10-KPeriod: FY2025

NASDAQ, INC. Annual Report, Year Ended Dec 31, 2025

Filed February 12, 2026For Securities:NDAQ

Summary

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) reported a strong financial year for 2025, demonstrating robust growth across its key segments. The company highlighted a significant increase in revenues, driven by a strong performance in its Market Services and Financial Technology divisions, with the latter seeing 14% growth in ARR and revenue due to increased client acquisition and product offerings. The Capital Access Platforms also showed resilience, with notable growth in its Index business achieving record inflows and a substantial increase in assets under management. Nasdaq's strategic focus on technology, including AI and cloud integration, continues to shape its operations and product development. The company made significant strides in expanding its data and analytics capabilities, enhancing its financial crime management solutions, and modernizing its market infrastructure. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, Nasdaq managed its expenses effectively, resulting in a substantial increase in operating income and net income. The company also continued its commitment to shareholder returns through share repurchases and dividends, underscoring a positive financial trajectory.

Financial Statements
Beta
Revenue$8.26B
Cost of Revenue$3.01B
Gross Profit$5.25B
Operating Expenses$2.92B
Operating Income$2.33B
Net Income$1.79B
EPS (Basic)$3.12
EPS (Diluted)$3.09
Shares Outstanding (Basic)573.26M
Shares Outstanding (Diluted)578.60M

Key Highlights

  • 1Nasdaq achieved its seventh consecutive year as the top U.S. exchange by proceeds raised, with U.S. operating company IPOs raising over $24 billion in 2025.
  • 2The Index segment experienced record net inflows of $99 billion in 2025, leading to an all-time high of $882 billion in ETP Assets Under Management (AUM).
  • 3The Financial Technology segment delivered 14% growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and revenue, attributed to new clients and expanded offerings.
  • 4Market Services reported record revenue, buoyed by strong volumes in U.S. cash equities and options trading.
  • 5The company saw significant listing transfers, with $1.2 trillion in annual switches, including the largest exchange transfer on record.
  • 6Nasdaq continued its investment in technology, particularly cloud infrastructure and AI, to enhance its product offerings and operational efficiency.
  • 7Net income attributable to Nasdaq increased by a substantial 60.1% to $1,788 million, with diluted earnings per share rising to $3.09.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nasdaq's revenue growth in 2025 was primarily driven by the strong performance of its Market Services segment, benefiting from increased U.S. cash equities and options trading volumes. The Financial Technology segment also contributed significantly with 14% growth in ARR and revenue, supported by new client acquisitions and cross-selling initiatives. Additionally, the Index business within Capital Access Platforms saw record net inflows and growth in ETP AUM, further boosting overall revenue.

Nasdaq is significantly investing in AI and cloud technologies to enhance its existing offerings and develop new solutions. This includes leveraging AI for financial crime management (Verafin), risk data management (AxiomSL), and market surveillance. The company is also migrating its exchanges and workloads to cloud infrastructure, particularly in partnership with AWS, to improve performance, flexibility, and offer enhanced capabilities like AI-driven insights to clients. The development and deployment of generative AI and agentic AI are priorities for product innovation and operational efficiency.

Nasdaq has a history of growth through strategic acquisitions, such as Verafin and Adenza. Its strategy involves the seamless integration of these acquired businesses to capitalize on existing divisional structures and implement a unified go-to-market strategy. The company focuses on combining operations, leveraging technology platforms, and realizing synergies. While integration presents challenges, Nasdaq aims to efficiently bring acquired entities onto its platform to enhance its overall capabilities and market position.

Nasdaq continues to prudently manage its capital deployment strategy by balancing internal investments, debt repayments, and shareholder returns. In 2025, the company repaid $426 million of debt and repaid $400 million of notes at maturity, contributing to deleveraging efforts. Nasdaq also continued its share repurchase program, with $1.1 billion remaining authorized as of December 31, 2025, and declared and paid cash dividends, increasing them by 11.7% year-over-year. These actions reflect a commitment to enhancing shareholder value.