Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024.
First quarter 2024 net revenues were $1.1 billion, an increase of $203 million, or 22%, versus the prior year period with 6% organic growth or 7% growth on a pro forma basis. Revenue growth includes a $150 million net benefit primarily related to the acquisition of Adenza and a $2 million increase from the impact of changes in FX rates.
Solutions revenue was $871 million in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $227 million, or 35%, versus the prior year period with organic growth of 11% or 13% growth on a pro forma basis, reflecting strong growth from Index and Financial Technology.
ARR grew 29% year over year, 5% organically, or 7% on a pro forma basis in the first quarter with 12% pro forma ARR growth for Financial Technology and 1% ARR growth for Capital Access Platforms.
Market Services net revenues were $237 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $23 million, or 9%, versus the prior year period. The $23 million organic decrease was primarily due to an $11 million decrease in U.S. equity derivatives revenue, an $8 million decline in U.S. tape plan revenue, and a $3 million decline in U.S. cash equities revenue.
First quarter 2024 GAAP operating expenses were $707 million, an increase of $205 million, or 41%, versus the prior year period. The increase for the first quarter of 2024 is due to the inclusion of $86 million in amortization expense of acquired intangible assets, $68 million of other AxiomSL and Calypso operating expenses, a one-time charge of $23 million associated with the settlement of our pension plan.
The increase also reflected $8 million of restructuring charges associated with the programs Nasdaq initiated to optimize its efficiencies as a combined organization as well as integrating the Adenza acquisition.
First quarter 2024 non-GAAP operating expenses were $524 million, an increase of $88 million, or 20%, versus the prior year period with 4% organic growth or 5% on a pro forma basis. The increase for the first quarter of 2024 is primarily due to the inclusion of $68 million of AxiomSL and Calypso non-GAAP operating expenses.
First quarter 2024 cash flow from operations was $530 million, enabling the company to continue to make meaningful progress on its deleveraging plan. The company returned $127 million to shareholders through dividends and repaid the remaining $340 million term loan balance and a net $67 million in commercial paper.
Nasdaq did not repurchase shares during the first quarter of 2024. As of March 31, 2024, there was $1.9 billion remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program.
Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO said:
“Nasdaq delivered another quarter of solid results, with double digit revenue growth in our Solutions businesses including strong Financial Technology results and exceptional Index performance. We continue to make progress on our Integrate, Innovate, and Accelerate strategic priorities with ongoing momentum across our integration work streams and the One Nasdaq go-to-market strategy.
As we look toward the remainder of the year, we are well positioned to deliver on our next phase of scalable, profitable, and durable growth.”
