Nasdaq registers rise in net income in Q2 2020

Maria Nikolova

On a GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2020 was $241 million, or diluted EPS of $1.45, compared to $174 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2019.

Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today posted its financial results for the second quarter of 2020, with revenues and income marking a rise from a year earlier.

On a GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2020 was $241 million, or diluted EPS of $1.45, compared to $174 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2019.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2020 was $256 million, or $1.54 per diluted share, compared to $203 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2019.

Second quarter 2020 net revenues amounted to $699 million, an increase of 12% over the second quarter of 2019. Compared to the prior year period, revenues in the non-trading segments increased 7%, primarily due to organic growth, while Market Services revenues rose 22%, driven by record trading volumes in U.S. equities and options.

Across segments, Market Services generated net revenues of $276 million in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of $49 million, or 22%, when compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing registered net revenues of $83 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $11 million from the second quarter of 2019. The increase reflects higher U.S. industry trading volumes, partially offset by lower overall U.S. equity option market share and net capture rate.

Cash Equity Trading saw net revenues of $106 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $40 million from the second quarter of 2019. The increase primarily reflects higher U.S. and European industry trading volumes and a higher U.S. capture rate, partially offset by lower overall U.S. matched market share.

Fixed Income and Commodities Trading and Clearing marked net revenues of $14 million in the second quarter of 2020, down $2 million from the second quarter of 2019. The decrease was driven by lower U.S. fixed income volumes and the sale of the core assets of Nasdaq’s NFX business in 2019, partially offset by higher European products revenues.

Trade Management Services registered revenues of $73 million in the second quarter of 2020, unchanged from the second quarter of 2019.

Corporate Services registered revenues of $126 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $3 million, or 2%, compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Listing Services revenues were $74 million in the second quarter of 2020, unchanged from the second quarter of 2019. Higher U.S. Listing revenues were offset by lower event-related revenues at the Nasdaq MarketSite and lower Nasdaq Private Market program activity, both mainly due to the business impact of COVID-19.

Corporate Solutions reported revenues of $52 million in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of $3 million from the second quarter of 2019, due to increases in both IR intelligence revenues and governance solutions revenues.

Information Services registered revenues of $213 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $19 million, or 10%, from the second quarter of 2019.

Market Data revenues were $101 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $1 million from the second quarter of 2019, with organic growth in U.S. proprietary products from new sales, including continued expansion geographically, partially offset by lower shared tape plan revenue.

Index revenues were $68 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $13 million from the second quarter of 2019, primarily driven by higher licensing revenue from higher average assets under management (AUM) in exchange traded products (ETPs) linked to Nasdaq indexes, higher licensing revenue from futures trading linked to the Nasdaq 100 Index and higher index data revenues.

Investment Data & Analytics reported revenues of $44 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $5 million from the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to the acquisition of Solovis and growth in eVestment.

Market Technology reported revenues of $84 million in the second quarter of 2020, up $5 million, or 6%, from the second quarter of 2019. Nasdaq continued to see strong client traction in its Market Technology segment with five new SaaS marketplace clients and launches the Marketplace Services Platform. New order intake totaled $38 million during the second quarter of 2020, driven by strong new order intake in our market and trade surveillance business and the signing of five new SaaS marketplace customers, including surveillance deals with Tradeweb and the National Futures Association. Robinhood, the U.S. retail brokerage, has also selected Nasdaq for its Nasdaq Trade Surveillance technology to monitor their markets.

Nasdaq also announced the launch of the Marketplace Services Platform, a SaaS platform which provides next-generation capabilities spanning the transaction lifecycle to facilitate exchange of assets, services and information across various types of market ecosystems. LEX, a commercial real estate securities marketplace, announced they will collaborate with Nasdaq to use the Marketplace Services Platform as the underlying technology for LEX’s alternative trading system.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Coinbase CEO says Chase UK’s ban on crypto “totally inappropriate”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticized Chase UK’s decision to restrict cryptocurrency-related transactions in the UK. He called the move “totally inappropriate” and expressed his disagreement with the bank’s decision to ban its UK customers from conducting debit card or wire transfers related to cryptocurrencies.

Digital Assets

Binance CZ refutes any connection with CommEX

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, has denied being the owner of CommEX, the company that reportedly acquired Binance’s business in Russia.

Institutional FX

Refinitiv’s spot FX volumes hit 8-month low

Refinitiv, the former Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters, today reported that the average daily volumes (ADV) of currency trading were $424 billion last month on the company’s main FX trading services.

Executive Moves

Integral hires industry veteran Paul Arnold as liquidity manager

Integral, a technology provider to the financial markets’ buy-side, has appointed Paul Arnold, a highly experienced FX industry professional, as its liquidity manager, according to information made public on his Linkedin profile.

Digital Assets

Terraform’s Do Kwon challenges US extradition request

Do Kwon, the crypto entrepreneur and former CEO of Terraform Labs, is opposing the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission’s request to question him about the crash of his company’s stablecoins Terra and Luna.

Digital Assets

Coinbase gets nod to offer futures for retail customers

Coinbase International Exchange has received regulatory approval from Bermuda’s financial regulator, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), to allow eligible non-US retail customers to trade perpetual futures contracts.

Inside View

How brokers can win the trading tech wars: Insights from iFX EXPO 2023

Last week’s iFX EXPO International 2023, held at the City of Dreams Mediterranean Integrated Resort in Limassol, Cyprus, welcomed a series of insightful discussions. A panel that particularly stood out focused on the role and evolution of trading technology.

Crypto Insider

Web3 Transformation: Radix’s Babylon Update Redefines User and Developer Engagement

Radix Publishing leaps forward in the decentralized world with the release of the Babylon mainnet upgrade, bridging the gap between innovative tech and user-friendly DeFi experiences.

Digital Assets

Crypto.com Joins Forces with PayPal and Paxos for Enhanced PYUSD Exchange Experience

Crypto.com collaborates with PayPal and Paxos to fortify its position as the premier exchange for PYUSD, marking a significant milestone in the global crypto landscape.

<