MKTX vs NDAQ vs SPGI Stock Comparison

Marketaxess Holdings, Nasdaq and S&P Global 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
6 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
4 wins
SPGI S&P Global Inc.
$450.20 +10.7% 1M -6.7% 1Y
Market cap
$132.84B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.12B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionMKTXNDAQSPGILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.81B $58.54B $132.84B SPGI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.0x 28.1x 27.0x MKTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 25.6x 23.9x MKTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.9% +11.5% +9.7% NDAQ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.2% 22.8% 30.5% MKTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.3% 10.5% 12.1% MKTX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 2.4x 1.3x MKTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% MKTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.0% +15.5% -6.7% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.9%/yr +8.8%/yr 0.0%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.5% 28.4% 30.9% NDAQ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 56/100 58/100 SPGI

Percentile Scorecard

MKTXNDAQSPGI

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

AxisMKTXNDAQSPGI
Valuation 53 #46 of 97 43 #56 of 97 24 #722 of 945
Growth 22 #54 of 69 46 #38 of 69 68 #261 of 822
Profitability 87 #10 of 70 80 #15 of 70 89 #95 of 835
Financial Health 84 #17 of 101 48 #53 of 101 67 #298 of 905
Shareholder Returns 36 #26 of 40 62 #16 of 40 43 #411 of 726
Overall 56 56 58
  • MKTX ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • NDAQ ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • SPGI ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMKTXNDAQSPGISPY
1 month +0.6%+7.5%+10.7% -1.0%
3 months +41.1%+11.4%+5.6% +2.9%
6 months +0.9%+14.1%+3.1% +6.4%
Year to date -9.1%+5.6%-13.9% +11.4%
1 year -4.0%+15.5%-6.7% +13.1%
3 years -30.2%+107.4%+29.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -11.3%+27.5%+9.0% +21.5%
5 years -60.4%+52.5%-0.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -16.9%+8.8%0.0% +10.9%
10 years +8.2%+364.9%+263.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +0.8%+16.6%+13.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMKTXNDAQSPGISPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.5%28.4%30.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.0%29.9%35.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.140.560.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.110.54-0.22 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.7%-33.4%-40.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.9%-0.7%-17.6% -2.5%
52-week high $193.61$103.30$546.35 $779.14
52-week low $109.09$76.85$386.35 $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.

MultipleMKTXNDAQSPGI
P/E now vs peer median 18.9xmedian 29.4x 27.5xmedian 29.4x 27.0xmedian 13.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x 8.2xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 12.8x 19.3xmedian 12.8x 17.2xmedian 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.8xmedian 15.9x 25.4xmedian 15.9x 23.8xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x 4.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.09median 0.51 1.50median 0.51 0.86median 0.89

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 monthsMKTXNDAQSPGI
Revenue $870.03M $9.15B $16.12B
Gross profit – $5.78B $11.43B
Operating income $352.39M $2.73B $7.16B
Net income $307.10M $2.08B $5.32B
Free cash flow $194.30M $2.26B $5.57B
EPS (diluted) $8.69 $3.70 $16.66
Cash & equivalents $245.79M $365.00M $4.13B
Total debt $564.16M $8.74B $15.17B
Shares (diluted) 35.24M 563.31M 295.50M
Enterprise value $4.20B $55.98B $123.43B

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
MetricMKTXNDAQSPGI
P/E 18.9x 27.5x 27.0x
P/FCF 29.8x 25.4x 23.8x
P/Operating cash flow 28.9x 22.5x 23.2x
P/S 6.7x 6.3x 8.2x
P/B 4.7x 4.8x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 5.1x 9.7x 8.3x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 19.3x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 16.1x 24.0x 20.1x
EV/Revenue 6.5x 7.2x 8.9x
EV/FCF 29.2x 29.0x 25.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.3x 25.7x 25.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.09 1.50 0.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQSPGI
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.9% 11.5% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.1% 10.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.7% 11.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 16.2% 12.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 23.1% 22.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 20.1% 25.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 37.8% 28.2% 22.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 23.6% 26.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 45.5% 31.8% 27.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 18.3% 31.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -50.5% 9.0% 2.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -15.5% 12.8% 20.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -51.5% 7.6% 3.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -15.4% 11.6% 20.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQSPGI
Gross margin – 63.2% 70.9%
EBITDA margin 49.4% 37.0% 51.9%
Operating margin 40.5% 29.8% 44.4%
Pretax margin 42.2% 28.5% 42.6%
Net margin 35.2% 22.8% 30.5%
FCF margin 22.3% 24.7% 34.6%
Operating cash flow margin 23.0% 27.8% 35.5%
Return on equity 25.3% 17.4% 16.9%
Return on assets 13.0% 7.6% 8.6%
Return on invested capital 21.3% 10.5% 12.1%
Return on capital employed – 12.0% 13.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 1.2x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 4.1% 1.9% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQSPGI
Debt / assets 4.8% 31.9% 24.1%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 2.4x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 3.9x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 48.9% 56.2% 49.7%
Equity / assets 51.1% 43.8% 50.3%
Interest coverage 59.9x 7.9x 22.7x
Current ratio – 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 3.44 3.74

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMKTXNDAQSPGI
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.1% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 6.0% 2.6% 3.5%
Shareholder yield 7.8% 3.7% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 36.9% – 21.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 58.4% – 20.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.2% – 0.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.7% – 0.8%

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.

ConsensusMKTXNDAQSPGI
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 25.6xFY2026 23.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.16FY2026 $4.01FY2026 $18.87FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026 +11.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.5% +10.7% +12.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $947.30MFY2026 $6.07BFY2026 $15.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.0%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026 +0.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.9% +13.2% +6.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMKTXNDAQSPGI
Held by institutions 100.0% 83.8% 87.5%
Institutions holding 394 1,082 2,001
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +1.0% +1.6%
Institutions buying 189 538 871
Institutions selling 164 397 876
Buyers to sellers 1.15 1.36 0.99

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.

MKTXNDAQSPGI
MKTX 1.00 0.25 0.14
NDAQ 0.25 1.00 0.66
SPGI 0.14 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MKTX, NDAQ and SPGI?

S&P Global (SPGI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) $5.81B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.54B, S&P Global (SPGI) $132.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, MKTX, NDAQ and SPGI?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 19.0x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.1x, S&P Global (SPGI) 27.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) is cheapest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 20.2x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.6x, S&P Global (SPGI) 23.9x). 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%, S&P Global (SPGI) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest net margin (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 35.2%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%, S&P Global (SPGI) 30.5%). On return on invested capital, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) leads (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 21.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%, S&P Global (SPGI) 12.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -4.0%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +15.5%, S&P Global (SPGI) -6.7%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) -16.9%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.8%/yr, S&P Global (SPGI) 0.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) has the highest dividend yield: Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 0.02%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%, S&P Global (SPGI) 0.01%. Nasdaq (NDAQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nasdaq (NDAQ) has been the steadiest (Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 36.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.4%, S&P Global (SPGI) 30.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.