Nasdaq, Inc. ($NDAQ)

I'm Elias Abboud, Craig Siegenthaler and I cover U.S. exchanges here at BofA. And I'm pleased to be joined on stage by the CFO of Nasdaq, Sarah Youngwood. With 4,500 companies on its exchange, Nasdaq is the largest listing venue in the United States. It is, of course, a leader in both stock and options trading. But since 2017, it has been in the midst of a strategic pivot to being a scaled technology and info services provider. Today, nearly 80% of Nasdaq's revenue is from nontrading businesses. This includes indexing, data, corporate services, marketplace technology, regulatory reporting and financial crime management technology. Sarah was appointed CFO in 2023. Before coming to Nasdaq, she was the CFO for UBS, where she played a key role in modernizing the bank's infrastructure and facilitating the acquisition of Credit Suisse. She also has 25 years of experience at JPMorgan, where she was -- she held senior roles in investment banking and Investor Relations and as the CFO of Chase and JPMorgan Chase's technology unit. Sarah, thank you for joining us.

Thanks for having me.

So Sarah, I think it's safe to say that AI will be the topic of the day. So let's start there. At the Investor Day, you went through many areas of the business where Nasdaq is using AI today. At this point, it seems like almost every Nasdaq product has an agentic worker. So my question is, what's next? How much runway is left? How much more is there for Nasdaq to do with AI?

Thank you. And yes, it is a very important topic. So what's very important for us is we started early. We did, as you say, put it really across our products. We are very well architected for it, and it's just starting. And so if I go through those points, we started early. We've talked about the cloud 12 years ago. Adena talked about data also 12 years ago, and then AI 10 years ago. So that's like a great foundation because we're not just getting started now in terms of like the foundation, but more in terms of the client adoption. We've done it right. So when you think about what we've done, we've done it at scale in a resilient way, and we've done it with network effort and effect to actually deliver value to clients. So you remember that page, which many people have referred to in our Investor Day presentation where we talked about the gold standard data, the hyper resilience, the domain expertise, the connectivity, the ROIC to client and all of those elements together actually create our Gen AI differentiation. So when you take all of that, you then put it in all of the products, you end up with a lot of differentiation, which enables you to earn the title of trusted transformation partner of our clients. And this is really an earned position, not something that you can actually want if you don't have it. And so when you take all of that, then you go like, is there more? And we think there's a lot more. A stat that we used is that 89% of our clients have Gen AI somewhere in their infrastructure, but only 7% really have fully deployed Gen AI. So we're just at the beginning of helping our clients go through that journey. And if you look at it in SAM, we have a $38 billion service addressable market that's growing at 9%. So again, tons of opportunities. And one of the things that I said at Investor Day is that, in fact, we think that, that SAM is going to continue to borrow from the TAM as a lot of our financial institutions clients use some of the spend that was dedicated to people towards vendor spend, i.e. working with people like Nasdaq. So we feel very well positioned. We feel we have a right to win, and we are really excited about the path forward.

How are you monetizing AI use cases in your data business? Are you selling any data directly to the big LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT and Claude?

So without being specific, about what we do with whom, we have a very long history of selling our data to intermediaries that then get it to the consumer. So you have our data, for example, in your Apple phone and in many, many other places. And we have already done that with an AI-powered search company. The reason why we do that well is, first of all, because we have really a very long experience in doing so. We are not putting in place the controls, the parameters, the governance, the trackability now to prepare for Gen AI. So what we -- and Nelson talked about like we have a patrol, like we really have very good governance to make sure that we have controls around what governance, what usage and is trackable. And what's great is it's real-time data. So once you have it, it's really valuable for a very, very short amount of time. And so you need to respect the contract in some ways because otherwise, we would stop having that contract. So it's something that's important and something that we do well and something that we're excited to continue to do and amplify.

Can you talk about what Gen AI has meant for your anti-financial crime unit? So this month, the World Economic Forum warned that AI is supercharging a global fraud crisis. What has that meant for demand?

Yes. So lots of problems, lots of demand. So you're mentioning an important report. We did our own view and analysis since 2023, we've seen 19% growth in the problem. So we had talked about $3.5 trillion. Now we're talking about $4.4 trillion of issues related to financial crime in the world. So we've got a lot that we can help to address, and we've been very well equipped to do that. If you start 20 years ago, which is where Verafin started with a consortium approach, all in the cloud and all with AI. So like that's just like remarkable that they had that intuition 20 years ago. You end up today with over 2,760 banks with $11 trillion in assets with up to $1.8 billion in transactions per week. And you have data that ranges small banks and large banks. And actually, that's really the key because fosters are going to be mixed in their approach between the small banks and the large banks. So having that scale, that variety is what gives us a very, very strong asset. And because it's consortium-based, you can't buy that data. There is no other way to get that data than to do business with Verafin, which means that we've had a lot of business done. 2,760, just since our acquisition, we've added 750 clients, included 22 on the enterprise front. And then we've put Gen AI because from AI, we had the data, I would say, very well organized to be able to do Gen AI. And we've been at the forefront of doing that, and therefore, we are continuing to catch the opportunities to help our clients.

Zooming out, you reiterated your mid-20s guide for AFC at the Investor Day. That's a business that's grown revenues, 22%, 2 years in a row. What gives you confidence in a reacceleration?

Yes. So when you look at it, I just talked about Gen AI. That's a component of it. And so when you're thinking about agentic AI, we've got 2 agentic workers that are already in the market. We've got 6 that are in design, and we are focused on continuing to accelerate that value for our clients. And so we have engagement with our clients, 350 clients engaging with us. We've got the ability to really work with them to identify the most important pain points, and where our workers are going to be most effective, efficient at reducing their costs, therefore, driving an ROIC and the ability to drive value. So that's the first thing. Gen AI. Partnerships, you've heard from our partnership on BioCatch and on FIS. And then the growth in enterprise as well internationally. And so enterprise, I just mentioned 22 enterprise clients, and the acceleration is really what's going to be important here. We've got 9 of those that were last year, and that's 4x more both in terms of number and ACV, what we had the year before. And so it does take 9 to 12 months to come through the numbers. And so with a little bit of patience, you're going to start to see towards the end of the year, the impact of the signings that we had last year. And then in international, we've got this POC that has been very fruitful with 30% less false positives. So again, that gives us a freehold in one part of Europe and then continuing in other places.

At Calypso, your #1 competitor is spreadsheets and proprietary software. Now with Gen AI, spreadsheets seem to have become a lot smarter and proprietary software a lot easier to build. What is the impact on Calypso's competitive positioning from Gen AI?

Yes. So if I take a step back, Calypso is across 250 clients and 60-plus countries and provides your pre-trade, trade, collateral management, treasury infrastructure. And that's a complex critical mission to solve. And we do a lot of things there, which basically puts us in a position where we believe actually that the more complicated it is, the better it is because yes, spreadsheets can be amplified. But if you are effectively implementing trade, capital markets are going to need data, data and insights, insights and connectivity. And that data, sometimes resources from like 50 systems within the company. And then the connectivity is really across the entire markets in all of those countries. And it's because we have very deep understanding that's based on collective intelligence of the data sets that we're dealing with, that we're able to really fine-tune the risks that enables us to basically help our clients and what's important to them, which is add value to their business, add returns while managing the risks and the regulations.

What do you view as the biggest moats around that Calypso business?

Yes. So basically, back to what I was saying, it's the ability to have data lineage, into, call it, 50 -- up to 50 financial systems, then connectivity. And if you add to that, the intelligence. So that data is really not just taken as such and not even just lineage and calculated, but then it's helped to understand like a bond has characteristics, it can have credit characteristics. Now all of those things are amplified by all of the value, the millions of data points that we have had over the years to help to drive the right decisions to help to do that within a risk appetite that is defined and to help to then also have that sometimes daily liquidity reporting back to the regulators. So it's one thing to have that collective intelligence. But in addition, it's embedded, it's system of record, and it's connected.

Let's talk about your oldest business.

Yes.

Cash equities, you had 31% year-over-year volume growth in 2025. In the past 20 years, that growth rate is surpassed only by the pandemic and the financial crisis. How much of that strength do you feel is driven by structural factors?

Yes. So I love the question. If I take a step back, Market Services last year was 17% growth. And in equities, not only do we have a fantastic structural growth, which is driven by retail. But we also have the ability to be ahead of competitors. And so we have 74% more capture than the #2 in 2025 in equities. I felt pretty good about that. And why is that structural? What's structural about it is it did start wit's the pandemic and with people doing more on equities. But then the ecosystem has really built upon itself, and we've seen really very steady growth and also pretty sustainable growth as we went through, I wouldn't call them real cycles since the pandemic, but many cycles. And then you go towards the future and you look at 2035 which should come towards the end of this year or the second half at least. And we are continuing to feed that demand because now you have equities participation from the rest of the world into the U.S. ecosystem. And when you look at where we are positioned with 52% of the trading volumes and 56% of the U.S.-domiciled companies on capital markets in the U.S., we are extremely well positioned continue to have that strong capture and that strong share in a growing environment.

You filed for regulatory approval for tokenized equities?

Yes.

What types of firms are demonstrating interest so far? And when do you expect a launch date?

Yes. So we're looking at -- and we did -- and we're very pleased to get the SEC approval for the 8 stocks. So you take the MAG7 and then you add Broadcom. And then in addition to that, we had the Bitcoin ETF that is traded on Nasdaq. So those are where we started, and we've started very intentionally with a group that's super liquid and where we can do it in a very responsible way. And what has been really great about that is that it has been a little bit over a month at this point. But when you look at the volumes we have had, those volumes have actually been additive. So when you look at it over that short but relevant period of time, we've got net volume additivity. And I was talking about our lead in terms of like equities for capture. But in options, our lead versus the #2 is really on market share. We have a 5 percentage point lead in market share. And when you take that and you say, okay, but does that hold? In fact, in those very short-term options, we've seen a share that is at or above our regular market share of options, which is at that 5 percentage point lead.

Got it. And what does the product development road map look like from here? When should we expect more 0 DTE symbols, Tuesday, Thursday options?

Yes. So we are very intentional. We want to go slowly. We want to make sure that what we do is a very intentional, responsible. And therefore, we are going to make sure that we see the indicators that we want to see. And you're right. If we see those indicators, which are net additive volume, as I just mentioned, that is starting and good feedback from retail, from the SEC, from the other interactors in the market, then we are certainly open-minded to doing more, and it could take, as you said, the form of more symbols or Tuesday, Thursday.

Got it. And where do we stand on the tokenization of cash equities proposal?

Yes. So that is something which is brand new as we were just discussing before going on stage. And since Investor Day, i.e., just this week, we announced that we are going to help the issuers be at the center of the tokenization topic. And we think it's really important to put the issuer at the center. And so our -- we are announcing that we are going to have a tokenization form for equities that will enable the issuer to be in control of its ownership rights to connect with investors to have transparency and to have governance. And what we're doing is taking a trend which has so far not been issuer-driven, and it's our role in the market to do 2 things: preserve integrity, liquidity, transparency and make sure that we do things that are consistent with regulation. That's the first part. Second part, doing it with the issuers at the center connected to the investors. And so we think it does exactly that, and it helps to connect the fiat world with the tokenized world, and we'll work with industry participants to make sure that we can add effectively services and leveraging the composability of the tokenization.

Got it. And can you refresh us on the listings backdrop? How big is the pipeline? Where does that stand?

Yes. So if you look at where we were a year ago, we had a very strong pipeline, and we already had actually a pretty active market. When you then -- and at that point, we were for the seventh year in a row, we're the lead in terms of the proceed raised. We had the largest IPO, and we also had the largest transfer. So we feel very good about the positioning as we enter. Then we have a very strong pipeline. It's a very diverse pipeline also, both in terms of size, including some extraordinary companies that are thinking potentially of tapping the markets, but also in different industries. And so we feel really good on that, that pipeline is there and that the private capital that has been supporting the markets is very eager to catch opportunities in the public market. We've seen activity at this beginning of the year, although the activity is probably more to come than what we have seen, given some of the volatility that we have experienced.

And how much of the pipeline is software? Just so we can get a sense of the sensitivity around that recent AI-related sell-off in the software space?

Yes. So we think of it as a small part of the pipeline, call it, 10%. And so it's not like going to be material to Nasdaq. We obviously think that it's important for all of our issuers to be rightly valued for the value that they bring to their shareholders. But from a specific pipeline point of view or impact to the financials of Nasdaq, it's not material.

Got it. And bringing us to a close, Sarah, with another look toward the future, what opportunities get you most excited over the medium term?

Yes. So in some ways, we've talked about a really broad range of things, and I tend not to say I'm more excited about this than about that. What's really exciting to me. is that we have structural change on the horizon, whether it is the structural financial markets, whether it's Gen AI. And those 2 things are accelerants for a company like Nasdaq that is extremely well positioned to win in this environment. We believe that because we are a trusted transformation partner, and we have positioned ourselves very intentionally so to be that trusted transformation partner, we are able to capitalize on those 2 vectors of growth, in that $38 billion SAM that I talked about, and have a growth of 9% to 12% in solutions. That's a growth that we've proven in 4 of the last 5 years and that we're very, very well positioned to execute. And once you have that durable growth, you add the financial discipline, which we believe is also very important, whether it's expense, whether it's free cash flow generation, whether it's capital allocation to add value to shareholders. And so I think that there's nothing better than adding value to shareholders.

Perfect. And thank you for joining us, Sarah. This has been great.

Excellent. Thank you, Eli.

Thanks so much.