(Reuters) – Nasdaq Inc reported a 15% jump in third-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for the exchange operator’s investment products that helped offset a slowdown in initial public offerings.
Global markets have been roiled in recent months, with persistent volatility across asset classes forcing investors to rejig portfolios in a bid to hedge against risks, drumming up trading volumes as well as demand for Nasdaq’s investment products.
Under Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman, Nasdaq has looked to diversify its offerings and reposition itself as a leading fintech company with an expanding footprint in the software sector, and anti-financial crime technology.
Revenue at the firm’s solutions segment, which houses its technology products, jumped 8% to $584 million.
The market rout has also sapped the appetite for deals amid rapidly tightening monetary policy and geopolitical turmoil, slamming the brakes on dealmaking after a stellar 2021 marked by multi-billion dollar debuts on the exchange.
Still, in a surprise bright spot, the transatlantic exchange operator said it managed to grow revenues in its listing services segment by 6% to $105 million in the quarter.
“We have also positioned the balance sheet to minimize the impact of rising rates,” said Chief Financial Officer Ann Dennison in a statement.
Excluding one-time items, Nasdaq earned 68 cents per share in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts, on average, expected 65 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. It was not immediately clear if reported numbers were comparable to estimates.
Net revenue in the quarter climbed 6% to $890 million.
In line with other major financial firms, Nasdaq has also battled rising costs amid decades-high inflation. Adjusted operating expenses in the September-quarter rose 5%.
The company said it repurchased $633 million in shares of its common stock in the first nine months of the year.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and John McCrank in New York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
