MKTX vs NDAQ vs ICE Stock Comparison

Marketaxess Holdings, Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MKTX Marketaxess Holdings Inc
$165.13 +0.6% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.81B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$871.61M
Div. yield
1.88%
Exchanges Financial Services
2 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.36 +11.6% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.28B
P/E
28.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
1.11%
Exchanges Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nasdaq leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Nasdaq 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.

QuestionMKTXNDAQICELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.81B $58.28B $87.19B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x 28.0x 21.7x MKTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 25.9x 17.9x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.9% +11.5% +6.9% NDAQ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 22.8% 30.1% ICE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 10.5% 8.5% NDAQ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.4x 2.6x NDAQ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.88% 1.11% 1.31% MKTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.4% +17.5% -2.8% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.4%/yr +8.6%/yr +2.8%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.4% 28.5% 25.8% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 54/100 54/100 NDAQ

Percentile Scorecard

MKTXNDAQICE

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

AxisMKTXNDAQICE
Valuation 28 #69 of 96 42 #56 of 96 59 #40 of 96
Growth 17 #55 of 66 40 #40 of 66 45 #37 of 66
Profitability 87 #9 of 64 79 #14 of 64 83 #12 of 64
Financial Health – 47 #50 of 93 36 #60 of 93
Shareholder Returns 49 #20 of 38 62 #15 of 38 46 #21 of 38
Overall 45 54 54
  • MKTX ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • NDAQ ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • ICE ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMKTXNDAQICESPY
1 month +0.6%+11.6%+0.7% -0.2%
3 months +35.3%+8.8%+1.7% +3.9%
6 months +4.2%+14.3%-0.6% +8.2%
Year to date -8.9%+7.4%-4.0% +12.9%
1 year -1.4%+17.5%-2.8% +12.3%
3 years -19.8%+119.3%+48.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -7.1%+29.9%+14.1% +23.3%
5 years -59.2%+51.2%+14.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -16.4%+8.6%+2.8% +10.9%
10 years +9.6%+389.6%+192.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +0.9%+17.2%+11.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMKTXNDAQICESPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.4%28.5%25.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.1%29.9%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.160.570.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.040.62-0.11 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.7%-33.4%-35.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.7%-0.3%-11.2% -1.2%
52-week high $193.61$104.72$175.10 $779.14
52-week low $109.09$76.85$122.91 $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.

MultipleMKTXNDAQICE
P/E now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 28.3x 28.0xmedian 28.3x 21.7xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.9x 6.4xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.5x 19.6xmedian 13.5x 15.0xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.7xmedian 16.0x 25.8xmedian 16.0x 17.2xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.4x 4.9xmedian 2.4x 2.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.50median 0.54 1.53median 0.54 0.65median 0.54

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 monthsMKTXNDAQICE
Revenue $871.61M $9.15B $13.43B
Gross profit – $5.78B –
Operating income $341.21M $2.73B $5.47B
Net income – $2.08B $4.10B
Free cash flow – $2.26B $5.08B
EPS (diluted) $8.29 $3.70 $7.13
Cash & equivalents $381.05M $365.00M $1.07B
Total debt – $8.74B $19.85B
Shares (diluted) 35.24M 563.31M 566.00M
Enterprise value $5.83B $55.72B $80.99B

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
MetricMKTXNDAQICE
P/E 19.9x 28.0x 21.7x
P/FCF 29.7x 25.8x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow – 22.9x 15.8x
P/S 6.7x 6.4x 6.5x
P/B 4.6x 4.9x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 9.9x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA – 19.6x 15.0x
EV/EBIT – 24.4x 19.2x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 7.3x 7.8x
EV/FCF – 29.5x 20.7x
EV/Operating cash flow – 26.1x 19.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.50 1.53 0.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQICE
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.9% 11.5% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.1% 11.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 16.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.3% 23.1% 16.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 20.1% 13.9%
Net income growth (1Y) – 28.2% 34.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 23.6% 33.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 40.2% 31.8% 36.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 18.3% 33.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 9.0% 13.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 12.8% 14.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 7.6% 13.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 11.6% 14.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQICE
Gross margin – 63.2% –
EBITDA margin – 37.0% 52.3%
Operating margin – 29.8% 40.7%
Pretax margin – 28.5% 39.7%
Net margin – 22.8% 30.1%
FCF margin – 24.7% 37.8%
Operating cash flow margin – 27.8% 41.1%
Return on equity 23.3% 17.4% 13.9%
Return on assets 12.5% 7.6% 2.3%
Return on invested capital – 10.5% 8.5%
Return on capital employed – 12.0% 9.7%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.9% 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQICE
Debt / assets – 31.9% 11.4%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.4x 2.6x
Debt / FCF – 3.9x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 56.2% 83.0%
Equity / assets 56.0% 43.8% 17.0%
Interest coverage – 7.9x 6.8x
Current ratio – 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 0.0x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.48 0.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQICE
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.1% 1.3%
Net buyback yield – 2.5% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 3.6% 3.6%
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.

ConsensusMKTXNDAQICE
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 17.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.17FY2026 $4.03FY2026 $8.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.6%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026 +25.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.0% +11.2% -3.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $944.60MFY2026 $6.10BFY2026 $10.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.7%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.0% +13.7% +16.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMKTXNDAQICE
Held by institutions 100.0% 83.8% 92.5%
Institutions holding 394 1,082 1,653
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +1.0% +1.4%
Institutions buying 189 538 735
Institutions selling 164 397 694
Buyers to sellers 1.15 1.36 1.06

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.

MKTXNDAQICE
MKTX 1.00 0.25 0.35
NDAQ 0.25 1.00 0.64
ICE 0.35 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MKTX, NDAQ and ICE?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) $5.81B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.28B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $87.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, MKTX, NDAQ and ICE?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 19.9x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.0x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 21.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 20.2x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.9x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 17.9x). 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: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) +3.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -1.4%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +17.5%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) -2.8%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -16.4%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/yr, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +2.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest dividend yield: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 1.88%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 1.11%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 1.31%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has been the steadiest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 36.4%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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