Nasdaq Q3 2026 Earnings: Indexes and Fintech Drive Profit Growth

Nasdaq is more than a stock exchange: its businesses span indexes, market data, financial software, and trading infrastructure. Digging into its third-quarter 2026 income statement shows which activities are driving earnings—and why headline revenue growth needs careful interpretation. Net revenue rose 12.6%, while operating income increased 24.9%, with indexes and financial technology providing most of the momentum.

Why $2.4 Billion Isn’t the Most Useful Revenue Number

Nasdaq reported $2.393 billion in gross revenue, up 20.9% year over year. After $912 million in transaction rebates and brokerage, clearance, and exchange fees, revenue less transaction-based expenses reached $1.481 billion. This net measure better captures the revenue Nasdaq retains.

The distinction matters particularly this quarter. Section 31 fees—regulatory charges passed through to customers—added $284 million to both revenue and expenses, versus zero a year earlier. They generated no incremental profit and accounted for much of the headline revenue increase.

The diagram below traces the quarter’s revenue through costs and taxes to consolidated net income:

Market Services illustrates the underlying picture: gross revenue increased 26.2%, but net revenue rose only 1.9% to $309 million, while segment operating income declined to $189 million from $197 million. U.S. equity derivatives net revenue fell despite higher industry trading volumes because Nasdaq retained less revenue per trade.

Indexes and Technology Carry the Growth

Capital Access Platforms, which includes listings, data, indexes, and investment analytics, generated $641 million in revenue, up 20.2%, and $412 million in segment operating income.

Index revenue was the standout, rising 38.9% to $286 million. Assets in exchange-traded products tracking Nasdaq indexes reached $1.16 trillion, compared with $829 billion a year earlier. Both investor inflows and market appreciation contributed. This is an important distinction: index revenue benefits from asset growth, but that also creates exposure to market declines.

Financial Technology revenue rose 15.8% to $529 million, producing $246 million in segment operating income. Its businesses include financial-crime detection, regulatory reporting through AxiomSL, and capital-markets technology including Calypso. Financial Crime Management Technology led growth, increasing 22.9% to $103 million.

Together, these two segments supplied approximately 79% of net revenue. However, their segment profits exclude costs assigned to Corporate, notably acquired-intangible amortization.

Nasdaq’s accompanying earnings release adds commercial context: Financial Technology signed 54 new clients and 135 upsells during the quarter.

Stronger Margins, With Some Help

Operating expenses increased just 2.7% to $749 million, lifting operating income to $732 million. Operating margin measured against net revenue expanded from 44.6% to 49.4%.

Not all that improvement reflects recurring efficiencies. Results included a $16 million net legal-and-regulatory expense benefit, including a favorable legal settlement, while restructuring charges fell from $12 million to zero. Technology infrastructure expenses nevertheless increased 16% to $93 million.

Consolidated net income was $539 million, while income attributable to Nasdaq reached $540 million, up 27.8%. Diluted earnings per share increased 31.3% to $0.96, helped by a lower share count. Adjusted EPS, which excludes specified items, rose more moderately to $1.04 from $0.88.

The takeaway is stronger profitability driven primarily by indexes and technology—not a trading boom. Against exchange peers such as ICE and Cboe, Nasdaq’s diversified revenue base is important, but market-sensitive index fees and weaker derivatives pricing remain meaningful constraints.