ICE vs MKTX vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Intercontinental Exchange, Marketaxess Holdings and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MKTX Marketaxess Holdings Inc
$164.67 +0.6% 1M -4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.81B
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$870.03M
Div. yield
0.02%
Exchanges Financial Services
5 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$102.56 +7.5% 1M +15.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.54B
P/E
28.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Marketaxess Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Marketaxess Holdings 5, Intercontinental Exchange 4, Nasdaq 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICEMKTXNDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $90.16B $5.81B $58.54B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.3x 19.0x 28.1x MKTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.7x 20.2x 25.6x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +3.9% +11.5% NDAQ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% 35.2% 22.8% MKTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.5% 21.3% 10.5% MKTX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x -0.3x 2.4x MKTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.00% MKTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.3% -4.0% +15.5% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.3%/yr -16.9%/yr +8.8%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 36.5% 28.4% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 56/100 56/100 ICE

Percentile Scorecard

ICEMKTXNDAQ

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

AxisICEMKTXNDAQ
Valuation 64 #36 of 97 53 #46 of 97 43 #56 of 97
Growth 53 #33 of 69 22 #54 of 69 46 #38 of 69
Profitability 84 #12 of 70 87 #10 of 70 80 #15 of 70
Financial Health 37 #64 of 101 84 #17 of 101 48 #53 of 101
Shareholder Returns 49 #21 of 40 36 #26 of 40 62 #16 of 40
Overall 57 56 56
  • ICE ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • MKTX 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

PeriodICEMKTXNDAQSPY
1 month +4.0%+0.6%+7.5% -1.0%
3 months +11.6%+41.1%+11.4% +2.9%
6 months +2.7%+0.9%+14.1% +6.4%
Year to date +0.4%-9.1%+5.6% +11.4%
1 year +3.3%-4.0%+15.5% +13.1%
3 years +52.1%-30.2%+107.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +15.0%-11.3%+27.5% +21.5%
5 years +23.6%-60.4%+52.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.3%-16.9%+8.8% +10.9%
10 years +205.4%+8.2%+364.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.8%+0.8%+16.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureICEMKTXNDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%36.5%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.3%28.0%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.140.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.13-0.110.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-73.7%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-14.9%-0.7% -2.5%
52-week high $175.10$193.61$103.30 $779.14
52-week low $122.91$109.09$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.

MultipleICEMKTXNDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 29.4x 18.9xmedian 29.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.8x 6.7xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 12.8x 13.2xmedian 12.8x 19.3xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 15.9x 29.8xmedian 15.9x 25.4xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.5x 4.7xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.68median 0.51 2.09median 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 monthsICEMKTXNDAQ
Revenue $13.43B $870.03M $9.15B
Gross profit – – $5.78B
Operating income $5.47B $352.39M $2.73B
Net income $4.10B $307.10M $2.08B
Free cash flow $5.08B $194.30M $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $7.13 $8.69 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $1.07B $245.79M $365.00M
Total debt $78.89B $564.16M $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 566.00M 35.24M 563.31M
Enterprise value $83.90B $4.20B $55.98B

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
MetricICEMKTXNDAQ
P/E 22.7x 18.9x 27.5x
P/FCF 18.0x 29.8x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 28.9x 22.5x
P/S 6.8x 6.7x 6.3x
P/B 3.1x 4.7x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 5.1x 9.7x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x 13.2x 19.3x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 16.1x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 8.1x 6.5x 7.2x
EV/FCF 21.5x 29.2x 29.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.8x 28.3x 25.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 2.09 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICEMKTXNDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 3.9% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 5.9% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.4% 1.5% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 2.7% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.1% 37.8% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 6.8% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.6% 45.5% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 9.0% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.1% -50.5% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% -15.5% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% -51.5% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% -15.4% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICEMKTXNDAQ
Gross margin – – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 52.3% 49.4% 37.0%
Operating margin 40.7% 40.5% 29.8%
Pretax margin 39.7% 42.2% 28.5%
Net margin 30.1% 35.2% 22.8%
FCF margin 37.8% 22.3% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 41.1% 23.0% 27.8%
Return on equity 13.9% 25.3% 17.4%
Return on assets 2.3% 13.0% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 8.5% 21.3% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 9.7% – 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.7x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 4.1% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICEMKTXNDAQ
Debt / assets 11.4% 4.8% 31.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x -0.3x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 0.6x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 48.9% 56.2%
Equity / assets 17.0% 51.1% 43.8%
Interest coverage 6.8x 59.9x 7.9x
Current ratio 1.0x – 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.0x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.75 – 3.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICEMKTXNDAQ
Dividend yield 1.3% 1.9% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 6.0% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 3.4% 7.8% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 27.8% 36.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 22.5% 58.4% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.1% 0.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 1.7% –

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.

ConsensusICEMKTXNDAQ
Forward P/E 18.7xFY2026 20.2xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.68FY2026 $8.16FY2026 $4.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.9%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +10.5% +10.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.53BFY2026 $947.30MFY2026 $6.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +12.0%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.1% -1.9% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICEMKTXNDAQ
Held by institutions 92.5% 100.0% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,651 394 1,082
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +2.3% +1.0%
Institutions buying 734 189 538
Institutions selling 694 164 397
Buyers to sellers 1.06 1.15 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.

ICEMKTXNDAQ
ICE 1.00 0.36 0.65
MKTX 0.36 1.00 0.25
NDAQ 0.65 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICE, MKTX and NDAQ?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $90.16B, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) $5.81B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICE, MKTX and NDAQ?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 22.3x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 19.0x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.7x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 20.2x, 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: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) +3.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest net margin (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 35.2%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) leads (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 21.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.3%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -4.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +4.3%/yr, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -16.9%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest dividend yield: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 0.02%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%. Nasdaq (NDAQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has been the steadiest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.6%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 36.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ICE, MKTX 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, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) leads on 5. 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.