Provide more detail on the drivers of strong momentum in Capital Markets Technology, particularly incremental uptake, and the outlook for the rest of the year.

Momentum is broad-based across Trade Management Services (increased connectivity demand, data center expansion, pricing increase), Calypso (global demand, strong collateral management module), and Market Technology (new asset classes, modernization of core clientele, Eclipse product suite rollout, intelligence suite for data management). The company does not provide specific segment outlooks but sees strong demand. “There -- as we mentioned, there's actually good momentum across all 3 elements of the Capital Markets Tech business.”

Elaborate on the drivers of data strength, especially internationally and related to 24/5 trading, and the progression for the year.

International demand for Nasdaq's market data has been growing for 5-6 years due to global investor interest in U.S. equities and increased retail investor accessibility. This trend has accelerated in the last year as firms prepare for 23/5 trading with lit markets, driving more demand for enterprise license deals globally. “We have though seen some acceleration of that in the last, I would say, a year, so it's not just in this quarter but over the last year, as 23/5 trading in U.S. equities is both there is some trading that already occurs in the dark today.”

Provide an updated timeline for tokenized trading capabilities and remaining hurdles before the first trade.

Nasdaq is actively working with DTCC and the industry, with DTCC expressing interest in achieving the "first trade" before the end of the year. This will likely be an early phase to ensure seamless end-to-end functionality. The process involves advancing systems, test trades, and collaborative efforts. “I think that DCCC has significant efforts underway, and they have at least expressed an interest in trying to get to that first trade that you mentioned before the end of the year.”

NDAQ

Nasdaq (NDAQ) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· Financials· Apr 23, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Nasdaq Q1 FY26 — Record Financial Technology Revenue and Strong Organic Growth

Nasdaq delivered one of its strongest Q1 performances, driven by record Financial Technology revenue growth and broad-based client engagement across its platform. The company saw significant organic growth and strong ARR expansion, reflecting successful execution of its "One Nasdaq" strategy and modernization efforts. Despite an uneven IPO market and mix shifts impacting derivative capture, Nasdaq remains confident in its strategic objectives and long-term value creation.

Highlights

Achieved highest Q1 organic growth since 2021 across net revenue, solutions revenue, and operating income.
Delivered highest ever quarterly revenue growth in the Financial Technology division at 18% year-over-year.
Diluted EPS grew 21% year-over-year.
Overall Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) grew 12% year-over-year to $3.2 billion.
Financial Technology ACV bookings grew over 50% year-over-year, with 80% cloud-based deals.

Concerns

IPO environment remained uneven amid market volatility, contributing to flat Corporate Solutions revenue.
Experienced a mix shift in index derivatives from higher-priced muni contracts to lower-priced micro and mini contracts, impacting capture.
Noted lower capture in U.S. equities and U.S. options due to a mix shift towards lower revenue capture order flow.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Non-GAAP operating expense	$2.485 billion to $2.545 billion high materiality	Full-year 2026 · FY26	High
Non-GAAP tax rate	22.5% to 24.5% medium materiality	Full-year 2026 · FY26	High
Quarterly dividend per share	$0.31 per share high materiality	Going forward	High
Expense efficiencies from AI adoption	$100 million high materiality	End of 2027 · FY27	Medium

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Capital Access Platforms Strong data revenue driven by upsells and pricing. Listings revenue benefited from improving IPO environment and pricing increases. Index revenue driven by record average ETP AUM, partially offset by mix shift in derivative volumes. ARR growth: 7%Data and listings revenue growth: 9%Data and listings ARR growth: 8%Index revenue growth: 14%Index ARR growth: 6%Workflow and Insights revenue growth: 6%Workflow and Insights ARR growth: 6%	$565 million	10%	—	62%
Financial Technology Record revenue and ARR growth driven by strong demand across all subdivisions. High ACV bookings growth, with a significant portion from cloud-based deals. Financial Crime Management Technology saw strong SMB client acquisition and enterprise deals. Regulatory Technologies benefited from sales execution and improved professional services. Capital Markets Technology had exceptional performance due to broad-based demand, including one-time termination fees contributing 4 percentage points to revenue growth. ARR growth: 16%ACV bookings growth: >50% YoYCloud-based ACV bookings: 80%New clients signed: 64Cross-sells: 1Upsells: 85Financial Crime Management Technology revenue growth: 21%Financial Crime Management Technology ARR growth: 17%Financial Crime Management Technology net revenue retention: 110%SMB clients signed (Verafin): 58SMB ACV bookings growth (Verafin): 24% YoYRegulatory Technologies revenue growth: 12%Regulatory Technologies ARR growth: 13%AxiomSL cloud-based ACV bookings: ~90%Capital Markets Technology revenue growth: 20%Capital Markets Technology ARR growth: 18%	$517 million	18%	—	47%
Market Services Growth driven by record volumes in U.S. equities and options, increased European and Canadian equities volumes. Strong revenue growth in index options. Partially offset by lower capture in U.S. equities and options due to mix shift towards lower revenue capture order flow. Record market volumes in U.S. equitiesRecord market volumes in U.S. optionsIndex options revenue growth: >100% YoYElevated market share in U.S. equitiesElevated market share in U.S. options	$317 million	10%	—	63%

NDAQ operating KPIs by quarter

NDAQ operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI	Mar 2025 Q1 FY25	Sep 2025 Q3 FY25	Dec 2025 Q4 FY25	This call Mar 2026 Q1 FY26	Jun 2026 Q2 FY26	Change vs prior quarter
Assets under management (AUM) ETP	—	$829B We exited the quarter with ETP AUM of $829 billion, an all-time high. Source: earnings call transcript	$882B We achieved a record $99 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months, including a record $35 billion in the fourth quarter and exited the year with ETP AUM of $882 billion, an all-time high. Source: earnings call transcript	$836B Our index franchise delivered $79 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months, including $6 billion in the quarter, exiting the quarter with ETP AUM of $836 billion. Source: earnings call transcript	—	-5.2%
Net new assets ETP	$27B ETP AUM included $86 billion of net inflows in the last 12 months, including $27 billion in the first quarter, which reflects tremendous recognition and resiliency in the context of the Nasdaq 100 market performance down 8% during the first quarter. Source: earnings call transcript	$17B We had a record $91 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months and $17 billion in net inflows in the quarter. Source: earnings call transcript	$35B We achieved a record $99 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months, including a record $35 billion in the fourth quarter and exited the year with ETP AUM of $882 billion, an all-time high. Source: earnings call transcript	$6B Our index franchise delivered $79 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months, including $6 billion in the quarter, exiting the quarter with ETP AUM of $836 billion. Source: earnings call transcript	$51B Our Index franchise set new inflow records with $51 billion in net inflows for the quarter and $109 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months. Source: earnings call transcript	+750%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline
Nasdaq Private Capital indexes	launch	Q1 FY26
Invesco QQQ Equal Weight ETFs	launch	Recently
New drug trafficking analytic (Verafin)	launch	Later this quarter (Q2 FY26)
Calibration Copilot (Surveillance)	launch	Recently introduced
Gen AI platform extension (Surveillance)	launch	Second quarter (Q2 FY26)
23/5 Market Operations	launch	December 6, 2026
Nasdaq equity token design	roadmap	First half of 2027
Outcome-related options / Event options	launch	—

Deals & partnerships

BlackRock and State Street Index licensing partnership

Expanded access to the Nasdaq-100 index for new U.S.-listed ETFs, complementing existing partnership with Invesco.

FIS Strategic partnership

Nasdaq Verafin is evolving its platform through this partnership to deliver AML and fraud solutions.

DTCC Collaboration for tokenized equities

Working collaboratively with DTCC and the industry to advance systems and conduct test trades for tokenized equities.

Risks & headwinds

Uneven IPO environment Q1 FY26

Softer labor conditions and inflation pressures offset by resilient spending from higher income households and continued capital deployment in AI.

Mitigation:Issuer engagement remains strong; companies in pipeline preparing for market entry. Encouraging environment for improving IPO activity entering Q2.

Mix shift in index derivatives Q1 FY26

From higher-priced muni contracts to lower-priced micro and mini contracts due to higher retail volumes.

Mitigation:Record derivative volumes, up 9% in the quarter, partially offset the impact.

Lower capture in U.S. equities and options Q1 FY26

Driven by strong volumes coming with a mix shift towards lower revenue capture order flow.

Mitigation:Company continues to manage the balance between capture and market share, maintaining strong lead in U.S. equities capture and U.S. options market share.

Cybersecurity risks from new AI models Ongoing

Anthropic's new Mythos model expected to post significant cybersecurity risks for financial institutions.

Mitigation:Nasdaq leverages AWS' Bedrock and Microsoft Azure, conducts extensive IT security reviews, and tests models thoroughly before deployment. Partners with cyber companies, hyperscalers, banks, and government on secure model introduction.

Q&A highlights

How is Nasdaq using Agentic AI internally for efficiency, and where is client uptake strongest for AI-enabled solutions?

Internally, Nasdaq targets $100 million in expense efficiencies by end of 2027, primarily in product development, client success, and corporate functions, with most savings expected in 2027. Client adoption is strongest in anti-financial crime management (Verafin) due to workflow automation, regulatory reporting (AxiomSL) for cloud-based AI capabilities, and Corporate Solutions (Boardvantage, IR Insight) for document summarization and agenda building.

“we are striving to achieve $100 million of expense efficiencies by the end of 2027 and we also did mention that the majority of that will show up in 2027 because we also are making investments in AI to make sure that we can achieve those efficiencies.”

asked by William Katz · answered by Adena Friedman

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Strong Q1 Performance and Organic Growth

Nasdaq reported one of its strongest Q1 performances, achieving the highest Q1 organic growth since 2021 across net revenue, solutions revenue, and operating income. Net revenue reached $1.4 billion, a 13% year-over-year increase, with solutions revenue up 14%. This growth was attributed to broad client engagement and successful execution of the "One Nasdaq" strategy, demonstrating the company's ability to deliver profitable and durable growth.

Financial Technology Division's Record Growth

The Financial Technology division delivered its highest ever quarterly revenue growth at 18% year-over-year, with ARR growth of 16%. This was driven by sustained global demand for mission-critical technologies, strong ACV bookings growth exceeding 50% year-over-year, and 80% of new bookings being cloud-based solutions. The division signed 64 new clients, 1 cross-sell, and 85 upsells, highlighting its land-and-expand strategy.

Expansion of Nasdaq-100 Index Partnerships

Nasdaq announced expanded access to the Nasdaq-100 index through new partnerships with BlackRock and State Street, in addition to its long-standing partner Invesco. The pricing terms for these new U.S.-listed ETFs will be consistent with QQQ pricing. This strategic move aims to broaden distribution and institutional adoption of the flagship index, leveraging the unique investor universes of the new partners to make the index more accessible globally.

Advancements in AI and Cloud-Based Solutions

Nasdaq is actively integrating AI across its platforms, with 74% of IR Insight users and 51% of Boardvantage users leveraging AI solutions. In Financial Technology, cloud-based solutions accounted for 80% of ACV bookings, and AI-enabled regulatory solutions are driving client expansions.

The company is also targeting $100 million in expense efficiencies by the end of 2027 through internal AI adoption, with most savings expected in 2027.

Progress in Always-On Markets and Tokenization

Nasdaq received SEC approval to extend market operations to 23/5, with a projected launch of December 6, 2026, aiming to expand access and resiliency for global market participants. Concurrently, the FCC's approval for trading tokenized securities is advancing, with Nasdaq collaborating with DTCC and the industry to build the necessary infrastructure.

The Nasdaq equity token design, expected in H1 2027, aims to give issuers greater control over tokenized shares.

Index Business Dynamics and ETP Inflows

The index franchise generated $79 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months, with $6 billion in Q1, exiting the quarter with ETP AUM of $836 billion. Average AUM increased 32% year-over-year to a record $877 million. While Q1 inflows were modestly positive due to sector rotation, early Q2 saw $15 billion in net ETP inflows by April 20.

A mix shift towards lower-priced micro and mini contracts impacted derivative capture despite record volumes.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.