The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) and the rest of the financial exchanges & data stocks fared in Q1.
Financial exchanges and data providers operate trading platforms and sell market information. They enjoy relatively stable revenue from trading fees and subscriptions, increasing demand for data analytics, and expansion opportunities in emerging markets. Challenges include regulatory oversight of market structure, competition from alternative trading venues, and substantial technology investments needed to maintain low-latency trading infrastructure and data security.
The 10 financial exchanges & data stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.2%.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ)
Originally founded in 1971 as the world’s first electronic stock market, Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) operates global exchanges and provides technology, data, and corporate services that help companies, investors, and financial institutions navigate capital markets.
Nasdaq reported revenues of $1.41 billion, up 13.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.
Sarah Youngwood, Executive Vice President and CFO said, “Nasdaq delivered exceptional first quarter performance with double-digit growth across our three divisions and particular strength in Financial Technology. The mission critical nature of our solutions combined with our execution excellence is helping Nasdaq deliver operating leverage with strong earnings growth.
Nasdaq Total Revenue
Interestingly, the stock is up 5.5% since reporting and currently trades at $91.14.
Founded in 1984 by Joe Mansueto with just $80,000 in personal savings, Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) provides independent investment data, research, and analysis tools that help investors, advisors, and institutions make informed financial decisions.
Morningstar reported revenues of $644.8 million, up 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.
Morningstar Total Revenue
Morningstar pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 2.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $182.50.
Born from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange founded in 1898 as a butter and egg trading venue, CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) operates the world’s largest derivatives marketplace where traders can buy and sell futures and options contracts across interest rates, equities, currencies, commodities, and more.
CME Group reported revenues of $1.88 billion, up 14.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.
CME Group delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 2.2% since the results and currently trades at $290.60.
Tracing its roots back to 1860 when it published the first railroad industry manual, S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) provides credit ratings, market intelligence, commodity data, automotive analytics, and financial indices that help investors and businesses make decisions.
S&P Global reported revenues of $4.17 billion, up 10.4% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Aside from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance meeting analysts’ expectations.
The stock is down 4.4% since reporting and currently trades at $417.78.
Founded in 1978 when financial data was still primarily delivered through paper reports, FactSet (NYSE:FDS) provides financial data, analytics, and technology solutions that investment professionals use to research, analyze, and manage their portfolios.
FactSet reported revenues of $611 million, up 7.1% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but full-year EPS guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
FactSet had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 11% since reporting and currently trades at $227.08.
Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?
These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.
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