Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) stock analysis
Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) clears 4 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 5 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 3 of 5 Lynch-style checks. A free-cash-flow DCF does not fit financial services companies, so no margin of safety is shown. Its earnings quality rates Mixed and it returns +1.8% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Nasdaq do?
Nasdaq runs the Nasdaq stock exchange and other exchanges, and sells market technology, data and financial-crime software to exchanges, banks and companies.
Brands and businesses it owns
- Nasdaq
- Verafin
- Adenza
What stands out about Nasdaq?
- Misses 2 of the 8 value filters. It fails Trailing P/E < 25 (28.97) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (1.62); the other 4 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Close to its 52-week high. At $103.30, NDAQ is within 0.0% of its high of $101.94, 34.4% above its low of $76.85. See the range.
- Weakest against peers: dividend yield. At 1.11% (peer median 1.56%) it ranks 25th of 33 among financial services stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Earnings quality: Mixed · 1 flag. Beneish M-score −2.60 · accruals −1.5% of assets · 149% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.0% of revenue · share count +6.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025). See the Earnings Quality Screener.
How has Nasdaq's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Nasdaq undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) n/a (Financial Services)
- P/E vs. its own history 29.0x · near the cheap end Real range: 27.1x–40.1x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.12/5 24 analysts this month: 6 strong buy, 15 buy, 3 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) n/a (Financial Services)
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Mixed · 1 flag Beneish M-score −2.60 · accruals −1.5% of assets · 149% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.0% of revenue · share count +6.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +1.8% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 1.1% + buybacks 1.1% − stock comp 0.3%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 7%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $13.33 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry · but only 9% return on capital Operating profit $952M → $1.9B, capital needed $8.9B → $22B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now 9% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 1.62 · Above fair P/E 29.0× ÷ 17.9% a year of growth behind it. 179th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 1 of 4 · misses capital-light, real profit, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit grew 2.0×, under 2×); Profit is real: not cleared (1 earnings-quality flag); Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 1.62, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Munger's Inversion Check 0 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 1 of 4 measures above the median Compared with the 39 other financial services stocks this site tracks: 0 in the top third, 2 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Nasdaq compare with its peers?
1 of 4 measure sits above the median of the 39 other financial services stocks tracked here, 2 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 21.7× 29.0× ✕27th of 37
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 18% 16% –24th of 40
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 20.2% 22.5% –16th of 40
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 1.56% 1.11% ✕25th of 33
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and NDAQ doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: NDAQ is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, and has kept that profitability up over five years, not just this year, converts sales into profit at healthy margins, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, and earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry. Where it comes up short: NDAQ carries more debt relative to equity than he typically tolerates, is trading above what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth right now, and trades rich relative to owner earnings, the real cash the business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- Pretax margin > 15% ✓
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✕
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✕
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and NDAQ falls short of his bar. In its favor: NDAQ is growing earnings 20-50% a year, his classic fast-grower zone, isn't asking too much even by a fast grower's usual richer multiple, and is generating real cash to back up a fast grower's higher price tag. Where it comes up short: NDAQ doesn't clear the tighter PEG bar a fast grower needs to justify its pace, and is leaning on more debt than he liked a growth story to carry.
- PEG < 1 (stricter for fast growers) ✕
- EPS growth 20%-50% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- P/E < 40 ✓
- Price/FCF < 40 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Nasdaq pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $57.0B
- Trailing P/E < 25 28.97
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 1.62
- Price/Book < 8 4.75
- Price/Sales < 7 6.51
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +14.4%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Nasdaq's margin of safety?
A standard free-cash-flow DCF doesn't fit how financial services companies report cash flow.
Where is Nasdaq in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Nasdaq?
7,671,012 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Nasdaq? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case n/a (Financial Services)
- Short interest under 5% of float 1.8%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 4/6 passed
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Nasdaq shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from NDAQ's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Nasdaq's 10-year financials show?
From NDAQ's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Nasdaq
What kind of company is Nasdaq?
Nasdaq runs the Nasdaq stock exchange and other exchanges, and sells market technology, data and financial-crime software to exchanges, banks and companies. Brands and businesses it owns include Nasdaq, Verafin and Adenza. This site groups it with Financial Services stocks.
Why does Nasdaq have no margin of safety on this site?
This site's DCF values a company from its free cash flow, and that does not fit financial companies, whose operating cash flow swings with client money, loans and trading rather than with what is left over for owners. So NDAQ gets no margin of safety; judge it on the other checks on this page, such as its filters, shareholder yield and ranking against its peers. The method is in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Nasdaq pass?
NDAQ passes 4 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($57.0B), Price/Book < 8 (4.75), Price/Sales < 7 (6.51) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+14.4%). It misses Trailing P/E < 25 (28.97) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (1.62). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
Are Nasdaq's reported earnings reliable?
This site's earnings-quality check rates NDAQ Mixed · 1 flag. Beneish M-score −2.60 · accruals −1.5% of assets · 149% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.0% of revenue · share count +6.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025). Concerns: share dilution (flagged). The five checks are the Beneish M-score (manipulation risk), accruals, cash conversion, stock-based compensation and share dilution; the Earnings Quality Screener shows how each is graded.
How much cash does Nasdaq return to shareholders?
NDAQ's net shareholder yield is +1.8%: the cash it returns through dividends and buybacks, minus stock-based compensation, as a share of its market value. Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 1.1% + buybacks 1.1% − stock comp 0.3%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 7%. Its trailing dividend yield is 1.11%, paid out of 32% of its free cash flow; the dividend-sustainability check raises 0 of 6 flags. See Shareholder Yield Leaders and the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
Where is Nasdaq trading compared with its 52-week range?
At $103.30, NDAQ is at its 52-week high of $101.94, 32.6% above its 52-week low of $76.85.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Nasdaq's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 12, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Nasdaq Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.