Nasdaq Q3 profit falls 4% but beats estimates

Nasdaq Inc. (NDAQ) reported a 4% decline in earnings for the third quarter due to the impact of the divestiture of the Public Relations Solutions and Digital Media Services businesses as well as the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange changes. The bottom line exceeded analysts’ expectations, while the top line missed consensus estimates.

Net income declined 4% to $163 million and earnings decreased 3% to $0.97 per share. Non-GAAP earnings increased 14% to $1.15 per share.

Revenue inched down 0.5% to $600 million. The latest quarter included a positive impact from organic growth and a positive impact from the inclusion of revenues from the acquisition of eVestment. This was offset by a negative impact from the divestiture of the Public Relations Solutions and Digital Media Services businesses and an unfavorable impact from changes in foreign exchange rates.

Market services revenue rose 1% on higher US industry trading volumes and higher US market share. Corporate Services revenue increased 4% on the client adoption of its all-inclusive annual listing fee program and an increase in the number and size of IPOs.

Revenue from fixed income and commodities trading and clearing declined 5% due to lower revenues related to US fixed income products and the unfavorable impact from changes in foreign exchange rates. Trade management services revenues slid 4% on the decline in port connectivity and an unfavorable impact from foreign exchange changes.

Market data revenue declined 2% due to lower collections related to under-reported usage. Index revenue grew 21% on organic growth from higher assets under management in exchange-traded products linked to Nasdaq indexes. Revenue from investment data and analytics soared 220% on impact from the acquisition of eVestment.

In the third quarter of 2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market welcomed 85 new listings, including 52 IPOs. The US IPO win rate totaled 76% during the third quarter.

Shares of Nasdaq opened lower but changed its course to the positive territory. The stock has risen over 11% in the past year and over 6% in the year so far.