vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of MSCI Inc. (MSCI) and Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Nasdaq, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($2.1B vs $822.5M, roughly 2.6× MSCI Inc.). MSCI Inc. runs the higher net margin — 34.6% vs 24.4%, a 10.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MSCI Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.6% vs 4.5%). Nasdaq, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($536.0M vs $488.7M). Over the past eight quarters, Nasdaq, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (12.6% CAGR vs 10.0%).
MSCI Inc. is an American finance company headquartered in New York City. MSCI is a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indices, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate finance products. It operates the MSCI World, MSCI Emerging Markets, and MSCI All Country World (ACWI) indices, among others.
Nasdaq Stock Market is an American stock exchange, the second-largest by market cap on the list of stock exchanges, and the first fully electronic stock market. The exchange is based in Manhattan, New York City, and is among the most active stock trading venue by volume in the United States.
MSCI vs NDAQ — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $822.5M | $2.1B |
| Net Profit | $284.7M | $518.0M |
| Gross Margin | — | 65.5% |
| Operating Margin | 56.4% | 29.7% |
| Net Margin | 34.6% | 24.4% |
| Revenue YoY | 10.6% | 4.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | -6.8% | 45.9% |
| EPS (diluted) | $3.81 | $0.90 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $822.5M | $2.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $793.4M | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $772.7M | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $745.8M | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $743.5M | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $724.7M | $1.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $707.9M | $1.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $680.0M | $1.7B |
| Q4 25 | $284.7M | $518.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $325.4M | $423.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $303.6M | $452.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $288.6M | $395.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $305.5M | $355.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $280.9M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $266.8M | $222.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $256.0M | $234.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | 65.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 67.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 62.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 59.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 60.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 60.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 64.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 66.7% |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 29.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 56.4% | 29.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 55.0% | 27.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 50.6% | 26.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 54.5% | 25.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 55.4% | 23.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 54.0% | 23.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 49.9% | 24.5% |
| Q4 25 | 34.6% | 24.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 41.0% | 21.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 39.3% | 21.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 38.7% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 41.1% | 17.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 38.8% | 16.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 37.7% | 12.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 37.6% | 14.0% |
| Q4 25 | $3.81 | $0.90 | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.25 | $0.73 | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.92 | $0.78 | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.71 | $0.68 | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.89 | $0.62 | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.57 | $0.53 | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.37 | $0.38 | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.22 | $0.40 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $515.3M | $604.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $6.2B | $8.6B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $-2.7B | $12.2B |
| Total Assets | $5.7B | $31.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.70× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $515.3M | $604.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $400.1M | $470.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $347.3M | $732.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $360.7M | $690.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $409.4M | $592.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $501.0M | $266.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $451.4M | $416.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $519.3M | $388.0M |
| Q4 25 | $6.2B | $8.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.5B | $8.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5B | $8.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.5B | $8.9B | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.5B | $9.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.5B | $9.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $4.5B | $9.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $4.5B | $9.8B |
| Q4 25 | $-2.7B | $12.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $-1.9B | $12.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $-886.2M | $11.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $-958.6M | $11.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $-940.0M | $11.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $-751.0M | $11.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $-734.5M | $10.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-650.5M | $10.8B |
| Q4 25 | $5.7B | $31.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.4B | $30.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.4B | $30.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $5.3B | $30.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.4B | $30.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.4B | $30.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.5B | $30.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $5.5B | $30.3B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.70× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.72× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.73× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.77× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.81× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.85× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.85× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.90× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $501.1M | $625.0M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $488.7M | $536.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 59.4% | 25.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 1.5% | 4.2% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 1.76× | 1.21× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $1.5B | $2.0B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $501.1M | $625.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $449.4M | $221.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $336.1M | $746.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $301.7M | $663.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $430.6M | $705.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $421.6M | $244.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $349.2M | $460.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $300.1M | $530.0M |
| Q4 25 | $488.7M | $536.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $445.5M | $152.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $324.7M | $687.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $290.2M | $614.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $416.4M | $645.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $415.0M | $188.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $340.6M | $408.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $295.9M | $491.0M |
| Q4 25 | 59.4% | 25.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 56.2% | 7.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 42.0% | 32.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 38.9% | 29.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.0% | 31.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 57.3% | 9.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 48.1% | 22.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 43.5% | 29.3% |
| Q4 25 | 1.5% | 4.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.5% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.5% | 2.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.5% | 2.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.9% | 3.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.9% | 2.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 2.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| Q4 25 | 1.76× | 1.21× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.38× | 0.52× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.11× | 1.65× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.05× | 1.68× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.41× | 1.99× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.50× | 0.80× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.31× | 2.07× | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.17× | 2.26× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
MSCI
| Recurring Subscriptions | $246.4M | 30% |
| Asset Based Fees | $211.7M | 26% |
| Analytics Segment | $182.3M | 22% |
| Sustainability And Climate Segment | $90.3M | 11% |
| Other | $70.9M | 9% |
| Non Recurring | $21.1M | 3% |
NDAQ
| Market Services | $1.0B | 49% |
| Capital Access Platforms | $549.0M | 26% |
| Financial Technology | $497.0M | 23% |
