 Expense Guidance After Q1 Execution

For full-year fiscal 2026, Nasdaq updated its non-GAAP operating expense outlook to a range of $2.485 billion to $2.545 billion. The company maintained its non-GAAP tax rate guidance at 22.5% to 24.5%, signaling steady expectations for the remainder of the year despite continued investment to support product development and growth initiatives.

On the strategic front, Nasdaq continued advancing market modernization efforts. Management highlighted progress on its Always-On market initiative, including regulatory approvals tied to tokenized settlement capabilities and expanded trading access, which remain central to the firm’s longer-term push to upgrade market infrastructure and broaden participation.

Zacks Rank

NDAQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Peer Release

CME Group CME delivered first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $3.36, up 20% from the year-ago quarter’s $2.80. The bottom line was just shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.37, a miss of 0.3%.

Revenues rose 14% year over year to $1.9 billion but missed the consensus mark of $1.914 billion by 1.8%. The quarter’s standout driver was heavier client activity, with average daily volume reaching 36.2 million contracts, up 22% from the first quarter of 2025.

Upcoming Releases

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE is set to release first-quarter 2026 earnings on May 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings per share is pegged at $3.19, indicating an increase of 27.6% from the year-ago reported figure.

CBOE delivered an earnings surprise in each of the last four reported quarters.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE is set to release first-quarter 2026 earnings on April 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.19 per share, indicating an increase of 27.3% from the year-ago reported figure.

ICE delivered an earnings surprise in each of the last four reported quarters.

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