纳斯达克二季度业绩增长但上调全年费用指引，并计划12月启动23/5交易

Earnings Call Insights: Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) Q2 2026
Management View
- "In the second quarter, we delivered $1.5 billion in net revenue, up 15% and solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 17%." (CEO & Chairman Adena Friedman)
- "Our Index business, assets under management surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in our history, and we had our largest quarterly net inflows ever." (CEO & Chairman Friedman)
- "We welcome SpaceX, the largest IPO in history and are proud to have become the largest exchange in the world by market capitalization of our listed companies." (CEO & Chairman Friedman)
- "Earlier this week, we announced an agreement to sell Nasdaq Fund Secondaries to Nasdaq Private Market, where we remain an investor and strategic partner." (Executive VP & CFO Sarah Youngwood)
- "Today, we are announcing that we have entered into an agreement to acquire Dasseti, an AI-powered due diligence platform used by institutional asset allocators and managers across public and private markets." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "We had diluted EPS growth of 25%, exceeding $1 in quarterly EPS for the first time in the company's history." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
Outlook
- "We are updating our non-GAAP expense guidance for the year to a range of $2.530 billion to $2.570 billion from $2.485 billion to $2.545 billion." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "We maintain our 2026 non-GAAP tax rate guidance of 22.5% to 24.5%." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "We remain on track for a projected launch of 23/5 trading on December 6, 2026." (CEO & Chairman Friedman)
- "Additionally, we received SEC approval to list event options and remain on track for launch in the fourth quarter." (CEO & Chairman Friedman)
- "In July, we launched a $200 million to $250 million variable accelerated share repurchase plan, which will be completed in the third quarter." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
Financial Results
- "We reported net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15%, with Solutions revenue of $1.2 billion, up 17%." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "Operating expense was $641 million, up 10%, leading to an operating margin of 57% and an EBITDA margin of 60%, both up 2 percentage points over the prior year period." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "This resulted in net income of $605 million and diluted EPS of $1.07, up 25%." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "Nasdaq generated free cash flow of $477 million in the second quarter." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- "In combination with the dividend, Nasdaq returned over $530 million to shareholders in the second quarter." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
Q&A
- Ashish Sabadra, RBC Capital Markets: How will AI be monetized? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "In some cases, we are integrating the AI capabilities into the core product" and in others "we are charging as a new module" with "a freemium approach."
- Elias Abboud, BofA Securities: What is driving Trade Management Services strength and is it GenAI-driven? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "It is really coming from new and existing clients" and "I would not say that it's really AI -- GenAI-driven," adding a pricing increase "is also benefiting us."
- Alex Kramm, UBS: What is Nasdaq’s role in perpetual-style derivatives and index licensing? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "If they were to come into the equities world, it would have to be the result of a joint regulatory approval from both the SEC and the CFTC," and on licensing, "those are conversations that we would have with our partner, CME and others."
- Owen Lau, Clear Street: How could Calypso monetize tokenized collateral? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "It would be a new module" as "an upsell" tied to "the ability to actually manage collateral movement."
- Patrick Moley, Piper Sandler: Is the IPO pipeline broadening beyond megadeals? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "It really is a broadening of the pipeline," citing themes including "AI infrastructure," "health care and biotech," "defense," and "consumer companies."
- Alexander Blostein, Goldman Sachs: How should investors think about margins and AI efficiencies? Executive VP & CFO Youngwood: "We fund our investments very well" and "we are also working on efficiencies... and that will continue with GenAI."
- Simon Clinch, Rothschild & Co Redburn: How quickly are clients adopting AI tools? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "The clients are downright eager" and "they also recognize that it saves up to 80% of their time."
- Brian Bedell, Deutsche Bank: Views on Reg NMS changes and tokenized equities timeline? CEO & Chairman Friedman: removing constraints "allows us to think about how we can serve clients in a different way," and with Kraken, "we do expect that to be something we launched in early next year."
- Daniel Fannon, Jefferies: Verafin international progress and timing to mid-20s growth target? CEO & Chairman Friedman: outside the U.S. "sales cycles are slow" and enterprise signings should start to flow as revenue "in the second half of the year this year."
- Michael Cyprys, Morgan Stanley: Any Nasdaq Layer 1 / DeFi-native market tech strategy? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "We don't have a Layer 1" and is focused on being "interoperable" and working with "more established markets."
- Benjamin Budish, Barclays: What is driving data sales and always-on catalysts? CEO & Chairman Friedman: demand stems from "AI use cases," "digital assets," and "23/5 trading," and for MCP "there will be an up charge."
- Y. Cho, JPMorgan: Capital Markets Tech tough comps and Verafin ARR timing? Executive VP & CFO Youngwood: "We had some Calypso upfront" that can be "lumpy" and on Verafin, "yes" the ARR uplift from late-2025 signings is still to come.
- Alex Kramm, UBS (follow-up): Is AI increasing financial crime and does it help demand? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "We definitely are hearing that from clients" and highlighted the Verafin consortium data lake and signals-based surveillance.
- Elias Abboud, BofA Securities (last): How many clients are on 24/7 architecture and what is adoption runway? CEO & Chairman Friedman: "We only have a very handful of clients who are using our 24/7 architecture" and moving from 24/5 to 24/7 is "a major lift."
Sentiment Analysis
- Slightly negative analyst tone, focused on durability and emerging risks (perpetuals, Reg NMS, 24/7 architecture lift), including Alex Kramm noting Nasdaq was "caught up in this narrative" around perps.
- Slightly positive management tone, emphasizing execution and opportunity while acknowledging friction points, including CFO Youngwood saying "we are also working on efficiencies" and CEO Friedman describing AI monetization as "very early innings."
- Compared with Q1, management language shifted from broad macro caution to milestone-driven confidence (IPO and Index milestones), while analysts kept pressure on market-structure and implementation timing.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- Q2 featured larger capital formation and listings messaging, with CEO Friedman highlighting SpaceX and calling the IPO environment "robust," versus Q1 describing activity as "uneven amid market volatility."
- Q2 added explicit portfolio actions (Fund Secondaries sale agreement and Dasseti acquisition agreement), which did not appear in Q1 prepared remarks.
- Q2 guidance language tightened around cost expectations via a higher full-year non-GAAP expense range, while maintaining the same non-GAAP tax-rate range cited previously.
- Analyst focus in Q2 broadened from AI capabilities and tokenization execution (Q1) to include perpetual-style derivatives overlap and Reg NMS reform implications.
Risks and Concerns
- "Corporate Solutions" was described as "a challenging environment." (CEO & Chairman Friedman)
- "The volume growth was partially offset by the continued mix shift in derivates volumes from higher-priced E-mini contracts to lower-priced micro E-mini contracts." (Executive VP & CFO Youngwood)
- On perpetual-style derivatives, CFO Youngwood said that "even in an extreme case, we would still expect minimal crossover, representing less than 1% of our total revenue."
- CEO Friedman characterized Verafin international expansion as slower-moving: "sales cycles are slow" when entering "an entirely new jurisdiction."
Final Takeaway
Nasdaq’s management framed Q2 as a milestone quarter across listings, Index scale, and Solutions momentum, while also raising its full-year non-GAAP expense outlook alongside continued investment in AI, always-on markets, and modernization. Management emphasized near-term catalysts including a projected 23/5 trading launch on December 6, 2026 and a planned Q4 launch of event options, while describing AI monetization as product-specific and still in the early stages, and pairing that message with portfolio optimization through the Fund Secondaries sale agreement and the Dasseti acquisition agreement.
Read the full Earnings Call Transcript