MSCI vs ICE vs NDAQ Stock Comparison

Msci, Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSCI MSCI Inc.
$601.75 +9.1% 1M +10.0% 1Y
Market cap
$43.68B
P/E
31.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.43B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
4 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.36 +11.6% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.95B
P/E
28.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionMSCIICENDAQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $43.68B $87.36B $58.95B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.6x 21.6x 28.3x ICE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.0x 17.9x 25.9x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.3% +6.9% +11.5% MSCI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 40.3% 30.1% 22.8% MSCI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 44.1% 8.5% 10.5% MSCI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.6x 2.4x NDAQ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% MSCI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +10.0% -2.8% +17.5% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.7%/yr +2.8%/yr +8.6%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.9% 25.8% 28.5% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 54/100 54/100 NDAQ

Percentile Scorecard

MSCIICENDAQ

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

AxisMSCIICENDAQ
Valuation 23 #727 of 940 59 #40 of 96 42 #56 of 96
Growth 58 #275 of 655 45 #37 of 66 40 #40 of 66
Profitability 97 #19 of 633 83 #12 of 64 79 #14 of 64
Financial Health 26 #526 of 714 36 #60 of 93 47 #50 of 93
Shareholder Returns 61 #275 of 709 46 #21 of 38 62 #15 of 38
Overall 53 54 54
  • MSCI ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • ICE ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • NDAQ ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSCIICENDAQSPY
1 month +9.1%+0.7%+11.6% -0.2%
3 months +3.8%+1.7%+8.8% +3.9%
6 months +1.2%-0.6%+14.3% +8.2%
Year to date +4.9%-4.0%+7.4% +12.9%
1 year +10.0%-2.8%+17.5% +12.3%
3 years +26.4%+48.4%+119.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +8.1%+14.1%+29.9% +23.3%
5 years -8.2%+14.7%+51.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year -1.7%+2.8%+8.6% +10.9%
10 years +656.0%+192.0%+389.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +22.4%+11.3%+17.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMSCIICENDAQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.9%25.8%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.9%27.5%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.300.160.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.32-0.110.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.9%-35.1%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-11.2%-0.3% -1.2%
52-week high $643.83$175.10$104.72 $779.14
52-week low $511.84$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.

MultipleMSCIICENDAQ
P/E now vs peer median 31.4xmedian 13.0x 21.7xmedian 28.3x 28.0xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 3.2x 6.5xmedian 2.9x 6.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.4xmedian 7.4x 15.0xmedian 13.5x 19.6xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 10.8x 17.2xmedian 16.0x 25.8xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median -14.3xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 2.4x 4.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.89median 0.87 0.65median 0.54 1.53median 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 monthsMSCIICENDAQ
Revenue $3.43B $13.43B $9.15B
Gross profit $2.85B – $5.78B
Operating income $1.91B $5.47B $2.73B
Net income $1.38B $4.10B $2.08B
Free cash flow $1.58B $5.08B $2.26B
R&D $184.30M – –
EPS (diluted) $19.14 $7.13 $3.70
Cash & equivalents $261.00M $1.07B $365.00M
Total debt $6.72B $19.85B $8.74B
Shares (diluted) 72.30M 566.00M 563.31M
Enterprise value $42.16B $81.10B $56.38B

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
MetricMSCIICENDAQ
P/E 31.4x 21.7x 28.0x
P/FCF 27.4x 17.2x 25.8x
P/Operating cash flow 26.7x 15.8x 22.9x
P/S 12.6x 6.5x 6.4x
P/B -14.3x 2.9x 4.9x
P/Tangible book -11.0x 5.9x 9.9x
EV/EBITDA 23.4x 15.0x 19.6x
EV/EBIT 26.0x 19.2x 24.4x
EV/Revenue 14.5x 7.8x 7.3x
EV/FCF 31.5x 20.7x 29.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.7x 19.1x 26.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.89 0.65 1.53

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSCIICENDAQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.3% 6.9% 11.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.4% 11.9% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.0% – 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.7% – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 15.4% 16.4% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 13.9% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.1% 34.1% 28.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 33.1% 23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.8% 36.6% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 33.3% 18.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.4% 13.1% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 14.9% 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.7% 13.9% 7.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 14.1% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSCIICENDAQ
Gross margin 82.9% – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 61.6% 52.3% 37.0%
Operating margin 55.7% 40.7% 29.8%
Pretax margin 47.3% 39.7% 28.5%
Net margin 40.3% 30.1% 22.8%
FCF margin 45.9% 37.8% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 47.0% 41.1% 27.8%
Return on equity – 13.9% 17.4%
Return on assets 24.7% 2.3% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 44.1% 8.5% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 47.5% 9.7% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.1x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 3.7% 2.0% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSCIICENDAQ
Debt / assets 120.0% 11.4% 31.9%
Debt / equity -2.2x 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.6x 2.4x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 3.9x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 153.9% 83.0% 56.2%
Equity / assets -53.9% 17.0% 43.8%
Interest coverage 6.9x 6.8x 7.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.0x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 6.21 0.73 3.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSCIICENDAQ
Dividend yield 1.3% 1.3% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 4.7% 2.3% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 6.0% 3.6% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 42.1% 27.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 37.0% 22.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.7% 6.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 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.

ConsensusMSCIICENDAQ
Forward P/E 29.0xFY2026 17.9xFY2026 25.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.78FY2026 $8.69FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.3%FY2026 +25.0%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% -3.2% +11.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.73BFY2026 $10.54BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.2%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +16.0% +13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSCIICENDAQ
Held by institutions 92.4% 92.5% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,080 1,653 1,082
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.6% +1.4% +1.0%
Institutions buying 512 735 538
Institutions selling 407 694 397
Buyers to sellers 1.26 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.

MSCIICENDAQ
MSCI 1.00 0.51 0.61
ICE 0.51 1.00 0.64
NDAQ 0.61 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSCI, ICE and NDAQ?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Msci (MSCI) $43.68B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $87.36B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.95B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSCI, ICE and NDAQ?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Msci (MSCI) 31.6x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 21.6x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Msci (MSCI) 29.0x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 17.9x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Msci (MSCI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Msci (MSCI) +12.3%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Msci (MSCI) has the highest net margin (Msci (MSCI) 40.3%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Msci (MSCI) leads (Msci (MSCI) 44.1%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Msci (MSCI) +10.0%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) -2.8%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +17.5%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Msci (MSCI) -1.7%/yr, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +2.8%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Msci (MSCI) has the highest dividend yield: Msci (MSCI) 0.01%, 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 (Msci (MSCI) 30.9%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.8%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MSCI, 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 4. 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.