Nasdaq Earnings: Bottom Line Hurt by Acquisition Costs, but Revenue Growth Remains Solid

Narrow-moat-rated Nasdaq reported decent fourth-quarter results. Solid performance in solutions revenue was offset by weaker performance at the exchanges and integration-related expenses. Net revenue increased 23.3% from last year to $1.1 billion, or 6.5% when adjusted for the acquisition of Adenza. On other hand, earnings per share declined to $0.36 from $0.48 last year due to acquisition-related costs and share dilution. As we incorporate these results, we do not plan to materially alter our $55 fair value estimate.