Nasdaq Reports 14% Revenue Growth

By Chris Stiles • Friday, April 24 02:00 • Permanent Link

Nasdaq reported first-quarter 2026 net revenue of $1.407 billion, up 14% from $1.235 billion a year earlier, with organic growth of 13%. Solutions revenue rose 14% to $1.082 billion, while market services net revenue increased 13% to $317 million.

Financial technology was the fastest-growing division, with revenue climbing 20% to $517 million, or 18% on an organic basis. Annualized recurring revenue in fintech rose 13% to $3.188 billion, with organic growth of 12%. Within that segment, financial technology ARR increased 18% year over year, or 16% organically, while capital access platforms ARR grew 9%, or 7% organically.

Index revenue increased 14% to $220 million. Nasdaq said the business took in $6 billion of net inflows in the quarter and $79 billion over the trailing 12 months. End-of-period ETP assets under management were $836 billion, and average ETP AUM hit a quarterly record of $877 billion.

Operating income also moved higher. GAAP operating income rose 20% to $657 million, while non-GAAP operating income increased 17% to $799 million. GAAP operating expenses were $750 million, up 9%, and non-GAAP operating expenses were $608 million, up 10%, or 8% on an organic basis.

Earnings per share advanced sharply. GAAP diluted EPS rose 33% to $0.91, and non-GAAP diluted EPS climbed 22% to $0.96, or 21% on an organic basis.

Cash flow from operations totaled $689 million. Nasdaq returned $701 million to shareholders in the quarter, including $153 million in dividends and $548 million in share repurchases. As of March 31, the company had $2.9 billion remaining under its repurchase authorization.

The company raised its 2026 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to $2.485 billion to $2.545 billion, while keeping its non-GAAP tax rate guidance at 22.5% to 24.5%.

On the business side, fintech ACV bookings rose more than 50% from a year earlier, with cloud-based solutions making up 80% of bookings. Nasdaq Verafin added 58 small and medium bank clients. Regulatory technology added 2 new clients and 58 upsells, while AxiomSL had 1 new client and 26 upsells. Capital markets technology posted 20% organic revenue growth and 18% organic ARR growth, signing 5 new clients and 26 upsells. Nasdaq’s index business launched 31 new products during the quarter. Today the company's shares have moved 0.05% to a price of $83.78. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.