Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The company operates regulated marketplaces for listing, trading, and clearing an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange, and equities, as well as corporate and exchange-traded funds; and trading venues, including regulated exchanges and clearing houses. It also offers energy, agricultural and metals, and financial futures and options; and cash equities and equity options, and over-the-counter and other markets, as well as listings and data and connectivity services. In addition, the company provides fixed income data and analytic, fixed income execution, CDS clearing, and other multi-asset class data and network services. Further, it offers proprietary and comprehensive mortgage origination platform, which serves residential mortgage loans; closing solutions that provides customers connectivity to the mortgage supply chain and facilitates the secure exchange of information; data and analytics services; and Data as a Service for lenders to access data and origination information. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (Symbol: UPRO) where we have detected an approximate $133.9 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.0% decrease week over week (from 43,900,000 to 42,600,000). Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today Chubb Ltd (Symbol: CB) is up about 0.1%, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (Symbol: MMC) is off about 0.5%, and Intercontinental Exchange Inc (Symbol: ICE) is up by about 0.1%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the UPRO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of UPRO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, UPRO's low point in its 52 week range is $45.88 per share, with $104.83 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $103.10. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Also see:
HT Stock Predictions
Institutional Holders of RPT
Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding HBAN
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

UPRO, CB, MMC, ICE: ETF Outflow Alert

Key Points
The SEC and CFTC are shaking the status quo.
Whether it's through extended equity trading hours or tokenized stocks, after-hours trading is increasingly possible.
Lack of liquidity may make round-the-clock trading more expensive.
The heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) say it's a "new day" for the two organizations. The regulators want to work together to ensure harmonized oversight and promote innovation in the field of digital assets. This collaboration is part of a wider push to develop U.S. cryptocurrency markets and digital assets.
On Sept. 5, SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham announced a series of new joint priorities. These include relaxing derivatives rules, exploring exemptions so that decentralized finance (DeFi) projects can grow, and expanding equity trading hours -- potentially as far as 24/7 trading.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Moves toward 24/7 equity trading
Cryptocurrency and forex investors are no strangers to round-the-clock trading. Even for equities, trading outside the regular hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET is not new.
Several brokerages, including Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR), and Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), already offer some form of after-hours trading. Last November, the SEC greenlighted plans from the 24X National Exchange to offer 23-hour trading days.
Nasdaq and NYSE are both working toward longer trading hours. Last year, Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), the company behind the NYSE, said that it wanted to extend U.S. trading to 22 hours a day, five days a week. Nasdaq plans to introduce 24-hour trading five days a week before the end of this year.
To some extent, proposals to extend trading hours run in parallel with moves to tokenize stocks and allow registered brokerages to offer spot crypto trading. Tokenized stocks are essentially blockchain-based tokens that represent shares in a company -- and like cryptocurrency, they can be traded at any time. The lines between what crypto exchanges and brokerages offer are becoming increasingly blurred.
What 24/7 trading might mean for investors
For retail investors, one big benefit of longer trading hours is that markets become more agile and accessible. It opens the way to react to news in the here and now, rather than waiting for the market bell. That may or may not be a good thing, given that panic investment decisions rarely pay off.
All the same, the current system does not favor people who want to manage their investments outside the regular working day. International investors may also appreciate extended hours. The World Economic Forum says that about 18% of U.S. equities are owned by people abroad, and a shift in trading times could boost this figure.
But it brings disadvantages, too. For investors, out-of-hours trading can mean:
Less liquidity: According to the NYSE, about 11% of equity trading takes place out of hours. These trades have less liquidity to work with, which can make it harder to execute trades. If they can get the trades done, after-hours investors may also not get the best prices.
Wider spreads: The other consequence of lower liquidity is that the bid-ask spread will grow, meaning trades can be more expensive. Plus, the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO), which ensures that investors get the best price and tightest spread, does not operate round-the-clock.
Increased volatility: Prices can swing more if there are fewer traders in the market. Markets can also become more reactive as people trade on the back of positive or negative news without necessarily taking the time to process the information.
Right now, brokerages use alternative trading systems (ATS) to offer non-traditional trading hours. Some of this takes place via "dark pools" -- so named because trades don't become public until after they've executed. They may sound sinister, but they're registered with the SEC. They were designed to allow institutional investors to make large trades without moving the markets.
If the regulators' plans pan out, out-of-hours trading would take place on regulator-approved exchanges rather than in dark pools. This could take some of the risks out of extended trading. As two SEC commissioners pointed out in a statement last year, using lit exchanges -- the opposite of dark pools -- could mean increased investor protection and increased liquidity.
Nonetheless, there's still a lot of work to do behind the scenes to make extended trading a reality. In addition to practical questions of how to staff always-on exchanges, there are also technical and operational issues. Right now, financial institutions use the downtime to process certain trades, upgrade infrastructure, and more. Transitioning to something new won't be as simple as ringing a bell.
How investors can prepare for changing financial sands
Change is afoot in financial exchanges and regulation. It's a good time for investors to consider their investment strategies and identify assets that may benefit from regulatory developments.
In terms of the how, that means staying informed, maintaining a diversified portfolio, and considering strategies to handle round-the-clock markets. Investigate the credentials of any brokerage you use, and make sure you understand the risks. If you're a long-term investor, solid research and a firm hold on your investment strategy can help avoid middle-of-the-night trades.
As for potential investment opportunities, here are some areas to have on your radar:
Brokerages that are ready for extended trading: I mentioned Robinhood, Interactive Brokers, and Charles Schwab above. Robinhood, which also sells crypto and has rolled out tokenized assets in Europe, could be well-positioned to capitalize on regulatory changes.
Cryptocurrency ecosystems that will support tokenized assets: Tokenized assets are the other side of the extended trading hours coin. Keep an eye on smart-contract cryptos like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), as these may be where tokenized securities will be built.
2025 has already seen significant changes in financial regulation, and there are more to come. Informed investors will be best-positioned to benefit as we move into a new era of finance.
Should you invest $1,000 in Robinhood Markets right now?
Before you buy stock in Robinhood Markets, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Robinhood Markets wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $670,781!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,023,752!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,052% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 8, 2025
Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Emma Newbery has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, Interactive Brokers Group, and Solana. The Motley Fool recommends Charles Schwab and Intercontinental Exchange and recommends the following options: long January 2027 $43.75 calls on Interactive Brokers Group, short January 2027 $46.25 calls on Interactive Brokers Group, and short September 2025 $92.50 calls on Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Regulators Consider 24/7 Trading. Here's What Investors Need to Know

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE shares have gained 26.1% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the industry's growth of 15.9%, the Finance sector’s return of 12.5% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s rise of 9.8%.
Cboe Global has outperformed its peers, including Intercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE, CME Group Inc.CME and Nasdaq, Inc.NDAQ. Shares of ICE, CME and NDAQ have gained 21.3%, 16.1% and 22.6%, respectively, year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
With a market capitalization of $25.77 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.8 million. CBOE has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing in one, delivering an average surprise of 1.89%.
CBOE Trading Above 50-Day and 200-Day Moving Averages
Shares of Cboe Global closed at $246.43 on Thursday and are trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) of $238.63 and $217.89, respectively, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CBOE’s Growth Projection Encourages
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cboe Global’s 2025 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.5%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.27 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 9.6%.
The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 5.9% and 4.3%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates.
Earnings have grown 11.4% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 9.6%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is 13.8%, outperforming the industry average of 10.4%.
Optimist Analyst Sentiment on CBOE
Eight of the 13 analysts covering the stock have raised estimates for 2025, while six analysts have raised the same for 2026 over the past 60 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved up 0.9% and 1.3%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Impacting CBOE
Cboe Global’s organic strength lies in a diversified business mix that ensures uninterrupted revenue generation and recurring non-transaction revenues.
CBOE remains on track to grow its recurring non-transaction revenues. Increases in access and capacity fees and proprietary market data fees are likely to boost Data Vantage’s net revenues. Data Vantage is well-positioned to perform well in 2025. CBOE estimates Data Vantage organic net revenue growth to be in the mid to high single-digit range in 2025.
The company achieved a greater global breadth of services and products, as well as new distribution channels, apart from generating revenues and cost synergies through strategic buyouts.
Banking on operational expertise, the company has been strengthening its balance sheet by improving its cash position and lowering its debt balance. Its leverage ratio, as well as the times interest earned, compares favorably with the industry average.
CBOE’s strategic investments are well supported by solid capital management. However, higher expenses remain a major concern.
Cboe Global has been facing intense competition due to increased market consolidation that tends to reduce market share, and this includes both product and price competition.
The company’s investment in European, Canadian and Asia Pacific operations remains exposed to volatility in currency exchange rates through translation of net assets or equity to U.S. dollars. The company is also exposed to credit risk from third parties, including customers, counterparties and clearing agents.
End Notes
Cboe Global’s growth strategy of expanding its product line across asset classes, broadening geographic reach, diversifying the business mix with recurring revenues and leveraging technology reflects its operational expertise.
Its wealth distribution remains impressive. CBOE increased dividends for 13 straight years, and as of June 30, 2025, the company had $614.5 million of availability remaining under its existing share repurchase authorizations.
Thus, it is better to adopt a wait-and-see approach for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

CBOE Stock Rises 26.1% YTD: A Signal for Investors to Hold Tight?

For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 21, 2025 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses S&P Global SPGI, Intercontinental Exchange ICE, CME Group CME, Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ and Cboe Global Markets CBOE.
Industry: Securities & Exchanges
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2735892/5-securities-exchanges-stocks-to-track-as-industry-dynamics-evolve
A compelling and diversified product portfolio helps drive the revenues of Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry players. A rise in trading volumes, product expansion through prudent acquisitions and the increased adoption of a greater number of crypto assets are expected to benefit S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, CME Group, Nasdaq Inc. and Cboe Global Markets. Increased focus on accelerating their non-trading revenue base, which comprises market technology, listing and information revenues, infuses dynamism in the business profile of the industry players.
The industry is expected to get an impetus under the Trump administration, given his crypto favoritism. The sector is also witnessing increased retail trading. However, alterations in investment patterns and priorities and compliance with regulations pose challenges. With the increasing digitization of financial markets, cyber threats and data breaches continue to pose serious risks.
About the Industry
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry comprises companies that operate electronic marketplaces, which facilitate the buying and selling of stocks, stock options and bonds or commodity contracts. They facilitate trading across a diverse range of products in multiple asset classes and geographies.
The companies generate revenues from fees received from the listed companies on their exchanges. They also provide a range of data and listing services to global financial and commodity markets, including pricing and reference data, exchange data, analytics, feeds, index services, investments, risk management, desktops, and connectivity solutions, as well as corporate and ETF listing services, on the cash equity exchanges. The industry is witnessing increased adoption of crypto assets. Yet, industry players have to comply with a number of regulations, resulting in challenges.
4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Securities and Exchanges Industry
Volatility Fueling Trading Volume: The industry players are largely dependent on product and service portfolios for revenues. Major services include trade execution, clearing, settlement services for securities and commodity contracts, listing services, plus trading and clearing systems services. Sustainable trading volume growth, driven by trading volatility, fuels transaction and clearing fees. In a pro-crypto environment and easing regulatory control, trading is expected to increase.
Maximizing transaction and clearing fees and the lowering of transaction-based expenses drive profits. Per Technavio, the securities exchanges market in 2028 is expected to reach $49.6 billion at a five-year CAGR of 12.1%, given increasing demand for various investment opportunities. Also, the increased adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, among others, is a boon.
Diversification Into Other Recurring Revenue Sources: Securities exchanges are increasingly focusing on recurring revenues to lower reliance on unpredictable trading-driven income. With market volumes often fluctuating, stable revenue streams from data services, listings, clearing, and technology platforms offer consistent cash flows and stronger earnings stability.
These revenues support growth by addressing rising demand for market data, compliance, ESG offerings and digital asset infrastructure. Players are strengthening their presence in the evolving landscape as technology and data providers, leveraging cloud, AI and digital assets and are thereby enhancing scalability and margins. Accelerating the non-trading revenue base also infuses dynamism in the business profiles.
Mergers and Acquisitions: M&As are gaining momentum across the industry, with companies leveraging strategic partnerships and acquisitions to fuel growth and innovation. These initiatives help unlock new markets, diversify product offerings and reinforce trading platforms. Coinbase’s recent acquisition of Deribit underscores this trend, strengthening its position in the derivatives market.
Such strategic deals not only broaden portfolios but also protect domestic market share while driving global expansion. Deloitte noted that exchanges are increasingly embracing consolidation to adapt to rapidly changing technological, regulatory and competitive environments.
Continuous Investment in Technology: Increasing technology investments to enhance competitiveness and adaptability bodes well. There is growing emphasis on creating strategic market models through advanced tools, especially AI, while continually upgrading products and services.
Exchanges are increasingly leveraging AI and blockchain to strengthen efficiency and resilience. Recent advancements use machine learning, automation, and algorithms to improve trading accuracy, reduce cyber threats and limit human errors, thereby accelerating trading speed. Moreover, they are focusing on automating non-trading operations, which significantly contribute to revenue generation and support sustainable long-term growth.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry is housed within the broader Zacks Finance sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #24, which places it in the top 10% of the 251 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, reflects encouraging near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts have been gaining confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. Estimates for 2025 have increased 6.9% in a year.
Before we present a few securities and exchanges stocks worth considering for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.
Industry Outperforms Sector and S&P 500
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Finance sector as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite year to date. The industry has gained 15% compared with the broader sector’s increase of 10.7% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s rise of 9.5% in the said time frame.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing exchange stocks, the industry is currently trading at 26.32X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.85X and the sector’s 16.89X.
Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 29.62X, as low as 20.4X and at the median of 25.31X.
5 Securities and Exchanges Stocks to Keep An Eye On
We are presenting two Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks and three Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks from the Securities and Exchanges industry. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Nasdaq: Headquartered in New York, Nasdaq is a leading provider of trading, clearing, marketplace technology, regulatory, securities listing, information, and public and private company services. Its strategy of accelerating its non-trading revenue base, successfully maximizing opportunities as a technology and analytics provider, growing core marketplace businesses and intensifying its focus on Market Technology and Information Services businesses should continue to drive this Zacks Rank #2 stock.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share indicates an increase of 17.4% and 11.5%, respectively, year over year. NDAQ came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.36%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 13.8%, better than the industry average of 10.4%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 2.2% and 1.7% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
S&P Global: Headquartered in New York, this Zacks Rank #2 company is a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It remains well-positioned to gain from the growing demand for business information services. While buyouts help it innovate, increase differentiated content and develop products, continued service launches have been aiding the company's growth and enhancing its market reach.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share indicates an increase of 9.2% and 11%, respectively, year over year. SPGI came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.06%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 10.9%, better than the industry average. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.8% and 0.7% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Intercontinental Exchange: This Atlanta, GA-based company is a leading global operator of regulated exchanges, clearing houses and listings venues and a provider of data services for commodity, financial, fixed-income and equity markets. Its compelling portfolio, expansive risk-management services, strategic buyouts and a solid balance sheet bode well.
It is the second-largest global fixed-income provider. This Zacks Rank #3 company, with the largest mortgage network across the United States, remains well-positioned to benefit from accelerated digitization in the U.S. residential mortgage industry.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intercontinental Exchange’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year rise of 15% and 10.8%, respectively. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 12.1%, better than the industry average.
CME Group: Headquartered in Chicago, IL, CME Group is the largest futures exchange in the world in terms of trading volume as well as notional value traded. Its efforts to expand future products in emerging markets, non-transaction-related opportunities, OTC offerings, cross-selling through alliances, global presence and liquidity should drive growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #3 company’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 8.6% and 3.8%, respectively. It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 1.62%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 5.1%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.5% and 0.6% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Cboe Global Markets: Based in Chicago, IL, Cboe Global is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and globally for ETP trading. This Zacks Rank #3 stock is poised for growth, given its expanding product line across asset classes, broadening geographic reach and a diversifying business mix with recurring revenues and technology.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.5% and 5.9%, respectively. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 13.8%, better than the industry average. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.5% and 0.4% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of nearly 2%.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Free Report: 3 Software Stocks Poised to Skyrocket
Software stocks are poised to catapult higher in the coming months (and years) thanks to several factors, especially the explosive growth of AI. Zacks' urgent report reveals 3 top software stocks to own right now.
Access the report free today >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, CME, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets

A compelling and diversified product portfolio helps drive the revenues of Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry players. A rise in trading volumes, product expansion through prudent acquisitions and the increased adoption of a greater number of crypto assets are expected to benefit S&P Global SPGI, Intercontinental Exchange ICE, CME Group CME, Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ and Cboe Global Markets CBOE. Increased focus on accelerating their non-trading revenue base, which comprises market technology, listing and information revenues, infuses dynamism in the business profile of the industry players. The industry is expected to get an impetus under the Trump administration, given his crypto favoritism. The sector is also witnessing increased retail trading. However, alterations in investment patterns and priorities and compliance with regulations pose challenges. With the increasing digitization of financial markets, cyber threats and data breaches continue to pose serious risks.
About the Industry
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry comprises companies that operate electronic marketplaces, which facilitate the buying and selling of stocks, stock options and bonds or commodity contracts. They facilitate trading across a diverse range of products in multiple asset classes and geographies. The companies generate revenues from fees received from the listed companies on their exchanges. They also provide a range of data and listing services to global financial and commodity markets, including pricing and reference data, exchange data, analytics, feeds, index services, investments, risk management, desktops, and connectivity solutions, as well as corporate and ETF listing services, on the cash equity exchanges. The industry is witnessing increased adoption of crypto assets. Yet, industry players have to comply with a number of regulations, resulting in challenges.
4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Securities and Exchanges Industry
Volatility Fueling Trading Volume: The industry players are largely dependent on product and service portfolios for revenues. Major services include trade execution, clearing, settlement services for securities and commodity contracts, listing services, plus trading and clearing systems services. Sustainable trading volume growth, driven by trading volatility, fuels transaction and clearing fees. In a pro-crypto environment and easing regulatory control, trading is expected to increase. Maximizing transaction and clearing fees and the lowering of transaction-based expenses drive profits. Per Technavio, the securities exchanges market in 2028 is expected to reach $49.6 billion at a five-year CAGR of 12.1%, given increasing demand for various investment opportunities. Also, the increased adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, among others, is a boon.
Diversification Into Other Recurring Revenue Sources: Securities exchanges are increasingly focusing on recurring revenues to lower reliance on unpredictable trading-driven income. With market volumes often fluctuating, stable revenue streams from data services, listings, clearing, and technology platforms offer consistent cash flows and stronger earnings stability. These revenues support growth by addressing rising demand for market data, compliance, ESG offerings and digital asset infrastructure. Players are strengthening their presence in the evolving landscape as technology and data providers, leveraging cloud, AI and digital assets and are thereby enhancing scalability and margins. Accelerating the non-trading revenue base also infuses dynamism in the business profiles.
Mergers and Acquisitions: M&As are gaining momentum across the industry, with companies leveraging strategic partnerships and acquisitions to fuel growth and innovation. These initiatives help unlock new markets, diversify product offerings and reinforce trading platforms. Coinbase’s recent acquisition of Deribit underscores this trend, strengthening its position in the derivatives market. Such strategic deals not only broaden portfolios but also protect domestic market share while driving global expansion. Deloitte noted that exchanges are increasingly embracing consolidation to adapt to rapidly changing technological, regulatory and competitive environments.
Continuous Investment in Technology: Increasing technology investments to enhance competitiveness and adaptability bodes well. There is growing emphasis on creating strategic market models through advanced tools, especially AI, while continually upgrading products and services. Exchanges are increasingly leveraging AI and blockchain to strengthen efficiency and resilience. Recent advancements use machine learning, automation, and algorithms to improve trading accuracy, reduce cyber threats and limit human errors, thereby accelerating trading speed. Moreover, they are focusing on automating non-trading operations, which significantly contribute to revenue generation and support sustainable long-term growth.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry is housed within the broader Zacks Finance sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #24, which places it in the top 10% of the 251 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, reflects encouraging near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts have been gaining confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. Estimates for 2025 have increased 6.9% in a year.
Before we present a few securities and exchanges stocks worth considering for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.
Industry Outperforms Sector and S&P 500
The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Finance sector as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite year to date. The industry has gained 15% compared with the broader sector’s increase of 10.7% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s rise of 9.5% in the said time frame.
Year-to-date Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing exchange stocks, the industry is currently trading at 26.32X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.85X and the sector’s 16.89X.
Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 29.62X, as low as 20.4X and at the median of 25.31X, as the chart below shows.
Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio (TTM)
Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio (TTM)
5 Securities and Exchanges Stocks to Keep An Eye On
We are presenting two Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks and three Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks from the Securities and Exchanges industry. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Nasdaq: Headquartered in New York, Nasdaq is a leading provider of trading, clearing, marketplace technology, regulatory, securities listing, information, and public and private company services. Its strategy of accelerating its non-trading revenue base, successfully maximizing opportunities as a technology and analytics provider, growing core marketplace businesses and intensifying its focus on Market Technology and Information Services businesses should continue to drive this Zacks Rank #2 stock.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share indicates an increase of 17.4% and 11.5%, respectively, year over year. NDAQ came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.36%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 13.8%, better than the industry average of 10.4%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 2.2% and 1.7% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Price and Consensus: NDAQ
S&P Global: Headquartered in New York, this Zacks Rank #2 company is a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It remains well-positioned to gain from the growing demand for business information services. While buyouts help it innovate, increase differentiated content and develop products, continued service launches have been aiding the company's growth and enhancing its market reach.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share indicates an increase of 9.2% and 11%, respectively, year over year. SPGI came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.06%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 10.9%, better than the industry average. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.8% and 0.7% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Price and Consensus: SPGI
Intercontinental Exchange: This Atlanta, GA-based company is a leading global operator of regulated exchanges, clearing houses and listings venues and a provider of data services for commodity, financial, fixed-income and equity markets. Its compelling portfolio, expansive risk-management services, strategic buyouts and a solid balance sheet bode well. It is the second-largest global fixed-income provider. This Zacks Rank #3 company, with the largest mortgage network across the United States, remains well-positioned to benefit from accelerated digitization in the U.S. residential mortgage industry.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intercontinental Exchange’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year rise of 15% and 10.8%, respectively. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 12.1%, better than the industry average.
Price and Consensus: ICE
CME Group: Headquartered in Chicago, IL, CME Group is the largest futures exchange in the world in terms of trading volume as well as notional value traded. Its efforts to expand future products in emerging markets, non-transaction-related opportunities, OTC offerings, cross-selling through alliances, global presence and liquidity should drive growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #3 company’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 8.6% and 3.8%, respectively. It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 1.62%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 5.1%. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.5% and 0.6% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Price and Consensus: CME
Cboe Global Markets: Based in Chicago, IL, Cboe Global is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and globally for ETP trading. This Zacks Rank #3 stock is poised for growth, given its expanding product line across asset classes, broadening geographic reach and a diversifying business mix with recurring revenues and technology.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.5% and 5.9%, respectively. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 13.8%, better than the industry average. The consensus mark for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 0.5% and 0.4% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of nearly 2%.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

5 Securities & Exchanges Stocks to Track as Industry Dynamics Evolve

Below is Validea's guru fundamental report for INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE INC (ICE). Of the 22 guru strategies we follow, ICE rates highest using our Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Martin Zweig. This strategy looks for growth stocks with persistent accelerating earnings and sales growth, reasonable valuations and low debt.
INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE INC (ICE) is a large-cap growth stock in the Investment Services industry. The rating using this strategy is 77% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
Detailed Analysis of INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE INC
More Information on Martin Zweig
About Martin Zweig: During the 15 years that it was monitored, Zweig's stock recommendation newsletter returned an average of 15.9 percent per year, during which time it was ranked number one based on risk-adjusted returns by Hulbert Financial Digest. Zweig has managed both mutual and hedge funds during his career, and he's put the fortune he's compiled to some interesting uses. He has owned what Forbes reported was the most expensive apartment in New York, a $70 million penthouse that sits atop Manhattan's Pierre Hotel, and he is a collector of all sorts of pop culture and historical memorabilia -- among his purchases are the gun used by Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry", a stock certificate signed by Commodore Vanderbilt, and even two old-fashioned gas pumps similar to those he'd seen at a nearby gas station while growing up in Cleveland, according to published reports.
Additional Research Links
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Martin Zweig Detailed Fundamental Analysis - ICE

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Global X Adaptive US Factor ETF (Symbol: AUSF) where we have detected an approximate $83.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 11.1% decrease week over week (from 16,560,002 to 14,730,002). Among the largest underlying components of AUSF, in trading today CME Group (Symbol: CME) is down about 0.1%, Intercontinental Exchange Inc (Symbol: ICE) is down about 0.6%, and Kellanova (Symbol: K) is lower by about 0.1%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the AUSF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of AUSF, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, AUSF's low point in its 52 week range is $38.5484 per share, with $45.92 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $45.33. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Dividend Growth Stocks
Funds Holding BANX
Institutional Holders of SBEU
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy ETF Outflows: AUSF, CME, ICE, K

Shareholders of Intercontinental Exchange Inc (Symbol: ICE) looking to boost their income beyond the stock's 1.1% annualized dividend yield can sell the June 2026 covered call at the $185 strike and collect the premium based on the $12.30 bid, which annualizes to an additional 8% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost), for a total of 9.1% annualized rate in the scenario where the stock is not called away. Any upside above $185 would be lost if the stock rises there and is called away, but ICE shares would have to advance 2.4% from current levels for that to happen, meaning that in the scenario where the stock is called, the shareholder has earned a 9.2% return from this trading level, in addition to any dividends collected before the stock was called.
In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Intercontinental Exchange Inc, looking at the dividend history chart for ICE below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 1.1% annualized dividend yield.
Below is a chart showing ICE's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $185 strike highlighted in red:
The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the June 2026 covered call at the $185 strike gives good reward for the risk of having given away the upside beyond $185. (Do most options expire worthless? This and six other common options myths debunked). We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Intercontinental Exchange Inc (considering the last 250 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $180.91) to be 19%. For other call options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the ICE Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com.
In mid-afternoon trading on Wednesday, the put volume among S&P 500 components was 753,765 contracts, with call volume at 1.74M, for a put:call ratio of 0.43 so far for the day. Compared to the long-term median put:call ratio of .65, that represents very high call volume relative to puts; in other words, buyers are preferring calls in options trading so far today. Find out which 15 call and put options traders are talking about today.
Computer Peripherals Dividend Stocks
APC market cap history
NUJ Historical Stock Prices
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Strategy To YieldBoost ICE To 9.1% Using Options

ICE Quantitative Stock Analysis - Martin Zweig

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $2.46 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%. The bottom line increased 14.4% year over year.
The quarterly results benefited from growth in market data, access and capacity fees, an increase in options average daily volume, higher net transaction, clearing fees and non-transaction revenues.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Operational Details
Total adjusted revenues of CBOE Global were a record $587.3 million, which improved 14% year over year on the back of an increase in derivatives markets, Data Vantage, and cash and spot markets net revenues. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.6%.
Options revenues climbed 19% year over year to $364.8 million. The improvement was driven by growth in market data and access and capacity fees and an increase in net transaction and clearing fees as a result of an increase in total options average daily volume.
Revenues of North American Equities totaled $98.4 million, which remained flat year over year, reflecting higher access and capacity fees and industry market data fees, offset by lower net transaction and clearing fees.
Europe and Asia Pacific revenues increased 30% year over year to $70.4 million, reflecting growth in net transaction and clearing fees and non-transaction revenues.
Futures net revenues decreased 14% year over year to $30.1 million due to 19% decrease in net transaction and clearing fees.
Global FX net revenues rose 19% year over year to $23.6 million, primarily due to higher net transaction and clearing fees.
Adjusted operating expenses were $213.3 million, which increased 8.2% year over year. This increase was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits, depreciation and amortization, and technology support services. It was partially offset by lower travel and promotional expenses and professional fees and outside services. Our estimate was $221.4 million.
Adjusted operating income grew 18.5% year over year to $374 million. Our estimate was $342.5 million.
Adjusted operating margin came in at 63.7%, which expanded 230 basis points (bps) year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 65.1% contracted 120 bps year over year.
Financial Update
CBOE Global exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.26 billion, which increased 36.5% from the 2024-end level. As of June 30, 2025, total assets of $9 billion rose 16.2% from the 2024-end figure.
CBOE’s long-term debt was $1.4 billion, which inched up 0.06% from the 2024-end level. Total shareholders’ equity was $4.7 billion, up 9% from the Dec. 31, 2024, figure.
Share Repurchase and Dividend Update
In the second quarter, CBOE Global paid out cash dividends worth $66.4 million or 63 cents per share and bought back shares worth $35.3 million. As of June 30, 2025, CBOE had approximately $614.5 million left under its current share repurchase authorization.
2025 Guidance Updated
CBOE anticipates organic total net revenue growth to be in the high single-digit range, up from the previous guidance.
The company reaffirmed Data Vantage’s organic net revenue growth range of mid to high single digits.
The company expects adjusted operating expenses to be in the range of $832 million to $847 million, down from previous guidance of $837-$852 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $70 million.
CBOE estimates depreciation and amortization expense to be in the range of $53-$57 million in 2025, down from previous guidance of $55-$59 million, excluding the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets.
Cboe Global estimates depreciation and amortization expenses in the range of $43-$47 million, excluding the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets.
CBOE reaffirms the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings to be in the range of 28.5% to 30.5%.
CBOE reaffirms capital expenditures in 2025 to be in the range of $75-$85 million.
Zacks Rank
CBOE Global currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Securities and Exchanges
Intercontinental Exchange ICE reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.81, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line increased 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. Intercontinental’s net revenues were a record $2.5 billion, up 9.8% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%.
Total operating expenses decreased 0.4% year over year to $1.3 billion. This can be primarily attributed to lower rent and occupancy and selling, general and administrative expenses. Our estimate was also $1.3 billion. Adjusted operating expenses were $983 million in the quarter, up 3.8% year over year. Our estimate was $1 billion. Adjusted operating income rose 13.9% year over year to $1.6 billion. Our estimate was $1.4 billion. Adjusted operating margin expanded 200 bps year over year to 61%.
Nasdaq NDAQ reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.3%. The bottom line improved 24% year over year. Nasdaq’s net revenues of $1.3 billion increased 13% year over year. Organic net revenue growth was 12%. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%.
Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) increased 10% year over year to $2.9 billion. Organic growth was 9%. Annualized SaaS revenues increased 13% and represented 37% of ARR. Capital Access Platforms' revenues, adjusted, were $527 million, up 9% year over year. The increase was primarily driven by higher revenues from all business lines. Our estimate was $517.6 million.
CME Group CME reported second-quarter 2025 operating income of $2.96 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.7%. The bottom line improved 15.6% year over year. CME Group’s revenues of $1.7 billion increased 10.4% year over year. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher clearing and transaction fees (up 11% year over year) and market data and information services (up 13.2% year over year). The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%.
Total expenses rose 5.8% year over year to $562.7 million, attributable to higher compensation and benefits, technology, professional fees and outside services and licensing and other fee agreements. It exceeded our estimate of $513.7 million. Operating income increased 12.9% from the prior-year quarter to $1.1 billion. Our estimate was $1.1 billion.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Periodand min./max. price, $	Price change, %		Volatility, %		Volume, $
Periodand min./max. price, $	ICE	Industry	ICE	Industry	Volume, $
Yesterday 173.0 - 174.8	3.96	1.24	14.77	0.34	345.90M
Week 172.0 - 176.1	3.34	2.73	1.58	3.69	1.47B
Month 172.0 - 189.4	-4.24	6.25	4.26	9.30	7.37B
3 Months 172.0 - 189.4	2.58	8.37	9.40	16.32	18.60B
6 Months 147.2 - 189.4	6.25	23.75	13.29	26.65	39.15B
Year 142.3 - 189.4	11.35	20.91	18.39	34.79	66.58B
3 years 88.6 - 189.4	74.56	77.79	32.25	64.34	140.95B
5 years 88.6 - 189.4	80.84	79.55	45.24	94.67	224.95B
All time 6.3 - 167.6	2,108.23	145.79	—	—	203.16B

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

Price and volatility history

Risk ratios