The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) and the rest of the financial exchanges & data stocks fared in Q3.
Financial exchanges and data providers operate trading platforms and sell market information. They enjoy relatively stable revenue from trading fees and subscriptions, increasing demand for data analytics, and expansion opportunities in emerging markets. Challenges include regulatory oversight of market structure, competition from alternative trading venues, and substantial technology investments needed to maintain low-latency trading infrastructure and data security.
The 10 financial exchanges & data stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 10% on average since the latest earnings results.
Best Q3: Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN)
Founded in 1984 by Joe Mansueto with just $80,000 in personal savings, Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) provides independent investment data, research, and analysis tools that help investors, advisors, and institutions make informed financial decisions.
Morningstar reported revenues of $672.1 million, up 8.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Overall, it was a favorable quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
"We continue to put important product enhancements in the hands of our clients while delivering profitable growth," said Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor. "This month, we launched Direct AI, which features agentic workflows backed by our trusted data, research, and analytics. As clients increasingly engage with our data within AI-driven workflows, we're also seeing strong adoption across our MCP offerings, with cumulative tool calls through the PitchBook Data Premium Connector surpassing 13 million in October, up from 1 million in July."
Morningstar achieved the biggest analyst estimate beat in the group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 14.4% since reporting and currently trades at $245.85.
Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ)
Originally founded in 1971 as the world's first electronic stock market, Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) operates global exchanges and provides technology, data, and corporate services that help companies, investors, and financial institutions navigate capital markets.
Nasdaq reported revenues of $1.48 billion, up 12.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. The business had a satisfactory quarter with a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 11.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $107.30.
Is now the time to buy Nasdaq? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q3: MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX)
Pioneering the shift from phone-based to electronic bond trading since 2000, MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) operates electronic trading platforms that enable institutional investors and broker-dealers to efficiently trade fixed-income securities like corporate and government bonds.
MarketAxess reported revenues of $210.4 million, flat year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.7%. It was a sluggish quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
MarketAxess delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $165.65.
Read our full analysis of MarketAxess’s results here.
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE)
Starting as an energy trading platform in 2000 before acquiring the iconic New York Stock Exchange in 2013, Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) operates global financial exchanges, clearing houses, and provides data services and mortgage technology solutions to financial institutions and corporations.
Intercontinental Exchange reported revenues of $2.77 billion, up 14.7% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded a narrow beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
The stock is up 12.4% since reporting and currently trades at $175.33.
Read our full, actionable report on Intercontinental Exchange here, it’s free.
CME Group (NASDAQ: CME)
Born from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange founded in 1898 as a butter and egg trading venue, CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) operates the world's largest derivatives marketplace where traders can buy and sell futures and options contracts across interest rates, equities, currencies, commodities, and more.
CME Group reported revenues of $1.74 billion, up 13% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it underperformed in some other aspects of the business.
The stock is up 2.9% since reporting and currently trades at $304.00.
Read our full, actionable report on CME Group here, it’s free.
Market update
Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership.
Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products.
By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
