By PYMNTS | October 22, 2026
Nasdaq reported higher third-quarter revenue and earnings Thursday (Oct. 22), supported by growth in its financial technology and capital markets businesses as the exchange operator continues investing in technology and market infrastructure.
Net revenue rose 14% on an organic basis to $1.5 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, Nasdaq said in a press release. Solutions revenue, which includes its Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology businesses, increased 18% organically to $1.2 billion. The company’s reported revenue growth was 13%, reflecting the impact of portfolio changes.
Annualized recurring revenue, a measure of contracted revenue expected to recur over a 12-month period, reached a record $3.4 billion, up 14% organically from a year earlier.
Financial Technology revenue increased 16% year over year, while revenue from Capital Access Platforms, which provides services to companies and investors, grew 20%. Market Services, which includes Nasdaq’s trading operations, generated $309 million in net revenue, up 2% from the prior-year quarter.
We’d love to be your preferred source for news.
Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!
Nasdaq Chair and Chief Executive Adena Friedman said the results reflected progress across the company’s businesses, including record growth in financial technology recurring revenue and the establishment of Nasdaq Digital Liquidity Networks within Market Services.
The company is investing in infrastructure to support markets that increasingly operate across asset classes and geographies, including through digital assets and artificial intelligence, Friedman said.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share rose 19% on an organic basis to $1.04. Non-GAAP operating expenses increased 12% on an organic basis to $638 million, driven primarily by higher compensation costs and technology investments, Nasdaq said.
The company generated $521 million in cash flow from operations during the quarter. It returned $173 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchased $323 million of common stock.
Nasdaq also updated its 2026 guidance for non-GAAP operating expenses to a range of $2.55 billion to $2.58 billion. It maintained its full-year non-GAAP tax-rate outlook of 22.5% to 24.5%.
The company announced in September that Nasdaq Verafin and Stablecore had partnered to help financial institutions detect financial crimes across fiat and digital asset activity. The partnership is designed to unify digital asset and traditional banking data to help FIs spot financial crime.
Nasdaq Verafin and Stablecore have the integration in beta with select customers, per that announcement, and plan roll it out to their mutual customers in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.