Sifting through countless of stocks in the Capital Markets industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and data to financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The Exchanges segment operates regulated marketplace technology for the listing, trading, and clearing of an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange and equities, and corporate and exchange-traded funds, as well as data and connectivity services related to its exchanges and clearing houses. The Fixed Income and Data Services segment provides fixed income pricing, reference data, indices, analytics, and execution services, as well as global CDS clearing and multi-asset class data delivery technology. The Mortgage Technology segment offers a technology platform that provides customers comprehensive and digital workflow tools to address inefficiencies and mitigate risks that exist in the U.S. residential mortgage market life cycle from application through closing, servicing, and the secondary market. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Nasdaq, Inc. operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The company distributes historical and real-time market data; develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products; provides investor relations intelligence, governance solutions, and sustainability solution products for public and private companies, and organizations, as well as insights and workflow solutions; and operates listing platforms. It also offers Verafin, a cloud-based platform to detect, investigate, and report money laundering and financial frauds; AxiomSL, a risk data management and regulatory reporting solution; cloud-enabled and on-premises surveillance solutions to assist in complying with market rules, regulations, and internal market surveillance policies; Calypso, a platform providing cross-asset, front-to-back trading, treasury, risk, and collateral management solutions; and trade management and colocation services, as well as handles assets comprising cash equities, equity derivatives, currencies, various interest-bearing securities, commodities, energy products, and digital currencies. In addition, the company provides equity derivative trading and clearing, cash equity trading and fixed income, currency and commodities trading, and fixed income trading and clearing services, as well as tape plan data services; operates various exchanges, including derivatives, commodities, cash equity, debt, structured products, and exchange traded products; and offers clearing, settlement, and central depository services. The company was formerly known as The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and changed its name to Nasdaq, Inc. in September 2015. Nasdaq, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Latest Capital Markets and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq, Inc. Stock News

As of June 17, 2026, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. had a $76.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $3.4 million. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s stock is down 16.9% in 2026, down 4.1% in the previous five trading days and down 25.15% in the past year.

Currently, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 19.6. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $10.4 billion with a 37.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 20.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.140 per share for the current fiscal year. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

As of June 17, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. had a $47.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 93rd percentile of all stocks. Nasdaq, Inc.’s stock is down 14.2% in 2026, down 4% in the previous five trading days and down 3.91% in the past year.

Currently, Nasdaq, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 25.1. Nasdaq, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.4 billion with a 35.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.942 per share for the current fiscal year. Nasdaq, Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.	ICE	C
Nasdaq, Inc.	NDAQ	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a Quality Score of 53, which is Average. Nasdaq, Inc. has a Quality Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Nasdaq, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Nasdaq, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Nasdaq, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.	ICE	F
Nasdaq, Inc.	NDAQ	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 18, which is Very Weak. Nasdaq, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 33, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.	ICE	B
Nasdaq, Inc.	NDAQ	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive. Nasdaq, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 60, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Nasdaq, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 18, Estimate Revisions Score of 61 and Quality Score of 53.

Nasdaq, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 33, Estimate Revisions Score of 60 and Quality Score of 95.

Comparing Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Nasdaq and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.