Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE: ICE) is a financial markets infrastructure company that operates exchanges, clearinghouses, and data services across energy, agricultural, financial, and equity markets. Revenue comes from transaction and clearing fees tied to contract volumes, exchange listings, and recurring data and technology services including mortgage technology applications. ICE operates the New York Stock Exchange, which held a 19.0% share of total U.S. cash equity market volume matched in FY2025, and runs futures and options markets where total open interest reached 102.7 million contracts as of December 31, 2025, up 17% year over year. The company's mortgage technology segment, which includes assets acquired through the Black Knight transaction, adds recurring software and data revenues from financial institutions. ICE's exchange and clearing infrastructure carries high switching costs: participants depend on ICE's platforms, price feeds, and clearing guarantees to execute and settle trades, making migration operationally and contractually costly.

Revenue model

Transaction and clearing fees based on contract volumes across energy, agricultural, metals, financial, and equity products. Recurring revenues from data services, exchange listings, and mortgage technology software. Fee structures include rate-per-contract pricing on futures and options, cash equity handling fees, and subscription or license fees for data and technology products.

Products and services

Futures and options markets covering energy, agricultural, metals, and financial contracts. New York Stock Exchange cash equities and equity options platforms. Clearinghouse services. Market data and price feeds. Mortgage technology applications and data services derived from the Black Knight acquisition.

Customers and end markets

Financial institutions, broker-dealers, asset managers, energy producers and traders, and mortgage originators and servicers. End markets include global derivatives trading, U.S. equity trading, fixed income, and residential mortgage processing. NYSE equity options average daily volume was 10,556 thousand contracts in FY2025.

Value-chain role

Exchange operator, central counterparty clearinghouse, market data distributor, and financial technology provider sitting between buyers and sellers in regulated financial markets. Also provides mortgage technology infrastructure between lenders and the secondary mortgage market.

Geographic exposure

Primarily U.S.-based operations including NYSE and domestic futures markets, with international exchange and data operations. Relies on a large international telecommunications company for hosting services, indicating some international infrastructure footprint.

Source: SEC 10-K, filed 2026-02-05

Industry: Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services Peers: Cboe Global Markets Inc CME Group Inc Coinbase Global Inc Moody's Corp Factset Research Systems Inc S&P Global Inc Nasdaq Inc MSCI Inc Tradeweb Markets Inc