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10-K 1 ndaq1231201810-k.htm 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549


FORM 10-K

☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018
OR
☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from ________ to ________

Commission file number: 000-32651


Nasdaq, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)52-1165937 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York (Address of Principal Executive Offices)10006 (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

+1 212 401 8700

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each className of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.01 par value per shareThe Nasdaq Stock Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will

not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any

amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer☒Accelerated filer☐
Non-accelerated filer☐Smaller reporting company☐
Emerging growth company☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of June 30, 2018, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $10.5 billion (this amount represents approximately 114.8 million shares of Nasdaq, Inc.’s common stock based on the last reported sales price of $91.27 of the common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market on such date).

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

ClassOutstanding at February 14, 2019
Common Stock, $.01 par value per share165,420,039 shares

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
DocumentParts Into Which Incorporated
Certain portions of the Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2019 Annual Meeting of StockholdersPart III

Nasdaq, Inc.

Page
Part I.
Item 1.Business2
Item 1A.Risk Factors13
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments26
Item 2.Properties26
Item 3.Legal Proceedings26
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures26
Part II.
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities26
Item 6.Selected Financial Data29
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations30
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk55
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data55
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure56
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures56
Item 9B.Other Information59
Part III.
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance59
Item 11.Executive Compensation59
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters59
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence59
Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services60
Part IV.
Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules60
Item 16.Form 10-K Summary63

About This Form 10-K

Throughout this Form 10-K, unless otherwise specified:

•“Nasdaq,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Nasdaq, Inc.
•“Nasdaq Baltic” refers to collectively, Nasdaq Tallinn AS, Nasdaq Riga, AS, and AB Nasdaq Vilnius.
•“Nasdaq BX” refers to the cash equity exchange operated by Nasdaq BX, Inc.
•“Nasdaq BX Options” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq BX, Inc.
•“Nasdaq Clearing” refers to the clearing operations conducted by Nasdaq Clearing AB.
•“Nasdaq GEMX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq GEMX, LLC.
•“Nasdaq ISE” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq ISE, LLC.
•“Nasdaq MRX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq MRX, LLC.
•“Nasdaq Nordic” refers to collectively, Nasdaq Clearing AB, Nasdaq Stockholm AB, Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S, Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, and Nasdaq Iceland hf.
•“Nasdaq PHLX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq PHLX LLC.
•“Nasdaq PSX” refers to the cash equity exchange operated by Nasdaq PHLX LLC.
  • “The Nasdaq Options Market” refers to the options exchange operated by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
•“The Nasdaq Stock Market” refers to the cash equity exchange operated by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.

Nasdaq also provides as a tool for the reader the following list of abbreviations and acronyms that are used throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

401(k) Plan: Voluntary Defined Contribution Savings Plan

2016 Credit Facility: $400 million senior unsecured term loan facility which matures on November 25, 2019

2017 Credit Facility: $1 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility which matures on April 25, 2022

2019 Notes: $500 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured floating rate notes due March 22, 2019 with an interest rate equal to the three-month U.S. dollar LIBOR plus 0.39%

2020 Notes: $600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.55% senior unsecured notes due January 15, 2020

2021 Notes: €600 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior unsecured notes due June 7, 2021

2023 Notes: €600 million aggregate principal amount of 1.75% senior unsecured notes due May 19, 2023

2024 Notes: $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.25% senior unsecured notes due June 1, 2024

2026 Notes: $500 million aggregate principal amount of 3.85% senior unsecured notes due June 30, 2026

ASU: Accounting Standards Update

ATS: Alternative Trading System

BWise: BWise Beheer B.V. and its subsidiaries

CCP: Central Counterparty

CFTC: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

DEA: Designated Examining Authority

DWA: Dorsey, Wright & Associates, LLC

EMIR: European Market Infrastructure Regulation

Equity Plan: Nasdaq Equity Incentive Plan

ESPP: Nasdaq Employee Stock Purchase Plan

ETF: Exchange Traded Fund

ETP: Exchange Traded Product

eVestment: eVestment, Inc. and its subsidiaries

Exchange Act: Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended

FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board

FICC: Fixed Income and Commodities Trading and Clearing

FINRA: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

IPO: Initial Public Offering

ISE: U.S. Exchange Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries

LCH: LCH Group Holdings Limited

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LIBOR: London Interbank Offered Rate

MiFID II: Update to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive

MiFIR: Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation

MTF: Multilateral Trading Facility

NFX: Nasdaq Futures, Inc.

NPM: The NASDAQ Private Market, LLC

NSCC: National Securities Clearing Corporation

OCC: The Options Clearing Corporation

OTC: Over-the-Counter

Proxy Statement: Nasdaq’s Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

PSU: Performance Share Unit

Regulation NMS: Regulation National Market System

Regulation SCI: Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity

SEC: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

SERP: Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

SFSA: Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority

SMARTS: SMARTS Group Holdings Pty

S&P: Standard & Poor’s

S&P 500: S&P 500 Stock Index

SRO: Self-regulatory Organization

SSMA: Swedish Securities Markets Act 2007:528

TSR: Total Shareholder Return

U.S. GAAP: U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

UTP: Unlisted Trading Privileges

UTP Plan: Joint SRO Plan Governing the Collection, Consolidation, and Dissemination of Quotation and Transaction Information for Nasdaq-Listed Securities Traded on Exchanges on a UTP Basis

VAT: Value Added Tax


NASDAQ, the NASDAQ logos, and other brand, service or product names or marks referred to in this report are trademarks or services marks, registered or otherwise, of Nasdaq, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. FINRA and TRADE REPORTING FACILITY are registered trademarks of FINRA.


This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes market share and industry data that we obtained from industry publications and surveys, reports of governmental agencies and internal company surveys. Industry publications and surveys generally state that the information they contain has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we cannot assure you that this information is accurate or complete. We have not independently verified any of the data from third-party sources nor have we ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon therein. Statements as to our market position are based on the most currently available market data. For market comparison purposes, The Nasdaq Stock Market data in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for IPOs is based on data generated internally by us, which includes best efforts underwritings; therefore, the data may not be comparable to other publicly-available IPO data. Data in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for new listings of equity securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market is based on data generated internally by us, which includes best efforts underwritings, issuers that switched from other listing venues, closed-end funds and ETPs. Data in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for IPOs and new listings of equity securities on the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges also is based on data generated internally by us. IPOs and new listings data is presented as of period end. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding industry data presented herein, our estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.


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. These disclosures will be included on Nasdaq’s website under “Investor Relations.”

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Forward-Looking Statements

The SEC encourages companies to disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand a company’s future prospects and make informed investment decisions. This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains these types of statements. Words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “anticipates,” “envisions,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes” and words or terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future expectations as to industry and regulatory developments or business initiatives and strategies, future operating results or financial performance, and other future developments identify forward-looking statements. These include, among others, statements relating to:

•our strategy, growth forecasts and 2019 outlook;
•the integration of acquired businesses, including accounting decisions relating thereto;
•the scope, nature or impact of acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures or other transactional activities;
•the effective dates for, and expected benefits of, ongoing initiatives, including transactional activities and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital return initiatives;
•our products, order backlog and services;
•the impact of pricing changes;
•tax matters;
•the cost and availability of liquidity and capital; and
•any litigation, or any regulatory or government investigation or action, to which we are or could become a party or which may affect us.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:

•our operating results may be lower than expected;
•our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses or divest sold businesses or assets, including the fact that any integration or transition may be more difficult, time consuming or costly than expected, and we may be unable to realize synergies from business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures or other transactional activities;
•loss of significant trading and clearing volumes or values, fees, market share, listed companies, market data products customers or other customers;
•our ability to keep up with rapid technological advances and adequately address cybersecurity risks;
•economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, including interest rate and foreign currency risk, inherent in U.S. and international operations;
•the performance and reliability of our technology and technology of third parties on which we rely;
•any significant error in our operational processes;
•our ability to continue to generate cash and manage our indebtedness; and
•adverse changes that may occur in the litigation or regulatory areas, or in the securities markets generally.

Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond our control. You should consider the uncertainty and any risk related to forward-looking statements that we make. These risk factors are discussed under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. You should carefully read this entire Annual Report on Form 10-K, including “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes. Except as required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements or report the occurrence of unanticipated events. For any forward-looking statements contained in any document, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

PART I

Next: Item 1. Business