NDAQ vs VERX vs VIRT Stock Comparison

Nasdaq, Vertex and Virtu Financial Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.72 +11.9% 1M +18.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.19B
P/E
27.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
3 wins
VERX Vertex, Inc.
$15.17 +33.4% 1M -40.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.41B
P/E
675.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$787.44M
Div. yield
–
Compliance Software Technology
VIRT Virtu Financial, Inc.
$55.92 +4.7% 1M +66.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.89B
P/E
8.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.08B
Div. yield
–
Institutional Trading Financial Services
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Virtu Financial leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Virtu Financial 8, Nasdaq 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNDAQVERXVIRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $58.19B $2.41B $4.89B NDAQ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.9x 675.2x 8.9x VIRT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.0x 19.4x 8.1x VIRT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.5% +10.8% +20.8% VIRT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.8% 0.5% 13.5% NDAQ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.5% 0.0% 39.4% VIRT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.1x 0.6x VIRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.4% -40.3% +66.7% VIRT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.2%/yr -4.7%/yr +16.7%/yr VIRT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 62.5% 37.4% NDAQ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 49/100 63/100 VIRT

Percentile Scorecard

NDAQVERXVIRT

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

AxisNDAQVERXVIRT
Valuation 43 #56 of 97 41 #61 of 102 91 #10 of 97
Growth 45 #38 of 68 77 #23 of 98 55 #31 of 68
Profitability 79 #15 of 67 55 #43 of 95 77 #16 of 67
Financial Health 49 #50 of 97 34 #72 of 109 32 #66 of 97
Shareholder Returns 64 #15 of 40 40 #39 of 64 59 #17 of 40
Overall 56 49 63
  • NDAQ ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • VERX ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • VIRT ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNDAQVERXVIRTSPY
1 month +11.9%+33.4%+4.7% -0.8%
3 months +11.5%+20.0%-5.0% +3.5%
6 months +15.8%+20.8%+17.4% +7.0%
Year to date +7.8%-24.0%+67.8% +12.2%
1 year +18.4%-40.3%+66.7% +13.0%
3 years +120.0%-33.3%+205.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +30.1%-12.7%+45.2% +23.1%
5 years +55.2%-21.5%+116.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.2%-4.7%+16.7% +11.0%
10 years +385.6%—+317.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +17.1%—+15.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNDAQVERXVIRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%62.5%37.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.0%63.6%35.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.570.450.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.65-0.651.78 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.4%-82.1%-57.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-40.9%-17.7% -1.8%
52-week high $104.72$25.66$67.93 $779.14
52-week low $76.85$10.58$32.53 $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.

MultipleNDAQVERXVIRT
P/E now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 29.4x 684.6xmedian 28.8x 8.9xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.8x 2.1xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 13.7x 26.0xmedian 17.7x 4.4xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 16.0x 48.5xmedian 15.8x 16.6xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.3x 10.2xmedian 3.2x 3.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.53median 0.52 24.29median 0.85 0.15median 0.52

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 monthsNDAQVERXVIRT
Revenue $9.15B $787.44M $4.08B
Gross profit $5.78B $503.58M –
Operating income $2.73B -$13.34M –
Net income $2.08B $3.58M $1.06B
Free cash flow $2.26B $50.48M $521.11M
R&D – $91.60M –
EPS (diluted) $3.70 $0.02 $6.29
Cash & equivalents $365.00M $230.49M $1.07B
Total debt $8.74B $1.35B $2.38B
Shares (diluted) 563.31M 161.39M 87.60M
Enterprise value $55.63B $1.27B $1.08B

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
MetricNDAQVERXVIRT
P/E 28.1x 684.6x 8.9x
P/FCF 25.9x 48.5x 16.6x
P/Operating cash flow 23.0x 14.1x 15.6x
P/S 6.4x 3.1x 2.1x
P/B 4.9x 10.2x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 10.3x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 19.7x 26.0x 4.4x
EV/EBIT 24.4x -191.6x 4.6x
EV/Revenue 7.3x 3.2x 2.4x
EV/FCF 29.5x 50.6x 19.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.2x 14.7x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.53 24.29 0.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNDAQVERXVIRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.5% 10.8% 20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 14.1% 23.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.7% 9.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 15.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.1% -75.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.1% 8.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) 28.2% 107.1% 36.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.6% 28.3% 60.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.8% 107.0% 32.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 28.2% 61.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.0% 21.1% -4.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 47.3% -3.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% 4,078% -7.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 78.9% -3.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNDAQVERXVIRT
Gross margin 63.2% 64.0% –
EBITDA margin 37.0% 12.5% 55.7%
Operating margin 29.8% -1.7% –
Pretax margin 28.5% -1.2% 31.3%
Net margin 22.8% 0.5% 13.5%
FCF margin 24.7% 6.4% 12.8%
Operating cash flow margin 27.8% 22.0% 13.7%
Return on equity 17.4% 1.5% 46.9%
Return on assets 7.6% 0.3% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 10.5% 0.0% 39.4%
Return on capital employed 12.0% -2.1% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 48.6x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 7.2% 3.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNDAQVERXVIRT
Debt / assets 31.9% 28.0% 8.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.4x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.1x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 6.7x 4.6x
Liabilities / assets 56.2% 80.1% 91.5%
Equity / assets 43.8% 19.9% 8.5%
Interest coverage 7.9x – 2.5x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.9x –
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x –
Altman Z-score 3.49 2.01 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNDAQVERXVIRT
Dividend yield 1.1% – 1.7%
Net buyback yield 2.5% 1.9% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 3.6% 1.9% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusNDAQVERXVIRT
Forward P/E 26.0xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 8.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.03FY2026 $0.78FY2026 $6.89FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.8%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026 +20.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.2% +38.5% +7.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.10BFY2026 $795.75MFY2026 $2.93BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.1%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026 +36.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.7% +17.3% +4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNDAQVERXVIRT
Held by institutions 83.8% 93.3% 52.9%
Institutions holding 1,082 229 472
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% -7.0% +6.7%
Institutions buying 538 135 282
Institutions selling 397 69 142
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.96 1.99

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.

NDAQVERXVIRT
NDAQ 1.00 0.48 0.23
VERX 0.48 1.00 0.13
VIRT 0.23 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NDAQ, VERX and VIRT?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.19B, Vertex (VERX) $2.41B, Virtu Financial (VIRT) $4.89B.

Which stock is cheaper, NDAQ, VERX and VIRT?

Virtu Financial (VIRT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 27.9x, Vertex (VERX) 675.2x, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 8.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Virtu Financial (VIRT) is cheapest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 26.0x, Vertex (VERX) 19.4x, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 8.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Virtu Financial (VIRT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Vertex (VERX) +10.8%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) has the highest net margin (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%, Vertex (VERX) 0.5%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 13.5%). On return on invested capital, Virtu Financial (VIRT) leads (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%, Vertex (VERX) 0.0%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 39.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Virtu Financial (VIRT) returned the most: Nasdaq (NDAQ) +18.4%, Vertex (VERX) -40.3%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +66.7%. Over five years, Virtu Financial (VIRT) compounded fastest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) +9.2%/yr, Vertex (VERX) -4.7%/yr, Virtu Financial (VIRT) +16.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nasdaq (NDAQ) has been the steadiest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%, Vertex (VERX) 62.5%, Virtu Financial (VIRT) 37.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NDAQ, VERX and VIRT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Virtu Financial (VIRT) leads on 8. 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.