Nasdaq, Inc. has recently released its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. The company said it operates through three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. Its businesses include market data, index licensing, listing services, regulatory and financial crime software, and exchange and trading operations in the U.S. and abroad.
In Item 2, management said third-quarter highlights included 15 new operating companies listing on U.S. exchanges, raising $32 billion in proceeds, with 8 of the 10 largest operating company IPOs in the quarter. Nasdaq also said its Index business posted $141 billion in net inflows over the trailing twelve months, including $49 billion in the third quarter, while end-of-period ETP assets under management reached $1.2 trillion and average ETP AUM hit $1.1 trillion. Financial Technology posted 16% revenue growth and 18% ARR growth in the quarter, and Market Services reported record third-quarter net revenues.
For the third quarter, revenues less transaction-based expenses rose 12.6% to $1.481 billion from $1.315 billion a year earlier. Operating income increased 24.9% to $732 million from $586 million, net income attributable to Nasdaq climbed 27.8% to $540 million from $423 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $0.96 from $0.73. Cash dividends declared per common share increased to $0.31 from $0.27.
For the first nine months of 2026, revenues less transaction-based expenses increased 13.8% to $4.388 billion from $3.857 billion. Operating income rose 23.5% to $2.101 billion from $1.702 billion, net income attributable to Nasdaq increased 23.4% to $1.566 billion from $1.270 billion, and diluted EPS advanced to $2.76 from $2.19. Cash dividends declared per common share increased to $0.89 from $0.78.
Total revenues for the third quarter were $2.393 billion, up 20.9% from $1.979 billion. Transaction rebates were $623 million, down from $658 million, while brokerage, clearance and exchange fees jumped to $289 million from $6 million. For the nine-month period, total revenues were $7.063 billion, up from $6.175 billion, with transaction rebates at $2.059 billion and brokerage, clearance and exchange fees at $616 million.
Capital Access Platforms generated $641 million in third-quarter revenue, up 20.2% from $534 million. Within that segment, Data & Listing Services rose to $224 million from $204 million, Index revenue increased to $286 million from $206 million, and Workflow & Insights climbed to $131 million from $124 million. Segment ARR was $1.411 billion at September 30, 2026, up from $1.303 billion a year earlier.
In Data & Listing Services, Nasdaq said the U.S. market had 467 IPOs in the third quarter, including 154 operating company IPOs and 313 SPACs, versus 476 IPOs a year earlier. Total new listings on The Nasdaq Stock Market were 167, down from 205, while the number of listed companies on the exchange rose to 4,726 from 4,359. ARR for this business was $813 million, up from $743 million.
Index business revenue increased on higher average AUM in exchange-traded products linked to Nasdaq indices and higher volume-based revenues. The number of licensed ETPs rose to 487 from 439, and trailing-twelve-month ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indices ended at $1.160 trillion, up from $829 billion. Quarterly average ETP AUM was $1.108 trillion, compared with $777 billion a year earlier, and Index ARR increased to $89 million from $81 million.
Workflow & Insights ARR rose to $509 million from $479 million, with quarterly annualized SaaS revenues at $440 million versus $410 million. Nasdaq said the increase was driven largely by analytics revenues, including growth at eVestment and Nasdaq Data Link.
Financial Technology revenue increased 15.8% in the third quarter to $529 million from $457 million. Financial Crime Management Technology rose to $103 million from $84 million, Regulatory Technology increased to $123 million from $109 million, and Capital Markets Technology climbed to $303 million from $264 million. Nine-month Financial Technology revenue reached $1.585 billion, up from $1.352 billion.
Within Financial Technology, Financial Crime Management Technology ARR and quarterly annualized SaaS revenues were $375 million, up from $316 million. Regulatory Technology ARR was $443 million, compared with $389 million, and quarterly annualized SaaS revenues were $271 million versus $213 million. Capital Markets Technology ARR rose to $1.136 billion from $957 million, with quarterly annualized SaaS revenues of $181 million versus $153 million.
Market Services revenue increased 26.2% in the third quarter to $1.221 billion from $967 million. Net revenue for the segment was $309 million, up 1.9% from $303 million, after transaction rebates of $623 million and brokerage, clearance and exchange fees of $289 million. For the first nine months, Market Services revenue was $3.640 billion, up from $3.208 billion, and net revenue reached $965 million versus $890 million.
By product, third-quarter net revenue in Market Services included $110 million from U.S. equity derivative trading, down from $124 million, $144 million from cash equity trading, up from $127 million, and $33 million from U.S. tape plans, up from $32 million. For the nine months, cash equity trading contributed $442 million, up from $381 million, while U.S. equity derivative trading was $352 million versus $346 million and U.S. tape plans were $100 million versus $103 million. Today the company's shares have moved 1.39% to a price of $96.12. For more information, read the company's full 10-Q submission here.
