Nasdaq, Inc. NDAQhas reported improved volumes for first-quarter 2018. While U.S. equity options volume expanded 23.1% year over year to 474 million contracts, European options and futures volumes were 22.3 million contracts in the quarter, up 2.8% year over year.
However, revenues per contract for U.
Under its cash equities, Nasdaq’s U.S. matched equity volume in the first quarter totaled 88.6 billion shares, up 18.6% from the prior-year quarter. While the European equity volume rose 26.2% year over year to $260 billion. Again, the U.S. Fixed income volume augmented 2.3% year over year to $5.2 billion. Whereas the European fixed income volume was 8.3 million contracts, up 15.3% year over year.
Nasdaq’s strategic initiatives have always accelerated growth. Improvement in non-transaction revenue base including market technology, listing and information revenues, has been driving revenues. Management’s medium-term outlook calls for mid-single digit growth over the next three to five years.
Moreover, strategic acquisitions have been helping the company diversify as well as add capabilities to its portfolio. The organization is also intensifying its focus on Nasdaq Private Market Alternatives and the Nasdaq Ventures to ramp up growth over a longer term.
In the first quarter, there were 3,579 listed companies on Nasdaq compared with 3,489 in the year-ago quarter. Total listings grew 4.1% over the year-earlier quarter to 3,955.
Nasdaq’s shares have rallied 11% in a year, outperforming the industry's increase of 3.5%.