ICE vs NDAQ vs VIRT Stock Comparison

Intercontinental Exchange, Nasdaq and Virtu Financial Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
VIRT Virtu Financial, Inc.
$55.95 +5.6% 1M +67.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.90B
P/E
8.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.08B
Div. yield
–
Institutional Trading Financial Services
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Virtu Financial leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Virtu Financial 8, Intercontinental Exchange 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICENDAQVIRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $90.16B $58.54B $4.90B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.3x 28.1x 8.9x VIRT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.7x 25.6x 8.3x VIRT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +11.5% +20.8% VIRT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% 22.8% 13.5% ICE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.5% 10.5% 39.4% VIRT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.4x 0.6x VIRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.3% +15.5% +67.2% VIRT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.3%/yr +8.8%/yr +16.2%/yr VIRT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 28.4% 37.4% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 56/100 63/100 VIRT

Percentile Scorecard

ICENDAQVIRT

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

AxisICENDAQVIRT
Valuation 64 #36 of 97 43 #56 of 97 89 #12 of 97
Growth 53 #33 of 69 46 #38 of 69 62 #27 of 69
Profitability 84 #12 of 70 80 #15 of 70 77 #17 of 70
Financial Health 37 #64 of 101 48 #53 of 101 33 #68 of 101
Shareholder Returns 49 #21 of 40 62 #16 of 40 54 #19 of 40
Overall 57 56 63
  • ICE ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • NDAQ ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • VIRT ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICENDAQVIRTSPY
1 month +4.0%+7.5%+5.6% -1.0%
3 months +11.6%+11.4%-6.4% +2.9%
6 months +2.7%+14.1%+15.3% +6.4%
Year to date +0.4%+5.6%+67.9% +11.4%
1 year +3.3%+15.5%+67.2% +13.1%
3 years +52.1%+107.4%+204.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +15.0%+27.5%+45.0% +21.5%
5 years +23.6%+52.5%+111.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.3%+8.8%+16.2% +10.9%
10 years +205.4%+364.9%+312.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.8%+16.6%+15.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureICENDAQVIRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%28.4%37.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.3%29.9%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.560.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.130.541.80 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-33.4%-57.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-0.7%-17.6% -2.5%
52-week high $175.10$103.30$67.93 $779.14
52-week low $122.91$76.85$32.53 $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.

MultipleICENDAQVIRT
P/E now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 29.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x 8.9xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x 2.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 12.8x 19.3xmedian 12.8x 4.4xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 15.9x 25.4xmedian 15.9x 16.7xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x 3.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.68median 0.51 1.50median 0.51 0.15median 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 monthsICENDAQVIRT
Revenue $13.43B $9.15B $4.08B
Gross profit – $5.78B –
Operating income $5.47B $2.73B –
Net income $4.10B $2.08B $1.06B
Free cash flow $5.08B $2.26B $521.11M
EPS (diluted) $7.13 $3.70 $6.29
Cash & equivalents $1.07B $365.00M $1.07B
Total debt $78.89B $8.74B $2.38B
Shares (diluted) 566.00M 563.31M 87.60M
Enterprise value $83.90B $55.98B $1.09B

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
MetricICENDAQVIRT
P/E 22.7x 27.5x 8.9x
P/FCF 18.0x 25.4x 16.7x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 22.5x 15.6x
P/S 6.8x 6.3x 2.1x
P/B 3.1x 4.8x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 9.7x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x 19.3x 4.4x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 24.0x 4.6x
EV/Revenue 8.1x 7.2x 2.4x
EV/FCF 21.5x 29.0x 19.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.8x 25.7x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 1.50 0.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICENDAQVIRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 11.5% 20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 15.1% 23.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 16.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.4% 23.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 20.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) 34.1% 28.2% 36.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 23.6% 60.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.6% 31.8% 32.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 18.3% 61.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.1% 9.0% -4.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 12.8% -3.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% 7.6% -7.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 11.6% -3.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICENDAQVIRT
Gross margin – 63.2% –
EBITDA margin 52.3% 37.0% 55.7%
Operating margin 40.7% 29.8% –
Pretax margin 39.7% 28.5% 31.3%
Net margin 30.1% 22.8% 13.5%
FCF margin 37.8% 24.7% 12.8%
Operating cash flow margin 41.1% 27.8% 13.7%
Return on equity 13.9% 17.4% 46.9%
Return on assets 2.3% 7.6% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 8.5% 10.5% 39.4%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 12.0% –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.3x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 1.9% 3.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICENDAQVIRT
Debt / assets 11.4% 31.9% 8.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.4x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 3.9x 4.6x
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 56.2% 91.5%
Equity / assets 17.0% 43.8% 8.5%
Interest coverage 6.8x 7.9x 2.5x
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
MetricICENDAQVIRT
Dividend yield 1.3% 1.1% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 2.6% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 3.4% 3.7% 2.7%
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.

ConsensusICENDAQVIRT
Forward P/E 18.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026 8.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.68FY2026 $4.01FY2026 $6.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.9%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026 +18.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +10.7% +7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.53BFY2026 $6.07BFY2026 $2.88BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026 +34.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.1% +13.2% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICENDAQVIRT
Held by institutions 92.5% 83.8% 52.9%
Institutions holding 1,651 1,082 472
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +1.0% +6.7%
Institutions buying 734 538 282
Institutions selling 694 397 142
Buyers to sellers 1.06 1.36 1.99

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.

ICENDAQVIRT
ICE 1.00 0.65 0.29
NDAQ 0.65 1.00 0.24
VIRT 0.29 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICE, NDAQ and VIRT?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $90.16B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.54B, Virtu Financial (VIRT) $4.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICE, NDAQ and VIRT?

Virtu Financial (VIRT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 22.3x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.1x, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 8.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Virtu Financial (VIRT) is cheapest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.6x, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 8.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Virtu Financial (VIRT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has the highest net margin (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 13.5%). On return on invested capital, Virtu Financial (VIRT) leads (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 39.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Virtu Financial (VIRT) returned the most: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +67.2%. Over five years, Virtu Financial (VIRT) compounded fastest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +4.3%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.8%/yr, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +16.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 0.00%. Nasdaq (NDAQ) and Virtu Financial (VIRT) 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%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 37.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Virtu Financial (VIRT) leads on 8. 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.