Bill Ackmanova Pershing Square otevřela novou pozici v Intercontinental Exchange a tvrdí, že trh podceňuje její AI a datový byznys. ICE ve 2. čtvrtletí zvýšila opakované příjmy o 8 % na 1,35 miliardy USD.
Bill Ackman just placed a major bet on the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, arguing that investors have the AI threat to this business exactly backwards.
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed in its 2Q26 letter to shareholders that it initiated a new position in Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE | ICE Price Prediction), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. The letter argued that ICE shares had fallen over the year before the purchase while the earnings multiple contracted sharply, and that investors overestimated both the threat AI poses to the company’s data and mortgage technology businesses and the danger perpetual futures pose to its exchanges.
Pershing initiated the position after the letter’s quarter-end date, so the decline and the multiple describe the purchase context as of that period. ICE closed at $161.26 on September 4, up 7.62% over the past month but down 6.41% over the last year.
Why the Business Gets Stronger as Markets Automate The New York Stock Exchange is the recognizable entry point, but in most cases it sits within futures, clearing, and data. Automated participants still need a regulated venue to trade on, a price feed to trade against, and a clearinghouse to stand behind the trade.
ICE’s second quarter carried the point. Recurring revenue reached $1.35 billion, up 8%, and Fixed Income and Data Services net revenue grew 8% to $645 million. Management raised full-year recurring-revenue guidance for that segment to 7% to 8%.
CEO Jeff Sprecher said “AI is making our data more valuable, not less”, describing ICE’s proprietary pricing as “data that cannot be scraped or synthesized”. The new ICE Model Context Protocol server feeds that governed data into client AI workflows with permissioning and audit trails intact.
Ackman’s Conditional Return Case Pershing’s expected return rests on two legs: earnings growth from the recurring, data-heavy businesses, and a recovery in the multiple that compressed during the drawdown. ICE beat consensus for a fifth straight quarter, posting adjusted diluted EPS of $1.9 against a $1.84 consensus.
Capital return supports the per-share math. The board authorized up to $4.0 billion in repurchases effective July 1, 2026, and management plans to raise the baseline quarterly buyback from $350 million to $400 million.
The pending $5.7 billion acquisition of Market Access at $167 per share extends ICE’s fixed-income network. Sprecher described the combined platform as a “global fixed income network” that connects retail and institutional liquidity and evaluates pricing, execution, and clearing through a single connection.
Peer Context and Where the Thesis Can Break CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) reported record market-data revenue of $238 million, up 20% year over year. Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) grew index revenue 38% to $271 million and listed SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) in an $86 billion IPO, the largest in exchange history. CME is up 6.05% year to date and NDAQ up 0.4%, versus ICE at 0.26%. That valuation gap is the setup Pershing likes.
Three vulnerabilities stand out. A prolonged weak mortgage market would keep the segment’s GAAP operating margin near the 8% reported last quarter, delaying the realization of operating leverage from Aurora adoption.
Competitive pressure on fixed-income execution and data pricing is real, and management said Market Access has faced declining market share. The old multiple may never come back on Pershing’s timetable, in which case returns depend entirely on earnings compounding.
Is ICE Stock a Buy? Pershing’s thesis is grounded in cash flows already visible on the income statement. If AI accelerates demand for governed, regulated data and ICE integrates Market Access on schedule, the recurring-revenue engine keeps compounding whether or not the multiple re-rates quickly.
Against CME’s higher growth rate and Nasdaq’s faster AI monetization, ICE is the value play in the group. For a retirement-focused investor researching market infrastructure exposure through cycles, ICE screens as the value name in the group on Ackman’s logic, with the mortgage cycle as the risk worth monitoring.
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Intercontinental Exchange zvýšila výhled růstu opakovaných výnosů na rok 2026 na 7 % až 8 %. Zároveň zvedla odhad upravených provozních nákladů na 4,190 až 4,230 miliardy USD.
Key Takeaways Intercontinental Exchange closed at $162.33, an 8.3% discount to its 52-week high of $177.ICE raised 2026 recurring revenue growth guidance to 7%-8% as data services and network technology expand.ICE lifted 2026 adjusted operating expense guidance to $4.190-$4.230 billion, limiting near-term margins. Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE - Free Report) closed at $162.33 on Friday, an 8.3% discount to its 52-week high of $177.00.
ICE stock has lost 1.5% year to date compared with the industry’s decrease of 4.2%. The Finance sector has gained 7.9% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite has gained 12.2% in the same time frame. ICE shares are losing momentum despite resilient fundamentals, likely reflecting concerns over slower near-term growth, softer second-half guidance, weakness in energy trading and slower mortgage recovery.
ICE is a leading global operator of regulated exchanges, clearing houses and listings venues and a provider of data services for commodity, financial, fixed income and equity markets. A compelling portfolio, expansive risk-management services, strategic buyouts, solid balance sheet and effective capital deployment poise it well for growth.
ICE vs Industry, Sector, S&P 500
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ - Free Report) have gained 1.5% year to date, while those of CME Group (CME - Free Report) have gained 5% in the same time frame.
Are ICE Shares Affordable?The stock is undervalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 18.98, lower than the industry average of 21.6 and the median of 22.07 over three years.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ICE is relatively cheap compared to Nasdaq and CME Group.
The Case for ICE StockThe planned MarketAxess acquisition extends Intercontinental Exchange’s network strategy into institutional credit execution while complementing its retail and wealth distribution, pricing, indices, analytics and clearing capabilities.
ICE remains well-positioned to benefit from continued digitization across the mortgage origination and servicing lifecycle. Management expects third-quarter recurring revenues to remain broadly stable as core growth and new client ramps build. The $3.4 billion in future performance obligations as of June 30, 2026, also provides strong longer-term revenue visibility.
With capabilities spanning execution, market data, clearing, and workflow solutions across major asset classes, ICE maintains a diversified business model that reduces reliance on any single activity driver. Its Fixed Income and Data Services segment continues to expand through pricing, reference data, indices, and network technology. Management raised 2026 recurring revenue growth guidance to 7%-8%, although second-half growth is expected toward the lower end due to tougher data-center comparisons.
ICE is also leveraging proprietary data in client decision-making tools. Its expanded ICE Model Context Protocol enables governed access to proprietary data within institutional AI workflows, while ICE Compass applies pricing and transaction data to pre-trade fixed-income analytics.
Finally, ICE’s $600 million investment in Polymarket highlights its confidence in prediction markets as an emerging, data-driven asset class. The investment could create synergies with ICE’s exchange and data businesses, broaden its addressable market, and position the company to benefit from growing regulatory acceptance and innovation in alternative financial markets.
However, ICE continues to increase spending on performance compensation, technology capacity and product development. Full-year 2026 adjusted operating expense guidance was increased to $4.190-$4.230 billion, while third-quarter adjusted expenses are expected in the range of $1.063-$1.073 billion.
Growth Projections for ICEThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues indicates a 10.7% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests a 16.6% year-over-year increase. The consensus estimate for 2027 revenues indicates a 5.1% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests an increase of 8.4% year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 12.7%.
Optimist Analyst Sentiment on ICEThe consensus estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings has moved 6 cents and 3 cents north, respectively, in the past 30 days, reflecting analysts' optimism.
The consensus estimates for 2026 earnings of Nasdaq moved 2 cents north in the last 30 days.
The consensus estimates for 2026 earnings of CME witnessed no movement in the last 30 days.
Parting Thoughts on ICE SharesIntercontinental Exchange benefits from a diversified exchange and a data and mortgage workflow portfolio that can perform across market cycles. Solid growth projections and optimistic analyst sentiment instill confidence.
However, higher operating and capital spending limiting near-term margin expansion keeps us on the sidelines. Therefore, it is better to adopt a wait-and-see approach on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Intercontinental Exchange v červenci 2026 vykázala meziroční růst celkového průměrného denního objemu o 25 % a otevřeného zájmu o 18 %. Silný růst hlásila i energie, finanční kontrakty a akciové indexy.
ATLANTA & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), one of the world’s leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, today reported July 2026 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company’s investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet.
July highlights include:
Total average daily volume (ADV) up 25% y/y; open interest (OI) up 18% y/y Total Energy ADV up 13% y/y; OI up 6% y/y Total Oil ADV up 16% y/y Brent ADV up 40% y/y Gasoil ADV up 10% y/y Other Crude & Refined products ADV up 10% y/y Total Natural Gas ADV up 9% y/y; OI up 9% y/y North American Gas OI up 8% y/y TTF gas ADV up 36% y/y; OI up 16% y/y Asia gas ADV up 73% y/y; OI up 40% y/y, including record OI of 272k lots on July 14 Total Environmentals ADV up 18% y/y Total Agriculture & Metals ADV up 38% y/y; OI up 42% y/y Sugar ADV up 11% y/y; OI up 27% y/y Cocoa ADV up 65% y/y; OI up 71% y/y Coffee ADV up 58% y/y; OI up 18% y/y Cotton ADV up 71% y/y; OI up 88% y/y Total Financials ADV up 39% y/y; OI up 38% y/y Total Interest Rates ADV up 40% y/y; OI up 43% y/y Euribor ADV up 25% y/y; OI up 26% y/y SONIA ADV up 66% y/y; OI up 66% y/y Gilts ADV up 7% y/y; OI up 18% y/y Total Equity Indices ADV up 30% MSCI ADV up 45% y/y NYSE Equity Options ADV up 26% y/y About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.
ICE za čtvrtletí končící v červnu 2026 vykázala tržby 2,67 miliardy USD, meziročně o 4,8 % více, a EPS 1,90 USD. Tržby i EPS překonaly odhady Wall Street.
For the quarter ended June 2026, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE - Free Report) reported revenue of $2.67 billion, up 4.8% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.90, compared to $1.81 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1.51% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.63 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.84, the EPS surprise was +3.26%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how ICE performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Revenues- Exchanges Segment (less transaction-based): $1.46 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $1.45 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +33.5%.Revenues- Fixed Income and Data Services Segment: $645 million versus $850.12 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +8% change.Transaction revenues, net- Exchange: $1.05 billion compared to the $1.04 billion average estimate based on four analysts.Recurring revenues- Exchange: $416 million compared to the $404.53 million average estimate based on four analysts.Revenues- Mortgage Technology Segment- Servicing software: $226 million versus $220.39 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.7% change.Revenues- Mortgage Technology Segment- Data and analytics: $69 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $73.43 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +4.6%.Revenues- Mortgage Technology Segment- Closing solutions: $65 million compared to the $58.48 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +12.1% year over year.Revenues- Mortgage Technology Segment: $557 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $545.6 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +4.9%.Revenues- Exchanges Segment- Energy futures and options: $518 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $532.93 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -12.9%.Revenues- Exchanges Segment- Ags and Metals: $87 million compared to the $86.39 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +33.9% year over year.Revenues- Exchanges Segment- Financials: $192 million versus $193.37 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +21.5% change.Revenues- Exchanges Segment- Cash equities and equity options: $140 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $128.6 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +13.8%.View all Key Company Metrics for ICE here>>>
Shares of ICE have returned +21.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
Intercontinental Exchange oznámila, že celkový otevřený zájem v červnu meziročně vzrostl o 20 %. Rekordy táhly hlavně finanční deriváty a úrokové sazby.
ATLANTA & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), one of the world’s leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, today reported June 2026 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company’s investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet.
“For over 25 years, ICE has built and scaled technology that evolves with our customers' needs, combining deep liquidity, global participation, operational resilience and transparent price discovery into a single connected marketplace," said Ben Jackson, President of ICE. “Open interest is up 20% year-over-year across ICE’s markets, highlighting the value of our global, all-weather model which allows customers to navigate complex risk in whatever way they choose, and as precisely as they need. The record performance in ICE’s financial derivatives complex this year underscores the depth of liquidity our platform provides when markets shift materially.”
June highlights include:
Total open interest (OI) up 20% y/y Total Energy OI up 6% y/y Total Natural Gas OI up 8% y/y North American Gas OI up 8% y/y TTF gas OI up 8% y/y Asia gas OI up 44% y/y, including record OI of 252k lots on June 30 Total Agriculture & Metals ADV up 29% y/y; OI up 43% y/y Sugar ADV up 20% y/y; OI up 28% y/y Cocoa ADV up 97% y/y; OI up 73% y/y Coffee ADV up 27% y/y; OI up 22% y/y Cotton ADV up 35% y/y; OI up 109% y/y Total Financials ADV up 27% y/y; OI up 46% y/y, including record OI of 56.8M lots on June 11 Total Interest Rates ADV up 29% y/y; OI up 52% y/y, including record OI of 53.0M lots on June 11 Euribor ADV up 16% y/y; OI up 32% y/y, including record OI of 28.7M lots on June 11 SONIA ADV up 53% y/y; OI up 85% y/y Gilts ADV up 13% y/y; OI up 17% y/y Total Equity Indices ADV up 16% MSCI ADV up 21% y/y NYSE Cash Equities ADV up 32% y/y NYSE Equity Options ADV up 47% y/y Second quarter highlights include:
Asia Gas ADV up 6% y/y Record total Agriculture & Metals ADV up 36% y/y Sugar ADV up 30% y/y Cocoa ADV up 73% y/y Coffee ADV up 16% y/y Record Cotton ADV up 59% y/y Total Financials ADV up 22% y/y Total Interest Rates ADV up 24% y/y Euribor ADV up 12% y/y SONIA ADV up 39% y/y Gilts ADV up 18% y/y Total Equity Indices ADV up 8% y/y MSCI ADV up 19% y/y NYSE Cash Equities ADV up 12% y/y NYSE Equity Options ADV up 44% y/y About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.
ICE a NATIVX plánují spustit futures na GPU compute navázané na COIL Index, který sleduje tokenizovaný a energeticky normalizovaný compute. Kontrakty budou denominovány v USD a hotovostně vypořádány.
ATLANTA & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), one of the world's leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, and NATIVX, the public exchange for compute, today announced plans to launch GPU compute futures contracts based on NATIVX's COIL Index, which tracks the price of tokenized, energy-normalized compute and connectivity.
"Driven by the transformative force of AI, compute has quickly become an important asset class and is uniquely situated to benefit from the additional pricing transparency and risk management that comes from futures markets," said Trabue Bland, SVP of Futures Markets at ICE. "The new contracts will offer price discovery for customers globally through a hedgeable index that will benefit from trading alongside ICE's natural gas and power futures contracts."
COIL is designed to track tokenized GPU compute prices in an energy-normalized index that is built around maximizing constituent capacity. It reflects compute and connectivity, normalized to one stable unit and auditable at every step. The new futures contracts will be U.S. dollar denominated and cash-settled.
"AI's continued growth depends on turning compute from a fragmented, unpredictable operating cost into transparent and manageable market infrastructure,” Cole Crawford, Founder and Chairman of NATIVX. “Compute is now an asset class, and like every asset class, it needs a public price and a market. By combining our energy-normalized index with ICE's global futures marketplace, we're giving the world's largest new commodity the transparent and regulated venue it has been missing."
GPU compute and energy are deeply intertwined — power represents a significant input cost in running large-scale compute infrastructure, and fluctuations in electricity prices directly impact the economics of AI workloads. By normalizing compute prices to a consistent energy unit, the COIL Index strips out the noise introduced by regional power cost disparities, giving market participants a clearer basis for comparison.
Listing these contracts alongside ICE's established power and natural gas futures creates a uniquely integrated hedging environment where operators and consumers of compute can manage their GPU exposure in the same venue where they already hedge their underlying energy costs, while energy market participants gain a direct window into one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand in the world.
The contracts are expected to be launched later this year, subject to completion of relevant regulatory processes.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.
About NATIVX
NATIVX is the public market for compute and connectivity, the exchange where capacity is priced, traded, and settled against the COIL Index. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, NATIVX publishes the COIL index, including its COIL-T (training), COIL-I (inference), COIL-G (graphics), and COIL-CO (connectivity) sub-indices, and operates the exchange on technology licensed from Synova Global. Learn more at NATIVX.exchange.
About Synova Global
NATIVX is built on technology licensed from Synova Global, its underlying technology provider. Synova Global develops the core index, exchange, and settlement technology; NATIVX publishes the COIL index and operates the public exchange on that licensed foundation.
ICE oznámila plánovaný start prvních futures na ekonomické indikátory navázaných na rozhodnutí centrálních bank a americké zásoby zemního plynu. Spuštění je plánováno na 10. srpna 2026.
New contracts span global monetary policy decisions and U.S. natural gas storage reports
LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), one of the world's leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, today announced the planned launch of its first economic indicator futures contracts tied to global monetary policy decisions and US natural gas storage reports.
The cash-settled futures contracts are designed to give market participants exchange-traded and centrally-cleared instruments to express views on specific economic events and decisions.
“ICE’s expansion into economic indicator contracts reflects demand for regulated onshore products that allow customers to take positions on economically relevant risks that shape markets,” said Trabue Bland, Senior Vice President of Futures Markets at ICE. “These innovative new products leverage the global trading and clearing platform that we have built at ICE, offering a new approach to hedging significant moments impacting global markets.”
ICE's new futures will be based on central bank rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve System, European Central Bank and Bank of England, providing exposure to scheduled policy meetings across the three most systemically important central banks in the world, as well as on U.S. natural gas storage inventory levels, which are published weekly by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The new contracts are scheduled to launch on August 10, 2026, subject to completion of relevant regulatory processes. The product codes will be: OID; OIS; OIR; EUD; EUS; EUR; MPL; MPS; MPR; EWP.
The new contracts follow the recent launch of ICE’s Polymarket Signals and Sentiment service, an exclusive prediction data and analytics offering from ICE. This service offers normalized data feeds representing Polymarket’s prediction markets, enabling professional and institutional traders to consume crowd-sourced probability assessments as market signals. These signals indicate implied probabilities on real-world outcomes and are designed to complement traditional market, pricing, and sentiment inputs within institutional workflows.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.
ICE oznámila rekordní tržby segmentu Fixed Income and Data Services ve výši 322 mil. USD, meziročně o 7 % vyšší. Akcie jsou za rok níže o 31,1 % a obchodují se s nižším forward P/E než odvětví.
Key Takeaways ICE generated record Fixed Income and Data Services revenue of $322M, up 7% year over year.Intercontinental Exchange is investing in private credit, digital assets and tokenized securities initiatives.ICE is embedding AI across mortgage and data platforms while managing higher operating expenses. Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE - Free Report) have lost 31.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 20.3%. ???The company’s share price closed at $124.49 on Thursday and reached a 52-week low of $124.33.
ICE shares have declined from their August 2025 peak due to valuation compression, slower growth from the Black Knight acquisition, and elevated debt. Sentiment was further pressured by competitive threats following the approval of perpetual futures products on platforms like Kalshi.
Shares of some of its peers, like CBOE Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE - Free Report) , have increased 8.4%, whereas CME Group Inc. (CME - Free Report) and Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ - Free Report) have declined 17.5% and 12.1%, respectively, in the past year. The S&P 500 Index has gained 23.3% during this time.
1-Year Price Performance: ICE, CME, CBOE, NDAQ, Industry & S&P 500
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ICE’s Average Target Price Suggests UpsideBased on short-term price targets offered by 16 analysts, the Zacks average price target is $195.13 per share. The average suggests a potential 56.7% upside from the last closing price.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ICE’s ValuationIntercontinental Exchange’s shares are trading at a discount compared with the industry. ICE’s shares are trading at a forward price-to-earnings of 14.6X, lower than the industry average of 17.5X. Meanwhile, CME, Cboe Global and Nasdaq are trading at 17.95X, 17.88X and 18.39X, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ICE’s Growth Projection EncouragesThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intercontinental Exchange’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year increase of 20.4%. The estimate for 2026 revenues is pegged at $10.99 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 10.6%.
The consensus estimates for 2027 EPS and revenues indicate an increase of 5.5% and 4.2%, respectively, from the corresponding 2026 estimates.
The expected five-year earnings growth is pegged at 12.8%, better than the industry average of 12.2%.
Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on ICESix of the seven analysts have raised the estimates for 2026, whereas five of the eight analysts have increased estimates for 2027 over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved 3.8% and 1% north, respectively, over the same period.
Factors Favoring ICE StockICE’s top line is poised to improve, driven by global data services and index business, the ICE Global Network offering, as well as solid desktop, feeds, and derivatives analytics. The company has been achieving expense synergies from strategic acquisitions, which have strengthened its portfolio and expanded its presence. As the operator of the largest mortgage network in the United States, ICE remains well-positioned to capitalize on the ongoing digitization of the residential mortgage industry. The company is also benefiting from strength in its Exchange business, driven by elevated market volatility, robust risk-management demand and growing market participation.
ICE's Fixed Income and Data Services business remains a key growth driver. In the first quarter of 2026, revenues reached a record $322 million, up 7% year over year, fueled by strong net new business trends in its pricing and reference data offerings. Growing demand for proprietary data, analytics, pricing and index products continues to support recurring revenues and earnings stability. For 2026, management anticipates recurring revenue growth in the mid single-digit range, with results expected to trend toward the higher end.
ICE is investing in several emerging growth areas that could support long-term expansion. The launch of ICE Private Credit Intelligence, development of a tokenized securities platform at the NYSE and partnerships with Polymarket and OKX are expected to strengthen its position in private credit, digital assets and next-generation market infrastructure. These initiatives expand the company's addressable market and provide additional long-term growth avenues.
ICE is increasingly embedding artificial intelligence across its mortgage, data, pricing, and workflow automation platforms. Management believes AI-driven capabilities will increase platform adoption, strengthen customer relationships and create incremental monetization opportunities over time.
Risks for ICETotal operating expenses have increased over the last several years, reflecting higher compensation and benefits, technology and communication costs, and acquisition-related integration activity. ICE guided for the second quarter of 2026, adjusted operating expenses in the range of of $1.030 billion to $1.040 billion.
ICE faces competitive and regulatory challenges that could pressure pricing, increase compliance costs, and shift trading volumes, making future growth and profitability more unpredictable.
ConclusionICE is poised for growth, banking on the strength of its compelling portfolio and expansive risk-management services, which ensure revenue flow, as well as strategic buyouts, a solid balance sheet, and effective capital deployment. However, rising operating expenses and volatile industry trends raise concerns.
Nevertheless, favorable growth estimates, optimistic analyst sentiment, and cheaper valuations are noteworthy. It is, therefore, wise to retain this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
