ICE vs MKTX vs MORN Stock Comparison

Intercontinental Exchange, Marketaxess Holdings and Morningstar Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MKTX Marketaxess Holdings Inc
$164.82 +0.5% 1M +0.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.80B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$871.61M
Div. yield
1.88%
Exchanges Financial Services
2 wins
MORN Morningstar, Inc.
$214.86 +12.2% 1M -1.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.97B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.62B
Div. yield
0.93%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Morningstar leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Morningstar 6, Intercontinental Exchange 4, Marketaxess Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICEMKTXMORNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.55B $5.80B $7.97B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 19.9x 18.0x MORN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.0x 20.2x 17.0x MORN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +3.9% +9.4% MORN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% — 17.0% ICE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.5% — 17.8% MORN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x — 1.4x MORN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.31% 1.88% 0.93% MKTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.8% +0.9% -1.5% MKTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.4%/yr -16.6%/yr -7.5%/yr ICE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.8% 36.4% 41.6% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 48/100 67/100 MORN

Percentile Scorecard

ICEMKTXMORN

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

AxisICEMKTXMORN
Valuation 62 #37 of 96 31 #67 of 96 45 #517 of 941
Growth 45 #36 of 65 17 #54 of 65 83 #110 of 636
Profitability 86 #10 of 65 89 #8 of 65 84 #101 of 612
Financial Health 35 #60 of 92 – 48 #360 of 693
Shareholder Returns 49 #20 of 38 54 #18 of 38 76 #169 of 706
Overall 55 48 67
  • ICE ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • MKTX ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • MORN ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICEMKTXMORNSPY
1 month +2.0%+0.5%+12.2% +0.9%
3 months +1.1%+31.1%+8.2% +5.9%
6 months -0.1%+2.5%+14.5% +8.5%
Year to date -3.6%-9.1%-1.1% +13.3%
1 year -0.8%+0.9%-1.5% +12.4%
3 years +49.0%-20.0%-11.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +14.2%-7.2%-3.8% +23.5%
5 years +12.7%-59.7%-32.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.4%-16.6%-7.5% +11.0%
10 years +191.3%+9.8%+207.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +11.3%+0.9%+11.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureICEMKTXMORNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.8%36.4%41.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%27.8%43.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.160.160.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.030.02-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-73.7%-60.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.9%-14.9%-4.6% -0.9%
52-week high $175.10$193.61$225.29 $779.14
52-week low $122.91$109.09$141.84 $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.

MultipleICEMKTXMORN
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 30.1x 19.9xmedian 30.1x 18.0xmedian 12.9x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 3.0x 6.7xmedian 3.0x 3.0xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 14.1x —median 14.1x 10.8xmedian 7.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 15.8x 29.7xmedian 15.8x 16.2xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 2.4x 4.5xmedian 2.4x 7.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.65median 0.54 2.50median 0.54 0.20median 0.87

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 monthsICEMKTXMORN
Revenue $13.43B $871.61M $2.62B
Gross profit – – $1.65B
Operating income $5.47B $341.21M $643.50M
Net income $4.10B – $445.50M
Free cash flow $5.08B – $492.80M
EPS (diluted) $7.13 $8.29 $11.79
Cash & equivalents $1.07B $381.05M $496.70M
Total debt $19.85B – $1.68B
Shares (diluted) 566.00M 35.24M 37.80M
Enterprise value $81.36B $5.82B $5.86B

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
MetricICEMKTXMORN
P/E 21.8x 19.9x 18.0x
P/FCF 17.2x 29.7x 16.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.9x – 12.4x
P/S 6.5x 6.7x 3.0x
P/B 3.0x 4.5x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 5.9x 4.9x 16.8x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x – 10.8x
EV/EBIT 19.3x – 14.2x
EV/Revenue 7.9x 6.7x 3.5x
EV/FCF 20.8x – 18.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x – 14.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.65 2.50 0.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICEMKTXMORN
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 3.9% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 5.9% 9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 13.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 13.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.4% -1.3% 20.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 2.6% 55.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.1% – 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% – 84.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.6% 40.2% 32.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 8.0% 92.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.1% – 19.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% – 31.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% – 25.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% – 46.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICEMKTXMORN
Gross margin – – 63.1%
EBITDA margin 52.3% – 32.4%
Operating margin 40.7% – 24.5%
Pretax margin 39.7% – 22.6%
Net margin 30.1% – 17.0%
FCF margin 37.8% – 18.8%
Operating cash flow margin 41.1% – 24.5%
Return on equity 13.9% 23.3% 43.5%
Return on assets 2.3% 12.5% 11.3%
Return on invested capital 8.5% – 17.8%
Return on capital employed 9.7% – 21.9%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% – 2.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICEMKTXMORN
Debt / assets 11.4% – 42.5%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x – 1.4x
Debt / FCF 3.9x – 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 43.3% 74.0%
Equity / assets 17.0% 56.0% 26.0%
Interest coverage 6.8x – –
Current ratio 1.0x – 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.0x – 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 0.5x
Altman Z-score 0.73 – 3.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICEMKTXMORN
Dividend yield 1.3% 1.9% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 2.3% – 11.2%
Shareholder yield 3.6% 1.9% 12.2%
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.

ConsensusICEMKTXMORN
Forward P/E 18.0xFY2026 20.2xFY2026 17.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.69FY2026 $8.17FY2026 $12.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +25.0%FY2026 +10.6%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.2% +10.0% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.54BFY2026 $944.60MFY2026 $2.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.0% -2.0% +19.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICEMKTXMORN
Held by institutions 92.5% 100.0% 64.1%
Institutions holding 1,653 394 419
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +2.3% +2.1%
Institutions buying 735 189 199
Institutions selling 694 164 169
Buyers to sellers 1.06 1.15 1.18

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.

ICEMKTXMORN
ICE 1.00 0.34 0.49
MKTX 0.34 1.00 0.17
MORN 0.49 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICE, MKTX and MORN?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $87.55B, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) $5.80B, Morningstar (MORN) $7.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICE, MKTX and MORN?

Morningstar (MORN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 21.8x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 19.9x, Morningstar (MORN) 18.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Morningstar (MORN) is cheapest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.0x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 20.2x, Morningstar (MORN) 17.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Morningstar (MORN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) +3.9%, Morningstar (MORN) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has the highest net margin (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Morningstar (MORN) 17.0%). On return on invested capital, Morningstar (MORN) leads (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Morningstar (MORN) 17.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) returned the most: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) -0.8%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) +0.9%, Morningstar (MORN) -1.5%. Over five years, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) compounded fastest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +2.4%/yr, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -16.6%/yr, Morningstar (MORN) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest dividend yield: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 1.31%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 1.88%, Morningstar (MORN) 0.93%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has been the steadiest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.8%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 36.4%, Morningstar (MORN) 41.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ICE, MKTX and MORN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Morningstar (MORN) 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.