(Reuters) – Nasdaq Inc on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates, helped by strong demand for its investment-related products and a jump in the number of initial public offerings.
While the transatlantic exchange operator is best known for its bourses, Nasdaq has tried to push into the anti-money laundering software sector and reposition itself as a leading financial technology and data vendor.
Nasdaq reported an adjusted profit of $1.78 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts were expecting $1.72 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Revenue from the company’s solutions segments jumped 19% jump to $541 million, boosted by strong demand for its products tied to Nasdaq’s indexes. The unit’s performance was also helped by the inclusion of Verafin, an anti-financial crime software firm the exchange operator bought for $2.75 billion late last year.
In the quarter, the exchange welcomed 147 IPOs representing $29 billion of capital raised. Of the IPOs, 80 were operating companies like Robinhood Markets Inc and Freshworks Inc, while the rest were special purpose acquisition companies.
Nasdaq said its European exchanges welcomed 25 IPOs during the period.
The company’s net revenues rose 17% to $838 million in the quarter. Market services revenue rose 15% to $295 million.
The exchange operator bought back $475 million worth of common shares in the quarter, it said.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and John McCrank in New York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
