NDAQ vs ICE vs MKTX Stock Comparison

Nasdaq, Intercontinental Exchange and Marketaxess Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.36 +11.6% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.90B
P/E
28.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nasdaq leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Nasdaq 6, Intercontinental Exchange 4, Marketaxess Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNDAQICEMKTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $58.90B $87.40B $5.81B ICE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.3x 21.6x 19.9x MKTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 17.9x 20.2x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.5% +6.9% +3.9% 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 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.5% -2.8% -1.4% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.6%/yr +2.8%/yr -16.4%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 25.8% 36.4% ICE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 54/100 45/100 NDAQ

Percentile Scorecard

NDAQICEMKTX

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureNDAQICEMKTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%25.8%36.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.9%27.5%28.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.570.160.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.62-0.11-0.04 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.4%-35.1%-73.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.3%-11.2%-14.7% -1.2%
52-week high $104.72$175.10$193.61 $779.14
52-week low $76.85$122.91$109.09 $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.

MultipleNDAQICEMKTX
P/E now vs peer median 28.0xmedian 28.3x 21.7xmedian 28.3x 19.9xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x 6.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 13.5x 15.0xmedian 13.5x —median 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 16.0x 17.2xmedian 16.0x 29.7xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.4x 2.9xmedian 2.4x 4.6xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.53median 0.54 0.65median 0.54 2.50median 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 monthsNDAQICEMKTX
Revenue $9.15B $13.43B $871.61M
Gross profit $5.78B – –
Operating income $2.73B $5.47B $341.21M
Net income $2.08B $4.10B –
Free cash flow $2.26B $5.08B –
EPS (diluted) $3.70 $7.13 $8.29
Cash & equivalents $365.00M $1.07B $381.05M
Total debt $8.74B $19.85B –
Shares (diluted) 563.31M 566.00M 35.24M
Enterprise value $56.34B $81.14B $5.81B

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

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNDAQICEMKTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.5% 6.9% 3.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 11.9% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.2% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.1% 16.4% -1.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.1% 13.9% 2.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.2% 34.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.6% 33.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 31.8% 36.6% 40.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 33.3% 8.0%
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
MetricNDAQICEMKTX
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 17.4% 13.9% 23.3%
Return on assets 7.6% 2.3% 12.5%
Return on invested capital 10.5% 8.5% –
Return on capital employed 12.0% 9.7% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.1x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 2.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNDAQICEMKTX
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 56.2% 83.0% 43.3%
Equity / assets 43.8% 17.0% 56.0%
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
MetricNDAQICEMKTX
Dividend yield 1.1% 1.3% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 2.5% 2.3% –
Shareholder yield 3.6% 3.6% 1.9%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

NDAQICEMKTX
NDAQ 1.00 0.64 0.25
ICE 0.64 1.00 0.35
MKTX 0.25 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NDAQ, ICE and MKTX?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.90B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $87.40B, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) $5.81B.

Which stock is cheaper, NDAQ, ICE and MKTX?

Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.3x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 21.6x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.9x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 17.9x, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 20.2x). 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: Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) +3.9%.

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nasdaq (NDAQ) 0.00%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%, Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) 0.00%. Nasdaq (NDAQ) and Marketaxess Holdings (MKTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

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

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

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.