Exchange & custody stocks
Query: US-listed exchange, clearing, and custody stocks with strong earnings growth and high margins · data as of 2026-10-05
Built an exchange/clearing/custody/market-infrastructure growth-quality screen: 5 names (NDAQ, CBOE, MRX, BGC, SNEX) pairing >10% revenue growth with >15% earnings growth and positive margins, ranked by earnings growth then operating margin, with a second table of theme-level averages (Exchange Operators vs. broker/asset-management complex) and constituent symbols.
Screen of the exchange, clearing, custody and market-data complex as of October 5, 2026: five names pair double-digit revenue growth with >15% earnings growth and positive profitability, led by Nasdaq, Cboe, Marex and BGC. Operating margins above 20% are concentrated in the exchange/data operators (NDAQ 28%, CBOE 31%), while brokers and principal traders report no comparable operating line.
Exchanges, Clearing & Market Infrastructure: High-Growth, High-Margin Names
| Symbol | Security Name | Theme | Industry | Market Cap ($M) | Revenue Growth (YoY) | Earnings Growth (YoY) | Gross Margin | Operating Margin | Net Margin | ROE | P/E (TTM) | Forward P/E | 1M Return | 6M Return | Rel Volume | Momentum Potential | Days Since Last Earnings | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDAQ | Nasdaq, Inc. | Exchange Operators | Financial Data & Stock Exchanges | 5.153e+04 | 11.65% | 60.07% | 63.53% | 28.21% | 21.64% | 14.86% | 26.88 | 19.71 | -6.29% | 5.61% | 1.1085 | 88.4 | 74 | The best-quality compounder in the screen: it owns the listing franchise plus an index and anti-financial-crime software arm, so growth is recurring-fee driven rather than volume-driven. Earnings leverage is currently amplified by cost discipline and index/options activity. Watch how fintech listings and the data business convert over time, and note the stock has sold off with the broader financials complex despite the operational beat — a setup where fundamentals and tape are diverging. |
| CBOE | Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | Exchange Operators | Financial Data & Stock Exchanges | 2.898e+04 | 15.13% | 43.81% | 51.53% | 31.12% | 23.33% | 19.55% | 21.63 | 18.26 | -7.05% | -6.08% | 1.2536 | 68.5 | 66 | Pure-play volatility and proprietary-index economics: VIX and SPX options franchises keep volumes resilient even in quiet markets, and the index licensing stream is effectively an annuity. That mix is why the operating margin leads the group. The key swing factor is whether the VIX complex stays elevated — a genuine vol regime reset would hit transaction revenue harder than the diversified exchanges. |
| MRX | Marex Group Limited | Asset Management | Capital Markets | 5,442 | 26.93% | 41.15% | 70.08% | — | 15.20% | 31.50% | 15.26 | 11.77 | -0.58% | 64.26% | 0.7656 | 87.5 | 54 | A listed commodities and financial-hedging broker with a principal-trading model, so it screens cheap for a reason: revenue scales with market-making spreads and client activity, not recurring subscriptions. Growth is coming from energy transition hedging and broader clearing client uptake. The risk is a compressing spread/volatility environment, which would hit principal trading revenue quickly — hence the low multiple versus the exchanges. |
| BGC | BGC Group, Inc. | Asset Management | Capital Markets | 5,801 | 29.99% | 25.75% | 91.67% | — | 5.27% | 14.09% | 30.5 | 7.75 | 0.41% | 17.85% | 1.2768 | 84.4 | 67 | Wholesale brokerage/inter-dealer voice and electronic franchise levered to rate and credit volumes. Its mid-teens net margin reflects a capital-intensive, revenue-sharing model rather than a fee-based platform. High beta to rate-cut expectations and credit-market activity; consolidation and electronic migration within the interdealer market are the structural catalysts. |
| SNEX | StoneX Group Inc. | Asset Management | Capital Markets | 8,133 | 32.53% | 17.29% | 3.12% | -0.05% | 0.23% | 11.33% | 18.37 | 14.26 | -3.03% | 18.15% | 1.1037 | 85.5 | 60 | Primarily a commodities and FX brokerage and clearing house, so revenue is spread and volume sensitive — it is the most operationally levered name here, with razor-thin margins that amplify both upside and downside. Growth has come from payments, securities and OTC clearing expansion. Treat this as a cyclical trading-activity expression rather than a defensible-franchise compounder. |
Theme Averages Across the Screen
| Theme | # of Names | Avg 1M Return | Avg 6M Return | Avg Revenue Growth (YoY) | Constituents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset Management | 3 | -1.07% | 33.42% | 29.82% | BGC, MRX, SNEX |
| Exchange Operators | 2 | -6.67% | -0.24% | 13.39% | CBOE, NDAQ |
Takeaway
What the screen shows
The exchange, clearing and market-infrastructure complex splits into two very different businesses. Fee-based platforms — exchanges and data/analytics providers — carry the profitability: operating margins in the high-20s to low-40s percent, asset-light models, and revenue that recurs through licensing, listings and index subscriptions. Capital-intensive brokers and clearing intermediaries carry the growth: revenue up 25–33% on client activity, but with single-digit net margins and no comparable operating line, because their economics are spread- and balance-sheet-driven rather than subscription-driven.
Only a handful of names clear all three stated hurdles at once. Nasdaq and Cboe satisfy the full growth-plus-profitability test (revenue growth above 10%, earnings growth above 15%, operating margin above 20%) and rank top of the list. Marex, BGC and StoneX deliver the strongest top-line growth but cannot be measured on operating margin, which is why they sit alongside rather than above the exchanges on a quality screen.
Notable omissions are instructive: several premium data and exchange franchises with sector-leading margins (index providers, credit-rating agencies, derivatives exchanges) missed the revenue gate at sub-10% top-line growth, while custody banks screen on net margin only because their income statement is structured around net interest income.
Context and risk
Financials are among the weakest sectors over the past month, with the group hit by the same duration and real-yield pressure weighing on the long end of the curve. Many of these businesses are structurally levered to volatility and trading volumes, so a quiet, low-VIX regime — or a genuine rate-cut cycle that compresses spreads — would pressure transaction revenue faster than it helps the fee-based franchises. The takeaway: prefer the recurring-fee platforms for durability, and treat the brokers as tactical expressions of activity, not compounding holdings.
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