Intercontinental Exchange vs Nasdaq (ICE vs NDAQ)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Intercontinental Exchange is the larger company by revenue ($12.6B vs $8.3B) and market value ($76.5B vs $50.5B). Nasdaq has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+40.4% cumulative vs +37.9%). Intercontinental Exchange runs the higher operating margin (39.0% vs 28.2%). Intercontinental Exchange trades at the lower trailing P/E (19.7x vs 26.9x).
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. operates regulated futures and options exchanges, clearinghouses, equities venues, and financial market utilities. The company provides technology-driven trading, clearing, data services, and mortgage technology platforms to customers in the financial markets. It emphasizes cybersecurity risk management to protect its infrastructure, data, and operations from cyber threats.
About Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. operates as a technology platform that supports global financial markets by providing infrastructure, data, and analytics. It offers products and services through three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. Nasdaq serves a diverse client base including corporate issuers, investors, asset managers, and market operators worldwide.
Head to head (ICE FY2025 vs NDAQ FY2025)
| Metric | ICEFY2025 | NDAQFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.64B | $8.26B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 7.5% | 11.6% |
| Gross margin | — | 63.5% |
| Operating margin | 39.0% | 28.2% |
| Net margin | 26.2% | 21.6% |
| Net income | $3.31B | $1.79B |
| Diluted EPS | $5.77 | $3.09 |
| FCF margin | 33.9% | 24.1% |
| ROE | 11.4% | 14.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.6× | 0.7× |
| Market cap | $76.49B | $50.45B |
| P/E (TTM) | 19.7× | 26.9× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (ICE FY2025, NDAQ FY2025). P/E and market cap are derived from recent market prices and update daily.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE | $9.17B | $9.64B | $9.90B | $11.76B | $12.64B |
| NDAQ | $5.89B | $6.23B | $6.06B | $7.40B | $8.26B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 424 Financials companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | ICE | NDAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 39.0%87th percentile of 147 | 28.2%73rd percentile of 147 |
| Net margin | 26.2%72nd percentile of 378 | 21.6%63rd percentile of 378 |
| FCF margin | 33.9%76th percentile of 273 | 24.1%61st percentile of 273 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +7.5%41st percentile of 420 | +11.6%55th percentile of 420 |
| ROE | 11.4%61st percentile of 375 | 14.6%75th percentile of 375 |
| P/E (TTM) | 19.7×73rd percentile of 316 | 26.9×83rd percentile of 316 |
| Debt / equity | 0.64×68th percentile of 193 | 0.70×71st percentile of 193 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 1.83d23rd percentile of 418 | 1.48d16th percentile of 418 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | ICE | NDAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 10.6M | 9.3M |
| Change vs prior settlement | +1.8% | +6.9% |
| Days to cover | 1.83 | 1.48 |
| As of settlement | 2026-06-30 | 2026-06-30 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 open-market activity | ICE | NDAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 1 ($4.9M) |
| Sells | 8 ($2.0M) | 7 ($3.2M) |
Open-market purchases and sales reported on SEC Form 4 (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 16% of covered companies saw any open-market insider buy in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
7 tracked 13F managers hold both Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Harris Associates (Oakmark), Millennium Management, Point72 Asset Management. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR (public domain). Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.