Nasdaq Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results; Continues Strong Growth in Solutions Segments Revenue

NEW YORK, July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2022.

• Second quarter 2022 net revenues1 increased 6% compared to the second quarter of 2021. Solutions segments2 revenues increased 10%, including 12% organic growth, partially offset by a negative 2% FX impact.
• Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)3 increased 9% compared to the second quarter of 2021. Annualized SaaS revenues increased 12% and represented 35% of ARR.
• Second quarter 2022 GAAP diluted earnings per share decreased 10% compared to the second quarter of 2021 primarily due to a gain on a divestiture in the prior year period. Second quarter 2022 non-GAAP4 diluted earnings per share increased 9% compared to the second quarter of 2021.
• During the first six months of 2022, the company returned $819 million to shareholders, including $633 million in share repurchases and $186 million in dividends.
• After receiving the required regulatory and shareholder approvals, the Board declared a three-for-one stock split, with trading of NDAQ on a split-adjusted basis to begin on August 29, 2022.

SECOND QUARTER 2022 HIGHLIGHTS

Adena Friedman, President and CEO said, “Nasdaq’s robust second quarter results and continued top-line growth demonstrate the importance of our diverse and distinctive offerings to our clients, even during challenging market environments. I am proud of our ability to deliver consistently while positioning our company to capture future growth opportunities through focused investments.”

Ann Dennison, Executive Vice President and CFO said, “As we begin the second half of the year, our carefully calibrated investments are supporting our continued growth across Anti Financial Crime solutions, Analytics and ESG, while maintaining our strong margins and scalability.”

FINANCIAL REVIEW

• Second quarter 2022 net revenues were $893 million, an increase of $47 million, or 6%, from $846 million in the prior year period. Net revenues reflected a $76 million, or 9%, positive impact from organic growth, including positive contribution from all segments, partially offset by a $19 million decrease from the impact of changes in FX rates and a $10 million decrease from the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures.

• Solutions segments revenues were $582 million in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of $55 million, or 10%. The increase reflects a $65 million, or 12%, positive impact from organic growth, partially offset by a $10 million decrease from the impact of changes in FX rates.

• Market Services net revenues were $310 million in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of $2 million, or 1%. The increase reflects a $11 million, or 4%, positive impact from organic growth, partially offset by a $9 million decrease from the impact of changes in FX rates.

• Second quarter 2022 GAAP operating expenses increased $11 million, or 2%, versus the prior year period. The increase primarily reflects higher general, administrative and other expense, compensation and benefits expense, and computer operations and data communications expense, partially offset by lower restructuring charges and professional and contract services expense.

• Second quarter 2022 non-GAAP operating expenses increased $21 million, or 5% versus the prior year period. The increase reflects a $42 million, or 11%, organic increase over the prior year period, partially offset by a $17 million decrease from the impact of changes in FX rates and a $4 million decrease from the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures. The organic increase primarily reflects higher compensation and benefits expense, general, administrative and other expense, and computer operations and data communications expense, partially offset by lower professional and contract services expense.

• The company repurchased $166 million in shares of its common stock in the second quarter of 2022, including the completion of a share repurchase program to offset dilution related to the divestiture of our U.S. Fixed Income business. As of June 30, 2022, there was $293 million remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program.

• The Board of Directors has approved and declared a three-for-one stock split in the form of a stock dividend on each share of common stock. The company’s shareholders, and the SEC, approved the company’s proposed charter amendment to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, and trading on a split-adjusted basis is expected to take place on August 29, 2022.

2022 EXPENSE AND TAX GUIDANCE UPDATE5

• The company is narrowing its 2022 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $1,710 to $1,740 million. Nasdaq continues to expect its 2022 non-GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 24% to 26%.

STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS UPDATES

• Nasdaq’s annualized SaaS revenues in the second quarter of 2022 increased 12% year over year. Annualized SaaS revenues totaled $679 million in the second quarter of 2022, representing 35% of total company ARR, up from 33% in the second quarter of 2021. The 12% year over year increase in annualized SaaS revenues primarily reflects strong growth in our Anti Financial Crime and Analytics businesses.
  
• Corporate Platforms delivered strong year over year growth from both Listing Services and IR and ESG Services, and Nasdaq has further expanded its ESG capabilities with the acquisition of Metrio. Listing Services revenues rose 15% to $107 million as the number of Nasdaq-listed corporate issuers increased 11% versus the prior year period. IR & ESG Services revenues in the second quarter of 2022 increased 9% and the number of clients increased 6%. Nasdaq also acquired Metrio, an ESG data collection, analytics and reporting services provider, which expands our platform of SaaS solutions.
  
• Investment Intelligence continues to deliver strong revenue growth led by Index and Analytics. The Analytics business led by eVestment saw continued strong user adoption across both asset owners and asset managers as annualized SaaS revenues increased 12% to $215 million. In our Index business, revenue growth remained robust with a 16% year over year increase. The business continued to experience strong net inflows of $71 billion over the last 12 months, helping to offset the impact of market depreciation. Additionally, the number of contracts traded on futures and options on futures tracking Nasdaq indexes increased 64% year over year.
  
• Nasdaq led all exchanges in total multiply-listed options traded and set a record for the number of shares traded during the 2022 Russell U.S. indexes reconstitution. In the second quarter and first six months of 2022, Nasdaq led all exchanges during the period in total volume traded for multiply-listed equity options. Nasdaq continues to see higher participation in our auctions as passive strategies become a larger share of investment assets. As a result, Nasdaq achieved a record day for rebalancing Nasdaq listed securities in the annual Russell reconstitution, with 3.31 billion shares representing $63.8 billion, executed in 2.04 seconds.
  
• Market Technology achieved strong new order intake. New order intake totaled $102 million in the second quarter of 2022, with nearly 60% coming from new customers, including a client agreement with Climate Impact X (CIX) to leverage Nasdaq’s Marketplace Services Platform.

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1. Represents revenues less transaction-based expenses.
2. Constitutes revenues from Market Technology, Investment Intelligence and Corporate Platforms segments.
3. Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) for a given period is the annualized revenue derived from subscription contracts with a defined contract value. This excludes contracts that are not recurring, are one-time in nature or where the contract value fluctuates based on defined metrics. ARR is currently one of our key performance metrics to assess the health and trajectory of our recurring business. ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and is not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.
4. Refer to our reconciliations of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP net income, diluted earnings per share, operating income and operating expenses, included in the attached schedules.
5. U.S. GAAP operating expense and tax rate guidance are not provided due to the inherent difficulty in quantifying certain amounts due to a variety of factors including the unpredictability in the movement in foreign currency rates, as well as future charges or reversals outside of the normal course of business.
   

ABOUT NASDAQ

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

NON-GAAP INFORMATION

In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Nasdaq also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including, but not limited to, non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP operating expenses, that include certain adjustments or exclude certain charges and gains that are described in the reconciliation table of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Management uses this non-GAAP information internally, along with U.S. GAAP information, in evaluating our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. We believe our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and supplemental data relating to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe the presentation of these measures is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of results as the items described below in the reconciliation tables do not reflect ongoing operating performance.

These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure. Investors should not rely on any single financial measure when evaluating our business. This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for our operating results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recommend investors review the U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release. When viewed in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, we believe these non-GAAP measures provide greater transparency and a more complete understanding of factors affecting our business than U.S. GAAP measures alone.

We understand that analysts and investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, such as those noted above, to assess operating performance. We use these measures because they highlight trends more clearly in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on U.S. GAAP financial measures, since these measures eliminate from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our ongoing operating performance.

Organic revenue and expense growth, organic change and organic impact are non-GAAP measures that reflect adjustments for: (i) the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and (ii) the revenues, expenses and operating income associated with acquisitions and divestitures for the twelve month period following the date of the acquisition or divestiture. Reconciliations of these measures are described within the body of this release.

Foreign exchange impact: In countries with currencies other than the U.S. dollar, revenues and expenses are translated using monthly average exchange rates. Certain discussions in this release isolate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations to better measure the comparability of operating results between periods. Operating results excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations are calculated by translating the current period’s results by the prior period’s exchange rates.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, including the proposed stock split, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq’s control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq’s ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, geopolitical instability arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, results of operations, financial condition, workforce or the operations or decisions of our customers, suppliers or business partners, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq’s investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

WEBSITE DISCLOSURE

Nasdaq intends to use its website, ir.nasdaq.com, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with SEC Regulation FD and other disclosure obligations.

Media Relations Contact:

Will Briganti
(646) 964-8169
william.briganti@nasdaq.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Ed Ditmire, CFA
(212) 401-8737
ed.ditmire@nasdaq.com

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