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Intercontinental Exchange vs Nasdaq: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Intercontinental Exchange holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and valuation adding further support. Nasdaq does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup is currently leaning toward Nasdaq, which does not confirm the structural lead. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with Intercontinental Exchange, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across growth and valuation, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. leads by 18 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. ICE and NDAQ share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
70
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
NDAQ
Nasdaq, Inc.
52
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: ICE vs NDAQ Profitability 65 52 Stability 52 56 Valuation 73 53 Growth 91 47 ICE NDAQ
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +44
#2 Valuation +20
#3 Profitability +13
#4 Stability +4
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for ICE and NDAQ Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer ICENDAQ Relative valuation Structural strength

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where ICE and NDAQ each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY ICE Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 21 pct gap NDAQ Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 73rd 94th
Today ICE sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (73rd percentile), while NDAQ sits higher in its own history (94th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, ICE is at a historically more favourable entry position than NDAQ. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both profiles are strong on growth, but Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. leads clearly.
Valuation
On valuation, the edge still sits with Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., even though both profiles look solid.
Growth — Dominant Gap
ICE
91
NDAQ
47
Gap+44in favour of ICE

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Nasdaq, Inc. still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver, and valuation also supports Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.'s broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the ICE vs NDAQ comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-driven comparisons

Explore how ICE and NDAQ each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.