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Cover and table of contents
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, 2021 | |||||||
| 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: 001-38855
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Nasdaq, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 52-1165937 | ||||||||||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| 151 W. 42nd Street, | New York, | New York | 10036 | ||||||||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (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 class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
| Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | NDAQ | The Nasdaq Stock Market | ||||||||||||
| 0.900% Senior Notes due 2033 | NDAQ33 | The Nasdaq Stock Market | ||||||||||||
| 0.875% Senior Notes due 2030 | NDAQ30 | The Nasdaq Stock Market | ||||||||||||
| 1.75% Senior Notes due 2029 | NDAQ29 | The 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 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
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, 2021, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $21.0 billion (this amount represents approximately 119.3 million shares of Nasdaq, Inc.’s common stock based on the last reported sales price of $175.80 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.
| Class | Outstanding at February 14, 2022 | ||||||||||
| Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | 164,412,114 | shares |
| Documents Incorporated by Reference: Certain portions of the Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K. | |||||
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About this Form 10-K
Throughout this Form 10-K, unless otherwise specified:
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“Nasdaq,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Nasdaq, Inc.
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“Nasdaq Baltic” refers to collectively, Nasdaq Tallinn AS, Nasdaq Riga, AS, and AB Nasdaq Vilnius.
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“Nasdaq BX” refers to the cash equity exchange operated by Nasdaq BX, Inc.
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“Nasdaq BX Options” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq BX, Inc.
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“Nasdaq Clearing” refers to the clearing operations conducted by Nasdaq Clearing AB.
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“Nasdaq CXC” and “Nasdaq CX2” refer to the Canadian cash equity trading books operated by Nasdaq CXC Limited.
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“Nasdaq First North” refers to our alternative marketplaces for smaller companies and growth companies in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
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“Nasdaq GEMX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq GEMX, LLC.
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“Nasdaq ISE” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq ISE, LLC.
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“Nasdaq MRX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq MRX, LLC.
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“Nasdaq Nordic” refers to collectively, Nasdaq Clearing AB, Nasdaq Stockholm AB, Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S, Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, and Nasdaq Iceland hf.
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“Nasdaq PHLX” refers to the options exchange operated by Nasdaq PHLX LLC.
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“Nasdaq PSX” refers to the cash equity exchange operated by Nasdaq PHLX LLC.
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“The Nasdaq Options Market” refers to the options exchange operated by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
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“The Nasdaq Stock Market” refers to the cash equity exchange and listing venue 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
2020 Credit Facility: $1.25 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility, which matures on December 22, 2025
2022 Notes: $600 million aggregate principal amount of 0.445% senior unsecured notes due December 21, 2022
2023 Notes: €600 million aggregate principal amount of 1.75% senior unsecured notes; repaid in full and terminated in August 2021
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
2029 Notes: €600 million aggregate principal amount of 1.75% senior unsecured notes due March 28, 2029
2030 Notes: €600 million aggregate principal amount of 0.875% senior unsecured notes due February 13, 2030
2031 Notes: $650 million aggregate principal amount of 1.650% senior unsecured notes due January 15, 2031
2033 Notes: €615 million aggregate principal amount of 0.900% senior unsecured notes due July 30, 2033
2040 Notes: $650 million aggregate principal amount of 2.500% senior unsecured notes due December 21, 2040
2050 Notes: $500 million aggregate principal amount of 3.25% senior unsecured notes due April 28, 2050
ARR: Annualized Recurring Revenue
ASU: Accounting Standards Update
ASU 2016-13: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments
ASR: Accelerated Share Repurchase
ATS: Alternative Trading System
AUM: Assets Under Management
CAT: A market-wide consolidated audit trail established under an SEC approved plan by Nasdaq and other exchanges
CCP: Central Counterparty
CFTC: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
EMIR: European Market Infrastructure Regulation
Equity Plan: Nasdaq Equity Incentive Plan
ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance
ESPP: Nasdaq Employee Stock Purchase Plan
ETF: Exchange Traded Fund
ETP: Exchange Traded Product
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
LIBOR: London Interbank Offered Rate
MiFID II: Update to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
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MiFIR: Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
MTF: Multilateral Trading Facility
NFF: Nasdaq Financial Framework; Nasdaq's end-to-end technology solutions for market infrastructure operators, buy-side firms, sell-side firms and other non-financial markets
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 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
PSU: Performance Share Unit
Regulation NMS: Regulation National Market System
Regulation SCI: Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity
SaaS: Software as a Service
SEC: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
SERP: Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
SFSA: Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority
S&P: Standard & Poor’s
S&P 500: S&P 500 Stock Index
SPAC: Special Purpose Acquisition Company
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
NASDAQ, the NASDAQ logos, and other brand, service or product names or marks referred to in this report are trademarks or service 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; 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 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 and Nasdaq First North 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 the “Item 1A. Risk Factors” section 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.
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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 are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These include, among others, statements relating to:
*•*our strategic direction;
*•*the integration of acquired businesses, including accounting decisions relating thereto;
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the scope, nature or impact of acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures or other transactional activities;
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the effective dates for, and expected benefits of, ongoing initiatives, including transactional activities and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital return initiatives;
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our products and services;
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the impact of pricing changes;
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tax matters;
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the cost and availability of liquidity and capital;
*•*any litigation, or any regulatory or government investigation or action, to which we are or could become a party or which may affect us; and
*•*the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response of governments and other third parties on our business, operations, results of operations, financial condition, workforce or the operations or decisions of our customers, suppliers or business partners.
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 customers or other customers;
*•*our ability to develop and grow our non-trading businesses, including our technology and analytics offerings;
*•*our ability to keep up with rapid technological advances and adequately address cybersecurity risks;
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economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, including inflation, interest rate and foreign currency risk, inherent in U.S. and international operations;
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the performance and reliability of our technology and technology of third parties on which we rely;
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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, or increased regulatory oversight domestically or internationally.
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.
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PART I