CME vs ICE vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Cme, Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CME Cme Group Inc.
$305.71 +12.9% 1M +13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$109.96B
P/E
24.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.97B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
6 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$102.56 +7.5% 1M +15.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.04B
P/E
27.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cme leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Cme 6, Nasdaq 3, Intercontinental Exchange 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMEICENDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $109.96B $90.48B $58.04B CME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.9x 22.4x 27.9x ICE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.2x 18.7x 25.6x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +6.9% +11.5% NDAQ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 63.3% 30.1% 22.8% CME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.7% 8.5% 10.5% CME
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.2x 2.6x 2.4x CME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.7% +3.3% +15.5% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.0%/yr +4.3%/yr +8.8%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.0% 25.6% 28.4% CME
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 57/100 56/100 CME

Percentile Scorecard

CMEICENDAQ

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCMEICENDAQ
Valuation 42 #57 of 97 64 #36 of 97 43 #56 of 97
Growth 29 #49 of 69 53 #33 of 69 46 #38 of 69
Profitability 93 #6 of 70 84 #12 of 70 80 #15 of 70
Financial Health 54 #47 of 101 37 #64 of 101 48 #53 of 101
Shareholder Returns 90 #5 of 40 49 #21 of 40 62 #16 of 40
Overall 62 57 56
  • CME ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • ICE ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • NDAQ ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCMEICENDAQSPY
1 month +12.9%+4.0%+7.5% -1.0%
3 months +19.7%+11.6%+11.4% +2.9%
6 months +7.2%+2.7%+14.1% +6.4%
Year to date +11.9%+0.4%+5.6% +11.4%
1 year +13.7%+3.3%+15.5% +13.1%
3 years +42.7%+52.1%+107.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.6%+15.0%+27.5% +21.5%
5 years +40.3%+23.6%+52.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +7.0%+4.3%+8.8% +10.9%
10 years +193.7%+205.4%+364.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.4%+11.8%+16.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCMEICENDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.0%25.6%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.8%27.3%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.360.180.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.550.130.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.1%-35.1%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.4%-7.1%-0.7% -2.5%
52-week high $326.46$175.10$103.30 $779.14
52-week low $218.58$122.91$76.85 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCMEICENDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 24.8xmedian 29.4x 22.7xmedian 29.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 2.8x 6.8xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 12.8x 15.6xmedian 12.8x 19.3xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 15.9x 18.0xmedian 15.9x 25.4xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.5x 3.1xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.81median 0.51 0.68median 0.51 1.50median 0.51

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCMEICENDAQ
Revenue $6.97B $13.43B $9.15B
Gross profit – – $5.78B
Operating income $4.58B $5.47B $2.73B
Net income $4.42B $4.10B $2.08B
Free cash flow $4.33B $5.08B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $12.31 $7.13 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $2.20B $1.07B $365.00M
Total debt $13.69B $78.89B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 358.64M 566.00M 563.31M
Enterprise value $98.30B $84.21B $55.48B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCMEICENDAQ
P/E 24.8x 22.7x 27.5x
P/FCF 25.2x 18.0x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x 16.6x 22.5x
P/S 15.7x 6.8x 6.3x
P/B 4.1x 3.1x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 6.2x 9.7x
EV/EBITDA 22.7x 15.6x 19.3x
EV/EBIT 24.1x 20.0x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 15.8x 8.1x 7.2x
EV/FCF 25.5x 21.5x 29.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.9x 19.8x 25.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.81 0.68 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMEICENDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 6.9% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 11.9% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.1% 16.4% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 13.9% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 34.1% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 33.1% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.4% 36.6% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 33.3% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.4% 13.1% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 14.9% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.1% 13.9% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 14.1% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMEICENDAQ
Gross margin – – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 69.8% 52.3% 37.0%
Operating margin 65.7% 40.7% 29.8%
Pretax margin 82.8% 39.7% 28.5%
Net margin 63.3% 30.1% 22.8%
FCF margin 62.1% 37.8% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 63.5% 41.1% 27.8%
Return on equity 16.6% 13.9% 17.4%
Return on assets 2.3% 2.3% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 11.7% 8.5% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 12.3% 9.7% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.1x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 2.0% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMEICENDAQ
Debt / assets 1.8% 11.4% 31.9%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.2x 2.6x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 0.8x 3.9x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 86.2% 83.0% 56.2%
Equity / assets 13.8% 17.0% 43.8%
Interest coverage 26.2x 6.8x 7.9x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.57 0.75 3.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMEICENDAQ
Dividend yield 3.3% 1.3% 1.1%
Net buyback yield – 2.2% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 3.4% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 27.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 22.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.3% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCMEICENDAQ
Forward P/E 26.2xFY2026 18.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.67FY2026 $8.68FY2026 $4.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.2%FY2026 +24.9%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.0% -3.0% +10.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.23BFY2026 $10.53BFY2026 $6.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.9%FY2026 +6.0%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.3% +16.1% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMEICENDAQ
Held by institutions 88.9% 92.5% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,691 1,651 1,082
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +1.4% +1.0%
Institutions buying 822 734 538
Institutions selling 655 694 397
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.06 1.36

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CMEICENDAQ
CME 1.00 0.51 0.36
ICE 0.51 1.00 0.65
NDAQ 0.36 0.65 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CME, ICE and NDAQ?

Cme (CME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cme (CME) $109.96B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $90.48B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, CME, ICE and NDAQ?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cme (CME) 24.9x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 22.4x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 27.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Cme (CME) 26.2x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cme (CME) +9.0%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cme (CME) has the highest net margin (Cme (CME) 63.3%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Cme (CME) leads (Cme (CME) 11.7%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Cme (CME) +13.7%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Cme (CME) +7.0%/yr, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +4.3%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cme (CME) 0.00%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%. Cme (CME) and Nasdaq (NDAQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cme (CME) has been the steadiest (Cme (CME) 25.0%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CME, ICE and NDAQ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cme (CME) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.