5 Securities & Exchanges Stocks to Watch Amid Increased Volatility

A compelling and diversified product portfolio helps drive the revenues of Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry players. A rise in trading volumes, product expansion through prudent acquisitions and the increased adoption of a greater number of crypto assets are expected to benefit S&P Global SPGI, Intercontinental Exchange ICE, CME Group CME, Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ and Cboe Global Markets CBOE. Increased focus on accelerating their non-trading revenue base, which comprises market technology, listing and information revenues, infuses dynamism in the business profile of the industry players. The industry is expected to get an impetus under the Trump administration, given his crypto favoritism. The sector is also witnessing increased retail trading. 

However, alterations in investment patterns and priorities and compliance with regulations pose challenges. With the increasing digitization of financial markets, cyber threats and data breaches continue to pose serious risks.
Mergers and acquisitions are gaining momentum across the industry, with companies leveraging strategic partnerships and acquisitions to fuel growth and innovation. These initiatives help unlock new markets, protect domestic market share, diversify product offerings and reinforce trading platforms. Deloitte observes that exchanges are increasingly embracing consolidation to adapt to rapidly changing technological, regulatory and competitive environments.

About the Industry

The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry comprises companies that operate electronic marketplaces, which facilitate the buying and selling of stocks, stock options and bonds or commodity contracts. They facilitate trading across a diverse range of products in multiple asset classes and geographies. The companies generate revenues from fees received from the listed companies on their exchanges. They also provide a range of data and listing services to global financial and commodity markets, including pricing and reference data, exchange data, analytics, feeds, index services, investments, risk management, desktops, and connectivity solutions, as well as corporate and ETF listing services, on the cash equity exchanges. The industry is witnessing increased adoption of crypto assets. Yet, industry players have to comply with a number of regulations, resulting in challenges. 

4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Securities and Exchanges Industry

Volatility Fueling Trading Volume: Industry revenues are primarily driven by product and service offerings, including trade execution, clearing and settlement of securities and commodities, listing services, and trading and clearing systems. Growth in trading volumes—often fueled by market volatility—boosts transaction and clearing fees, a key revenue driver. A supportive crypto environment, with lighter regulation and broader adoption of digital assets, is expected to further lift trading activity and fees. Profitability hinges on maximizing transaction revenues while controlling costs. Technavio estimates the global securities exchanges market will reach $49.6 billion by 2028, growing at a 12.1% CAGR, supported by rising investment demand and cryptocurrency adoption.

Diversification Into Other Recurring Revenue Sources:  Securities exchanges are increasingly focusing on recurring revenues to lower reliance on unpredictable trading-driven income. With market volumes often fluctuating, stable revenue streams from data services, listings, clearing, and technology platforms offer consistent cash flows and stronger earnings stability. These revenues also support growth by addressing rising demand for market data, compliance, ESG offerings and digital asset infrastructure. The players are strengthening their presence in the evolving landscape and thereby enhancing scalability and margins. Increasing focus on accelerating the non-trading revenue base also infuses dynamism in the business profiles of the industry participants. In fact, exchanges are focusing on market data monetization and earning more from data feeds and analytics.

Mergers and Acquisitions:  Mergers and acquisitions are gaining momentum across the industry, with companies leveraging strategic partnerships and acquisitions to fuel growth and innovation. These initiatives help unlock new markets, protect domestic market share, diversify product offerings and reinforce trading platforms. Deloitte observes that exchanges are increasingly embracing consolidation to adapt to rapidly changing technological, regulatory and competitive environments.

Continuous Investment in Technology: Industry players are intensifying technology investments to enhance competitiveness and adaptability. There is growing emphasis on creating strategic market models through advanced tools, especially AI, while continually upgrading products and services. Exchanges are increasingly leveraging AI and blockchain to strengthen efficiency and resilience. Recent advancements use machine learning, automation, and algorithms to improve trading accuracy, reduce cyber threats and limit human errors, thereby accelerating trading speed. Moreover, industry players are focusing on automating non-trading operations, which significantly contribute to revenue generation and support sustainable long-term growth.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry is housed within the broader Zacks Finance sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #48, which places it in the top 20% of the 243 Zacks industries.

The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, reflects encouraging near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts have been gaining confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. Estimates for 2026 have increased 8.8% in a year.

Before we present a few securities and exchanges stocks worth considering for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.

Industry Underperforms Sector and S&P 500

The Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry has underperformed the broader Zacks Finance sector as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite year to date.

The industry has gained 0.6% compared with the broader sector’s increase of 13% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s rise of 17% in the said time frame.

One-Year Price Performance

Industry's Current Valuation

On the basis of trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing exchange stocks, the industry is currently trading at 23.31X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.6X and the sector’s 17.5X.

Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 29.62X, as low as 20.4X and at the median of 24.94X, as the chart below shows.

12-Month Forward Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

12-Month Forward Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio 

 

5 Securities and Exchanges Stocks to Keep An Eye On

We are presenting two Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks and three Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks from the Securities and Exchanges industry. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Cboe Global Markets: Based in Chicago, IL, Cboe Global is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and globally for ETP trading. This Zacks Rank #2 stock is poised for growth, given its expanding product line across asset classes, broadening geographic reach and a diversifying business mix with recurring revenues and technology.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 6.1%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 16.5%, better than the industry average of 11.6%. The consensus mark for 2026 earnings has moved 3.8% north in the past 30 days. It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of nearly 2.93%.

Price and Consensus: CBOE

S&P Global: Headquartered in New York, this Zacks Rank #2 company is a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It remains well-positioned to gain from the growing demand for business information services. While buyouts help it innovate, increase differentiated content and develop products, continued service launches have been aiding the company's growth and enhancing its market reach.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share indicates an increase of 11.4% year over year. SPGI came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.22%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 11.8%, better than the industry average. The consensus mark for 2026 earnings has moved 0.8% north in the past 30 days.

Price and Consensus: SPGI

Nasdaq: Headquartered in New York, Nasdaq is a leading provider of trading, clearing, marketplace technology, regulatory, securities listing, information, and public and private company services. Its strategy of accelerating its non-trading revenue base, successfully maximizing opportunities as a technology and analytics provider, growing core marketplace businesses and intensifying its focus on Market Technology and Information Services businesses should continue to drive this Zacks Rank #3 stock. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share indicates an increase of 8.9% and 12.3%, respectively, year over year. NDAQ came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.78%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 16%, better than the industry average.

Price and Consensus: NDAQ

CME Group: Headquartered in Chicago, IL, CME Group is the largest futures exchange in the world in terms of trading volume as well as notional value traded. Its efforts to expand future products in emerging markets, non-transaction-related opportunities, OTC offerings, cross-selling through alliances, global presence and liquidity should drive growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #3 company’s 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 4.5% and 5.3%, respectively.  It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 1.18%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.6%. The consensus mark for 2026 earnings has moved north but that for 2027 has moved south in the past 30 days.

Price and Consensus: CME

Intercontinental Exchange: This Atlanta, GA-based company 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. Its compelling portfolio, expansive risk-management services, strategic buyouts and a solid balance sheet bode well. It is the second-largest global fixed-income provider. This Zacks Rank #3 company, with the largest mortgage network across the United States, remains well-positioned to benefit from accelerated digitization in the U.S. residential mortgage industry.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #3 company’s 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.  It came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 2.75%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.6%. The consensus mark for 2026 earnings has moved 1 cent north in the past 30 days.

Price and Consensus: ICE

 

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S&P Global Inc. (SPGI): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CME Group Inc. (CME): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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