ICE vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq 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
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Intercontinental Exchange leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Intercontinental Exchange 6, Nasdaq 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

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

Percentile Scorecard

ICENDAQ

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

AxisICENDAQ
Valuation 64 #36 of 97 43 #56 of 97
Growth 53 #33 of 69 46 #38 of 69
Profitability 84 #12 of 70 80 #15 of 70
Financial Health 37 #64 of 101 48 #53 of 101
Shareholder Returns 49 #21 of 40 62 #16 of 40
Overall 57 56
  • 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

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

Risk

MeasureICENDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.3%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.130.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-0.7% -2.5%
52-week high $175.10$103.30 $779.14
52-week low $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.

MultipleICENDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 29.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 12.8x 19.3xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 15.9x 25.4xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 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 monthsICENDAQ
Revenue $13.43B $9.15B
Gross profit – $5.78B
Operating income $5.47B $2.73B
Net income $4.10B $2.08B
Free cash flow $5.08B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $7.13 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $1.07B $365.00M
Total debt $78.89B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 566.00M 563.31M
Enterprise value $83.90B $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
MetricICENDAQ
P/E 22.7x 27.5x
P/FCF 18.0x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 22.5x
P/S 6.8x 6.3x
P/B 3.1x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 9.7x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x 19.3x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 8.1x 7.2x
EV/FCF 21.5x 29.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.8x 25.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICENDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 15.1%
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%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.6% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.1% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 11.6%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICENDAQ
Debt / assets 11.4% 31.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 56.2%
Equity / assets 17.0% 43.8%
Interest coverage 6.8x 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
MetricICENDAQ
Dividend yield 1.3% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 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.

ConsensusICENDAQ
Forward P/E 18.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.68FY2026 $4.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.9%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +10.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.53BFY2026 $6.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.1% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

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

ICENDAQ
ICE 1.00 0.65
NDAQ 0.65 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICE and NDAQ?

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

Which stock is cheaper, ICE and NDAQ?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (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: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%, 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%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ICE and NDAQ move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.65, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, 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, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 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.