Nasdaq NASDAQ: NDAQ executives highlighted broad-based growth and several operating milestones during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results call, pointing to strength across solutions businesses, record index inflows, and elevated market-services activity. Management also discussed priorities for 2026, including continued AI product rollouts, potential market structure expansion initiatives, and a focus on organic growth supported by a strengthened balance sheet.
Full-year 2025 results and mix shift toward solutions
Chair and CEO Adena Friedman said 2025 was “an excellent year” marked by strong organic growth and “accelerated innovation,” despite volatile trading conditions, geopolitical tension, and regulatory change. For the first time, Nasdaq surpassed $5 billion in annual net revenue and $4 billion in solutions revenue, she said.
On a non-GAAP basis, Nasdaq reported full-year net revenues of $5.2 billion, up 12%, with solutions revenue growing 11% to $4.0 billion. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) ended the year at $3.1 billion, up 10% year-over-year. Friedman said operating income totaled $2.9 billion, up 16%, and diluted EPS grew 24%.
CFO Sarah Youngwood said solutions now represent 76% of total net revenue, underscoring Nasdaq’s shift in business mix. She added that the company expanded operating and EBITDA margins by two points in 2025 and reduced gross leverage to 2.9x, while generating $2.2 billion in free cash flow for the year with 109% conversion.
Fourth-quarter performance and expense trends
For the fourth quarter, Nasdaq posted net revenue of $1.4 billion, up 13% year-over-year, including solutions revenue of $1.1 billion, up 12%. Operating expenses were $609 million, up 8%, and operating income was $783 million, up 16%, with diluted EPS up 27% to $0.96, according to management’s non-GAAP discussion.
Youngwood said the company generated “over 8 percentage points of alpha” growth in both the quarter and the year, with alpha driven by new and existing clients, low churn, and product innovation. Beta was driven by elevated market-services volumes and higher valuations in Nasdaq indices.
Business highlights: listings, index, FinTech, and market services
Nasdaq cited significant achievements across its divisions in 2025:
- Capital access platforms: Revenue grew 10% for the year. Friedman said Nasdaq delivered “industry-leading new listings performance” and a record $1.2 trillion in listing transfers, including what she called Walmart’s historic transfer, the largest exchange switch ever completed. Nasdaq also introduced an updated listings win-rate methodology; under the new approach, the company’s win rate was 72% for full-year 2025.
- Index: The company reported record inflows of $99 billion over the last 12 months, including a record $35 billion in the fourth quarter. Friedman said ETP AUM exited 2025 at an all-time high of $882 billion, while Youngwood cited record average ETP AUM of $860 billion in the fourth quarter, up 36% year-over-year. Nasdaq launched 122 new index products in 2025, including 60 international products and 32 in the institutional insurance annuity space.
- Workflow and insights: Fourth-quarter revenue increased 4%, with gains driven primarily by Analytics, including Investment and Data Link, and modest growth in Corporate Solutions. Youngwood said division operating margin improved year-over-year in both the quarter and full year.
- Financial technology: Nasdaq reported 11% revenue growth for the year and 12% in the quarter. Financial crime management technology grew 22% for the year and 24% in the fourth quarter, while regulatory technology grew 10% for the year and 12% in the quarter. Capital markets technology grew 9% over the year and in the quarter. Friedman said the company now counts every G-SIB as a client and highlighted 25 cross-sell wins across FinTech in 2025.
- Market services: Nasdaq delivered record annual net revenue of $1.2 billion, up 17%, and a quarterly record of $311 million, up 14%. Friedman said market services set records in U.S. equities and U.S. options, and noted the closing cross reached a new notional record of $233 billion during December’s Triple Witching event. Youngwood said index options revenue more than doubled year-over-year for the second straight quarter, though U.S. options capture was partially offset by dynamics tied to the options regulatory fee (ORF) and a mix shift toward lower-revenue volume.
Innovation priorities: AI, trading hours, and tokenization
Friedman said Nasdaq is embedding AI across the business and rolling out AI-enabled products, citing strong early engagement with Nasdaq Verafin’s “Agentic AI workforce.” She said the company launched an “Agentic sanctions analyst” and recently introduced a second worker, the “Agentic enhanced due diligence analyst,” with additional agentic workers planned for 2026.
Nasdaq reiterated plans to prepare for 23x5 trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. In the Q&A, Friedman said growth in equity and equity options volumes reflects broadening investor participation across retail and institutional customers, as well as increased ETF options overlay activity.
On digital assets, Friedman described Nasdaq’s proposal for tokenized securities as focused on integrating with existing market infrastructure while prioritizing investor protection, issuer choice, and capital efficiency. She emphasized the scale and resiliency of today’s markets and said Nasdaq is engaging with infrastructure providers such as DTCC to support interoperability and investor choice around settlement.
2026 outlook items: expense guidance, listings headwinds, and capital allocation
Youngwood provided 2026 non-GAAP operating expense guidance of $2.455 billion to $2.535 billion, which she said reflects 7% organic growth at the midpoint, including benefits from net synergies under an expanded cost program, a $25 million net decline due to divestiture and a small acquisition, and a nearly $20 million increase from FX. She also said Nasdaq expects a 2026 non-GAAP tax rate of 22.5% to 24.5%.
In the listings business, Youngwood said Nasdaq expects an approximately $9 million year-over-year headwind in each quarter of 2026 from prior-year delistings, the impact of proposed changes to listing standards, and amortization roll-up of prior-period initial listing fees.
On capital allocation, management highlighted dividends of $1.05 per share in 2025, $826 million of debt paydown, and $616 million in share repurchases for the year. In Q&A, executives said the company remains focused on organic growth while evaluating bolt-on acquisitions under a “build versus buy” approach.
Nasdaq also announced it will host its 2026 Investor Day on Wednesday, February 25.
About Nasdaq NASDAQ: NDAQ
Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.
Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.
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