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Nasdaq NDAQ

Nasdaq scores good on business quality (6.0 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.

Last price$93.65Oct 9, 2026
Business qualityGood
Next earningsOct 22, 2026
Insiders, 90 daysSelling

Why it matters

  1. What Nasdaq does

    Nasdaq operates financial exchanges and sells software, data, and index products to asset managers, issuers, and trading firms. The company generates steady fees from market technology and listing services while expanding its recurring software revenue base.

  2. What it does best

    Nasdaq dominates electronic market technology sales globally, supplying core trading infrastructure to over 130 marketplaces worldwide. This deep integration creates high switching costs, insulating it from exchange volume swings unlike peers such as CME.

  3. The main risk

    Rising debt levels following major acquisitions create financial exposure, with total debt of $9.0 billion weighing on the balance sheet. Higher leverage limits flexibility if market trading volumes experience a sudden contraction.

Quality, check by check

Scored against its own industry, from company filings.

ProfitabilityFair

Operating margin stands at 30.4% alongside an ROE of 16.3%, reflecting solid core profitability. These margins expand moderately as software revenue scales, though debt servicing costs cap overall returns.

MoatFair

The regulatory and operational complexity of running multi-asset class exchanges forms its moat, placing gross margin in the middle of the pack at 64.1%. This scale is difficult for rivals to replicate within years.

GrowthSteady

Revenue reached $8.8B, pushing growth to 11.6% and outpacing historical annual rates. The solutions segment anchors this expansion, offsetting flat trading volumes with steady software adoption.

Financial healthFair

Debt-to-equity sits at 0.7x with interest coverage of 7.6x, leaving a manageable cushion. Free cash flow reached $2.0B, showing consistent cash conversion while the balance sheet remains stable.

Insiders

Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.

2 sold $4.8M outside pre-planned sales.

Our sealed record on NDAQ

Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.

The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.

Questions

Is NDAQ a good business?

Nasdaq scores good on the Cluenex quality check (6.0 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth steady and financial health fair.

Are insiders buying NDAQ?

In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 2 sold $4.8M outside pre-planned sales.

When does NDAQ report earnings?

Oct 22, 2026.

For members

See NDAQ today

  • Today's verdict on NDAQ, and why
  • Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
  • The exact price that would change the verdict
  • Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Nasdaq (NDAQ)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/ndaq/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.