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NDAQ vs SCHW
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) vs. Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) has transformed into a diversified financial technology platform, with annual net revenues surpassing $5 billion for the first time in 2025, driven by strong growth in its Solutions and Financial Technology segments.
- Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) delivered robust earnings recovery in 2025, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) surging 55.8% year-over-year, as net interest margin pressures eased and client assets expanded.
- SCHW commands a significantly larger market capitalization — roughly 3.5 times that of NDAQ — and has demonstrated stronger relative stock price momentum in recent months.
- NDAQ scores higher on quality metrics, including return on assets and balance sheet strength, while SCHW trades at a more attractive valuation based on its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.
- Both companies are deeply integrating artificial intelligence into their product roadmaps, positioning themselves for the next phase of financial services innovation.
Introduction
Investors evaluating the financial services sector often encounter two distinct yet compelling names: Nasdaq, Inc. and Charles Schwab Corporation. While both trace their origins to the early 1970s and operate at the intersection of technology and capital markets, their business models diverge meaningfully. NDAQ has evolved from an exchange operator into a global financial technology company, whereas SCHW stands as one of the largest retail brokerage and wealth management platforms in the world. This comparison examines their recent performance, growth trajectories, and market positioning to help traders and investors assess which stock aligns more closely with the prevailing market environment.
NDAQ Overview and Recent Performance
Nasdaq, Inc. operates far beyond its iconic stock exchange. The company now generates the majority of its revenue from technology solutions, including financial crime management software (through its Verafin platform), regulatory reporting tools, index licensing, and market data. In 2025, NDAQ crossed a historic milestone with annual net revenues exceeding $5.2 billion, representing a 13% increase over the prior year. Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) — a measure of subscription-like, predictable income — reached $3.1 billion, growing 10% year-over-year.
The company's Financial Technology division has been a standout, with revenue growing at double-digit rates as Nasdaq deepens relationships with global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and expands its anti-financial crime offerings. In recent quarters, Nasdaq introduced an Agentic AI Workforce within its Verafin platform, signaling its commitment to embedding artificial intelligence across its product suite. The company also announced plans to launch 23-hour, five-day trading (23/5) in the second half of 2026. However, NDAQ shares have faced headwinds in 2026 year-to-date, declining in value despite strong fundamental execution, reflecting broader market caution toward growth-oriented financial technology names amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
SCHW Overview and Recent Performance
The Charles Schwab Corporation is a dominant force in U.S. retail brokerage, wealth management, and banking. With approximately $491 billion in total assets as of year-end 2025 and a market capitalization exceeding $150 billion, SCHW serves tens of millions of client accounts through its Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. Unlike NDAQ, Schwab's revenue model is heavily influenced by interest rates, as a substantial portion of its income derives from net interest margin — the spread between interest earned on assets and interest paid on deposits.
After navigating the regional banking turmoil of 2023, SCHW staged a powerful earnings recovery throughout 2025. Full-year diluted EPS climbed to $4.65, a 55.8% year-over-year jump, while net income reached $8.85 billion on total revenues of $27.68 billion. Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE), a key profitability gauge for financial institutions, improved sharply to approximately 26% by the third quarter of 2025. In 2026, SCHW has outperformed NDAQ on a relative basis, with its stock showing greater resilience and posting positive year-to-date returns. Analysts have highlighted Schwab's improving deposit trends and capital return program as meaningful catalysts.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
When placed side by side, NDAQ and SCHW reveal contrasting investment profiles. From a size perspective, SCHW is approximately 3.5 times larger by market capitalization, making it a more established presence in broad-market indices and institutional portfolios. NDAQ, by contrast, offers exposure to a faster-growing, technology-centric business model with higher organic revenue growth rates — its 13% revenue expansion in 2025 outpaced SCHW's approximately 6.4% top-line growth.
Valuation tells a different story. SCHW trades at a P/E ratio in the range of 18 to 20, while NDAQ commands a higher multiple of roughly 24 to 26, reflecting the market's premium for its recurring technology revenue streams. On quality metrics — including return on assets, balance sheet integrity, and operating consistency — NDAQ typically scores higher. Yet SCHW currently exhibits stronger price momentum and has been favored by several sell-side analysts as a top pick in the capital markets sector.
Risk profiles also differ. SCHW carries sensitivity to Federal Reserve interest rate policy and depositor behavior, while NDAQ is more exposed to equity market volumes, IPO (initial public offering) activity, and corporate technology spending cycles. Investors weighing these two names must decide between a higher-quality compounder at a premium valuation and a more cyclically sensitive value play with strengthening fundamentals.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as trend consistency, relative positioning, and near-term catalysts, Tickeron's AI-driven analytical framework would likely lean toward SCHW in the current environment. SCHW's superior price momentum, more attractive valuation, and improving earnings trajectory present a combination that trend-following algorithms tend to favor. The company's recovery in net interest income and improving ROTCE provide measurable tailwinds that are straightforward for systematic models to quantify. That said, NDAQ remains compelling for strategies oriented toward long-term quality and recurring revenue growth, and the AI verdict could shift should market volumes and IPO activity accelerate in the latter half of 2026. This assessment reflects probabilistic modeling rather than a definitive prediction, and market conditions can evolve rapidly.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is NDAQ is a Hold and SCHW is a Hold.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
NDAQ’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileSCHW’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s).
- NDAQ’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- SCHW’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
NDAQ’s TA Score shows that 6 TA indicator(s) are bullish while SCHW’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- NDAQ’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 4 bearish.
- SCHW’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
NDAQ (@Financial Publishing/Services) experienced а +4.04% price change this week, while SCHW (@Investment Banks/Brokers) price change was -1.51% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Financial Publishing/Services industry was +2.16%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +5.32%, and the average quarterly price growth was -8.56%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Investment Banks/Brokers industry was -4.50%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -10.09%, and the average quarterly price growth was -21.23%.
Reported Earning Dates
NDAQ is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
SCHW is expected to report earnings on Jul 21, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Financial Publishing/Services (+2.16% weekly)The financial publishing /services sector includes companies that provide informational products and services that are of value to investors, financial/analytics professionals and other interested readers. The products include real-time stock quotes, financial news and analyses. Think S&P Global, Inc., Moody`s Corporation, Thomson-Reuters Corp and IHS Markit Ltd. Information is critical in making financial or investment decisions, and what makes this industry’s output relevant at all times, across various economic conditions.
@Investment Banks/Brokers (-4.50% weekly)These banks specialize in underwriting (helping companies with debt financing or equity issuances), IPOs, facilitating mergers and other corporate reorganizations and acting as a broker or financial advisor for institutions. They might also trade securities on their own accounts. Investment banks potentially thrive on expanding its network of clients, since that could help them increase profits. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and CME Group Inc are some of the largest investment banking companies.
| NDAQ | SCHW | NDAQ / SCHW | |
| Capitalization | 51.8B | 177B | 29% |
| EBITDA | 3.32B | N/A | - |
| Gain YTD | -5.014 | 2.361 | -212% |
| P/E Ratio | 27.60 | 20.19 | 137% |
| Revenue | 8.3B | 24.8B | 33% |
| Total Cash | N/A | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 9.45B | 33.1B | 29% |
NDAQ | SCHW | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 50 | 37 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 76 Overvalued | 84 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 32 | 56 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 53 | 7 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 50 | 48 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 83 | 80 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 85 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
NDAQ's Valuation (76) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as SCHW (84). This means that NDAQ’s stock grew similarly to SCHW’s over the last 12 months.
NDAQ's Profit vs Risk Rating (32) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as SCHW (56). This means that NDAQ’s stock grew similarly to SCHW’s over the last 12 months.
SCHW's SMR Rating (7) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is somewhat better than the same rating for NDAQ (53). This means that SCHW’s stock grew somewhat faster than NDAQ’s over the last 12 months.
SCHW's Price Growth Rating (48) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as NDAQ (50). This means that SCHW’s stock grew similarly to NDAQ’s over the last 12 months.
SCHW's P/E Growth Rating (80) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as NDAQ (83). This means that SCHW’s stock grew similarly to NDAQ’s over the last 12 months.
| NDAQ | SCHW | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 51% | 3 days ago 42% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 49% | 3 days ago 46% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 57% | 3 days ago 64% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 63% | N/A |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 63% | 3 days ago 60% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 61% | 3 days ago 61% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 64% | 4 days ago 57% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 25 days ago 47% | 6 days ago 59% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 63% | 3 days ago 45% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 51% | 3 days ago 55% |
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NDAQ and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, NDAQ has been closely correlated with JEF. These tickers have moved in lockstep 71% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if NDAQ jumps, then JEF could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To NDAQ | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDAQ | 100% | -2.77% | ||
| JEF - NDAQ | 71% Closely correlated | -1.67% | ||
| MS - NDAQ | 71% Closely correlated | -1.31% | ||
| GS - NDAQ | 70% Closely correlated | -2.76% | ||
| RJF - NDAQ | 69% Closely correlated | -0.79% | ||
| SPGI - NDAQ | 68% Closely correlated | -1.43% | ||
More | ||||
SCHW and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, SCHW has been closely correlated with RJF. These tickers have moved in lockstep 72% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if SCHW jumps, then RJF could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To SCHW | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCHW | 100% | -1.21% | ||
| RJF - SCHW | 72% Closely correlated | -0.79% | ||
| LPLA - SCHW | 69% Closely correlated | -1.77% | ||
| NDAQ - SCHW | 62% Loosely correlated | -2.77% | ||
| MORN - SCHW | 57% Loosely correlated | -0.82% | ||
| SPGI - SCHW | 56% Loosely correlated | -1.43% | ||
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