NEW YORK, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2021.
Second quarter 2021 net revenues were $846 million, an increase of $147 million, or 21%, from $699 million in the prior year period. Net revenues reflected a $104 million, or 15%, positive impact from organic growth, a $27 million increase from the inclusion of revenues from the acquisition of Verafin, which was completed during the first quarter of 2021, and a $16 million increase from the impact of favorable changes in FX rates.
Solutions segments revenues were $534 million in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a $76 million, or 18%, positive impact from organic growth, a $27 million increase from the inclusion of revenues from the acquisition of Verafin, and a $8 million increase from the impact of FX. Market Services net revenues were $312 million in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a $28 million, or 10%, positive impact from organic growth and a $8 million increase from the impact of FX.
"Vibrant capital markets activity and expanding corporate and investor demand for financial technology solutions drove a very strong performance for Nasdaq in the first half of the year," said Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq. "Our performance in new listings and trading as well as our focus growing areas like anti-financial crime and buyside workflow solutions sustained year over year revenue growth across all of our businesses. Each of our businesses has expanded both the diversity and depth of their client-base in recent years and that is what underpins the strength and resiliency of the Nasdaq platform as we move through each quarter."
GAAP operating expenses were $470 million in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of $86 million from $384 million in the second quarter of 2020. The increase primarily reflects higher compensation and benefits expense, higher computer operations and data communication expense, higher depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by lower general, administrative and other expense.
Non-GAAP operating expenses were $392 million in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of $65 million, or 20%, compared to the second quarter of 2020. This increase reflects a $24 million, or 7%, organic increase over the prior year period, a $26 million increase from the impact of the Verafin acquisition and a $15 million increase from changes in FX rates. The organic increase primarily reflects higher compensation and benefit expense, higher marketing and advertising expense, higher computer operations and data communication expense, higher depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by lower general, administrative and other expense.
"Our strong net revenue, operating profit and EPS results in the second quarter of 2021 demonstrate both the strength of our diverse offerings and scalability of our increasingly SaaS-oriented business model," said Ann Dennison, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Nasdaq. "We completed the sale of our U.S. Fixed Income business during the second quarter and we expect to initiate an accelerated stock repurchase, or ASR, imminently as part of our effort to offset the related share issuance."
On a GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2021 was $341 million, an increase of 41% compared to $241 million in the second quarter of 2020, including the impact of a $84 million net gain on sale related to the divestiture of our U.S. fixed income business. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.05, an increase of 41% compared $1.45 in the second quarter of 2020.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2021 was $316 million, an increase of 23% compared to $256 million in the second quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP diluted EPS totaled $1.90, an increase of 23% from $1.54 in the second quarter of 2020.
As of June 30, 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $390 million and total debt of $5,701 million, resulting in net debt of $5,311 million. This compares to total debt of $5,541 million and net debt of $2,796 million at December 31, 2020.
During the second quarter of 2021, the company repurchased $248 million in shares of its common stock and repurchased an aggregate of $410 million during the first six months of 2021. As of June 30, 2021, there was $1,459 million remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program, following the board approval in June of an increase in the share repurchase authorization to an aggregate of $1.5 billion.
As previously announced, the company completed the sale of the U.S. Fixed Income business in June and issued approximately 6.2 million shares to a third party in connection with the consummation of the transaction. During the second quarter of 2021, the company began the execution of a repurchase initiative intended to offset the dilutive impacts of the sale. The company now plans to enter an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement to repurchase an additional $475 million of shares, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The company expects the remaining planned repurchases related to the sale of the U.S. Fixed Income business to occur in 2022 and 2023.
ABOUT NASDAQ
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
NON-GAAP INFORMATION
In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Nasdaq also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including, but not limited to, non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP operating expenses, that include certain adjustments or exclude certain charges and gains that are described in the reconciliation table of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Management uses this non-GAAP information internally, along with U.S. GAAP information, in evaluating our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. We believe our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and supplemental data relating to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe the presentation of these measures is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of results as the items described below in the reconciliation tables do not reflect ongoing operating performance.
These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Investors should not rely on any single financial measure when evaluating our business. This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for our operating results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recommend investors review the U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release. When viewed in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, we believe these non-GAAP measures provide greater transparency and a more complete understanding of factors affecting our business than U.S. GAAP measures alone.
We understand that analysts and investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, such as non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating expenses to assess operating performance. We use these measures because they highlight trends more clearly in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on U.S. GAAP financial measures, since these measures eliminate from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our ongoing operating performance.
Organic revenue growth, organic change and organic impact reflect adjustments for: (i) the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and (ii) the revenues, expenses and operating income associated with acquisitions and divestitures for the twelve month period following the date of the acquisition or divestiture.
Foreign exchange impact: In countries with currencies other than the U.S. dollar, revenues and expenses are translated using monthly average exchange rates. Certain discussions in this release isolate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations to better measure the comparability of operating results between periods. Operating results excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations are calculated by translating the current period's results by the prior period's exchange rates.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq's ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, results of operations, financial condition, workforce or the operations or decisions of our customers, suppliers or business partners, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq's investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
WEBSITE DISCLOSURE
Nasdaq intends to use its website, ir.nasdaq.com, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with SEC Regulation FD and other disclosure obligations.
Media Relations Contact:
Will Briganti
+1.646.964.8169
william.briganti@nasdaq.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Ed Ditmire, CFA
+1.212.401.8737
ed.ditmire@nasdaq.com
Second quarter 2021 net revenues were $846 million, an increase of $147 million, or 21%, from $699 million in the prior year period. Net revenues reflected a $104 million, or 15%, positive impact from organic growth, a $27 million increase from the inclusion of revenues from the acquisition of Verafin, which was completed during the first quarter of 2021, and a $16 million increase from the impact of favorable changes in FX rates.
Solutions segments revenues were $534 million in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a $76 million, or 18%, positive impact from organic growth, a $27 million increase from the inclusion of revenues from the acquisition of Verafin, and a $8 million increase from the impact of FX. Market Services net revenues were $312 million in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a $28 million, or 10%, positive impact from organic growth and a $8 million increase from the impact of FX.
"Vibrant capital markets activity and expanding corporate and investor demand for financial technology solutions drove a very strong performance for Nasdaq in the first half of the year," said Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq. "Our performance in new listings and trading as well as our focus growing areas like anti-financial crime and buyside workflow solutions sustained year over year revenue growth across all of our businesses. Each of our businesses has expanded both the diversity and depth of their client-base in recent years and that is what underpins the strength and resiliency of the Nasdaq platform as we move through each quarter."
GAAP operating expenses were $470 million in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of $86 million from $384 million in the second quarter of 2020. The increase primarily reflects higher compensation and benefits expense, higher computer operations and data communication expense, higher depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by lower general, administrative and other expense.
Non-GAAP operating expenses were $392 million in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of $65 million, or 20%, compared to the second quarter of 2020. This increase reflects a $24 million, or 7%, organic increase over the prior year period, a $26 million increase from the impact of the Verafin acquisition and a $15 million increase from changes in FX rates. The organic increase primarily reflects higher compensation and benefit expense, higher marketing and advertising expense, higher computer operations and data communication expense, higher depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by lower general, administrative and other expense.
"Our strong net revenue, operating profit and EPS results in the second quarter of 2021 demonstrate both the strength of our diverse offerings and scalability of our increasingly SaaS-oriented business model," said Ann Dennison, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Nasdaq. "We completed the sale of our U.S. Fixed Income business during the second quarter and we expect to initiate an accelerated stock repurchase, or ASR, imminently as part of our effort to offset the related share issuance."
On a GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2021 was $341 million, an increase of 41% compared to $241 million in the second quarter of 2020, including the impact of a $84 million net gain on sale related to the divestiture of our U.S. fixed income business. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.05, an increase of 41% compared $1.45 in the second quarter of 2020.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the second quarter of 2021 was $316 million, an increase of 23% compared to $256 million in the second quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP diluted EPS totaled $1.90, an increase of 23% from $1.54 in the second quarter of 2020.
As of June 30, 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $390 million and total debt of $5,701 million, resulting in net debt of $5,311 million. This compares to total debt of $5,541 million and net debt of $2,796 million at December 31, 2020.
During the second quarter of 2021, the company repurchased $248 million in shares of its common stock and repurchased an aggregate of $410 million during the first six months of 2021. As of June 30, 2021, there was $1,459 million remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program, following the board approval in June of an increase in the share repurchase authorization to an aggregate of $1.5 billion.
As previously announced, the company completed the sale of the U.S. Fixed Income business in June and issued approximately 6.2 million shares to a third party in connection with the consummation of the transaction. During the second quarter of 2021, the company began the execution of a repurchase initiative intended to offset the dilutive impacts of the sale. The company now plans to enter an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement to repurchase an additional $475 million of shares, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The company expects the remaining planned repurchases related to the sale of the U.S. Fixed Income business to occur in 2022 and 2023.
ABOUT NASDAQ
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
NON-GAAP INFORMATION
In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Nasdaq also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including, but not limited to, non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP operating expenses, that include certain adjustments or exclude certain charges and gains that are described in the reconciliation table of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Management uses this non-GAAP information internally, along with U.S. GAAP information, in evaluating our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. We believe our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and supplemental data relating to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe the presentation of these measures is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of results as the items described below in the reconciliation tables do not reflect ongoing operating performance.
These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Investors should not rely on any single financial measure when evaluating our business. This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for our operating results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recommend investors review the U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release. When viewed in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, we believe these non-GAAP measures provide greater transparency and a more complete understanding of factors affecting our business than U.S. GAAP measures alone.
We understand that analysts and investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, such as non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating expenses to assess operating performance. We use these measures because they highlight trends more clearly in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on U.S. GAAP financial measures, since these measures eliminate from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our ongoing operating performance.
Organic revenue growth, organic change and organic impact reflect adjustments for: (i) the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and (ii) the revenues, expenses and operating income associated with acquisitions and divestitures for the twelve month period following the date of the acquisition or divestiture.
Foreign exchange impact: In countries with currencies other than the U.S. dollar, revenues and expenses are translated using monthly average exchange rates. Certain discussions in this release isolate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations to better measure the comparability of operating results between periods. Operating results excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations are calculated by translating the current period's results by the prior period's exchange rates.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq's ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, results of operations, financial condition, workforce or the operations or decisions of our customers, suppliers or business partners, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq's investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
WEBSITE DISCLOSURE
Nasdaq intends to use its website, ir.nasdaq.com, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with SEC Regulation FD and other disclosure obligations.
Media Relations Contact:
Will Briganti
+1.646.964.8169
william.briganti@nasdaq.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Ed Ditmire, CFA
+1.212.401.8737
ed.ditmire@nasdaq.com
