Intercontinental Exchange reported excellent third-quarter earnings thanks to continued strength in its exchange segment. Net revenue increased by 15% from last year to $2.76 billion, while diluted EPS rose to $1.67 from $1.42.
ICE has become increasingly less reliant on transactional revenue as it expands its data and service offerings organically and through acquisitions. If trading volume declines, we expect the firm to be less affected than in the past.
Bears
ICE'S mortgage technology segment could continue to struggle if mortgage rates remain persistently high.
Intercontinental Exchange is a vertically integrated operator of financial exchanges and provides ancillary data products. Though the company is probably best known for its ownership of the New York Stock Exchange, which it acquired in 2013, ICE operates a large derivatives exchange, too. The company's largest commodity futures product is the ICE Brent crude futures contract. In addition to the exchanges business, which is about 54% of net revenue, Intercontinental Exchange has used a series of acquisitions to create its mortgage technology business (22% of net revenue) and fixed-income and data-services segment (24% of net revenue).