Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin40.2%
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin25.9%
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Financial Health
D
Years to Pay Off Debt25.5 yrs
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt-$16.8B
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital$3.6B
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Valuation
F
Margin of Safety0.0%
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book3.22x
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Cash Flow
B
Free Cash Flow$936M
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income24.0%
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings$1.6B
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
About Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and data to financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The Exchanges segment operates regulated marketplace technology for the listing, trading, and clearing of an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange and equities, and corporate and exchange-traded funds, as well as data and connectivity services related to its exchanges and clearing houses. The Fixed Income and Data Services segment provides fixed income pricing, reference data, indices, analytics, and execution services, as well as global CDS clearing and multi-asset class data delivery technology. The Mortgage Technology segment offers a technology platform that provides customers comprehensive and digital workflow tools to address inefficiencies and mitigate risks that exist in the U.S. residential mortgage market life cycle from application through closing, servicing, and the secondary market. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and data to financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The Exchanges segment operates regulated marketplace technology for the listing, trading, and clearing of an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange and equities, and corporate and exchange-traded funds, as well as data and connectivity services related to its exchanges and clearing houses. The Fixed Income and Data Services segment provides fixed income pricing, reference data, indices, analytics, and execution services, as well as global CDS clearing and multi-asset class data delivery technology. The Mortgage Technology segment offers a technology platform that provides customers comprehensive and digital workflow tools to address inefficiencies and mitigate risks that exist in the U.S. residential mortgage market life cycle from application through closing, servicing, and the secondary market. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Margin of Safety
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Mr. Market is currently offering Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. at $172.27.
The business passes only 2 of 6 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.
At $172.27, the stock trades at a 284% premium to its Graham Number of $44.84. Graham would consider this price speculative.
There is no margin of safety at the current price. Graham would advise patience and waiting for a better entry point.
Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign..
Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.
Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric
Q3 2026
Q4 2025
Gross Profit %
54.9%▼
56.7%
Operating Margin %
40.2%▲
40.0%
Net Income %
25.9%▼
27.1%
Diluted EPS
1.67▲
1.49
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric
Q3 2026
Q4 2025
Total Assets
$177.0B
$136.9B
Total Debt
$24.0B▲
$20.3B
Working Capital
$3.6B▲
$1.7B
Years to Pay Debt
25.52
23.83
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric
Q3 2026
Q4 2025
Free Cash Flow
$936M▼
$1.0B
Owner Earnings
$1.6B
$1.5B
CapEx % of Net Income
24.0%
31.3%
Income Statement
2026
2025
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items
-11,270
-3,636
Tax Rate For Calcs
0
0
Normalized EBITDA
1,912,000
1,678,000
Total Unusual Items
-49,000
-19,000
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill
-49,000
-19,000
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest
940,000
851,000
Reconciled Depreciation
399,000
389,000
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue
1,636,000
1,361,000
EBITDA
1,863,000
1,659,000
EBIT
1,464,000
1,270,000
Net Interest Income
-179,000
-177,000
Interest Expense
222,000
204,000
Interest Income
43,000
27,000
Normalized Income
977,730
866,364
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation
940,000
851,000
Total Expenses
2,171,000
1,886,000
Rent Expense Supplemental
25,000
24,000
Total Operating Income As Reported
1,410,000
1,237,000
Diluted Average Shares
563,000
572,000
Basic Average Shares
561,000
570,000
Diluted EPS
0
0
Basic EPS
0
0
Diluted NI Availto Com Stockholders
940,000
851,000
Net Income Common Stockholders
940,000
851,000
Net Income
940,000
851,000
Minority Interests
-16,000
-11,000
Net Income Including Noncontrolling Interests
956,000
862,000
Net Income Continuous Operations
956,000
862,000
Tax Provision
286,000
204,000
Pretax Income
1,242,000
1,066,000
Other Income Expense
-38,000
-13,000
Other Non Operating Income Expenses
11,000
6,000
Special Income Charges
-49,000
-19,000
Restructuring And Mergern Acquisition
49,000
19,000
Net Non Operating Interest Income Expense
-179,000
-177,000
Interest Expense Non Operating
222,000
204,000
Interest Income Non Operating
43,000
27,000
Operating Income
1,459,000
1,256,000
Operating Expense
535,000
525,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion Income Statement
399,000
389,000
Depreciation And Amortization In Income Statement
399,000
389,000
Selling General And Administration
136,000
136,000
General And Administrative Expense
136,000
136,000
Other Gand A
111,000
112,000
Rent And Landing Fees
25,000
24,000
Gross Profit
1,994,000
1,781,000
Cost Of Revenue
1,636,000
1,361,000
Total Revenue
3,630,000
3,142,000
Operating Revenue
3,630,000
3,142,000
Balance Sheet
2026
2025
Treasury Shares Number
86,000
Ordinary Shares Number
558,000
567,000
Share Issued
558,000
653,000
Net Debt
22,368,000
18,807,000
Total Debt
23,989,000
20,279,000
Tangible Book Value
-15,421,000
-17,084,000
Invested Capital
53,203,000
48,559,000
Working Capital
3,586,000
1,662,000
Net Tangible Assets
-15,421,000
-17,084,000
Capital Lease Obligations
685,000
635,000
Common Stock Equity
29,899,000
28,915,000
Total Capitalization
50,244,000
47,524,000
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest
29,977,000
28,991,000
Minority Interest
78,000
76,000
Stockholders Equity
29,899,000
28,915,000
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings
-263,000
-224,000
Other Equity Adjustments
-263,000
-224,000
Treasury Stock
9,505,000
7,792,000
Retained Earnings
22,708,000
20,281,000
Additional Paid In Capital
16,952,000
16,643,000
Capital Stock
7,000
7,000
Common Stock
7,000
7,000
Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest
147,053,000
107,896,000
Total Non Current Liabilities Net Minority Interest
25,752,000
23,780,000
Other Non Current Liabilities
411,000
364,000
Employee Benefits
178,000
174,000
Non Current Deferred Liabilities
4,133,000
3,998,000
Non Current Deferred Taxes Liabilities
4,133,000
3,998,000
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
21,030,000
19,244,000
Long Term Capital Lease Obligation
685,000
635,000
Long Term Debt
20,345,000
18,609,000
Current Liabilities
121,301,000
84,116,000
Other Current Liabilities
113,448,000
76,907,000
Current Deferred Liabilities
416,000
204,000
Current Deferred Revenue
416,000
204,000
Current Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
2,959,000
1,035,000
Current Debt
2,959,000
1,035,000
Commercial Paper
2,959,000
1,035,000
Current Notes Payable
0
Payables And Accrued Expenses
4,478,000
5,970,000
Current Accrued Expenses
386,000
455,000
Payables
4,092,000
5,515,000
Other Payable
2,905,000
4,437,000
Accounts Payable
1,187,000
1,078,000
Total Assets
177,030,000
136,887,000
Total Non Current Assets
52,143,000
51,109,000
Other Non Current Assets
3,851,000
2,419,000
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets
45,320,000
45,999,000
Other Intangible Assets
14,656,000
15,353,000
Goodwill
30,664,000
30,646,000
Net PPE
2,972,000
2,691,000
Accumulated Depreciation
-2,848,000
Gross PPE
5,539,000
Leases
486,000
Other Properties
578,000
Machinery Furniture Equipment
3,760,000
Buildings And Improvements
519,000
Land And Improvements
196,000
Current Assets
124,887,000
85,778,000
Other Current Assets
756,000
786,000
Restricted Cash
118,505,000
78,166,000
Receivables
2,650,000
3,210,000
Other Receivables
771,000
1,658,000
Accounts Receivable
1,879,000
1,552,000
Allowance For Doubtful Accounts Receivable
-18,000
-21,000
Gross Accounts Receivable
1,897,000
1,573,000
Cash Cash Equivalents And Short Term Investments
2,976,000
3,616,000
Other Short Term Investments
2,040,000
2,779,000
Cash And Cash Equivalents
936,000
837,000
Cash Flow
2026
2025
Free Cash Flow
936,000
1,009,000
Repurchase Of Capital Stock
-401,000
-400,000
Repayment Of Debt
-73,000
-1,138,000
Issuance Of Debt
3,528,000
1,740,000
Capital Expenditure
-226,000
-266,000
Interest Paid Supplemental Data
211,000
181,000
Income Tax Paid Supplemental Data
292,000
199,000
End Cash Position
118,696,000
78,614,000
Beginning Cash Position
116,553,000
85,821,000
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes
-3,000
2,000
Changes In Cash
2,146,000
-7,209,000
Financing Cash Flow
1,901,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities
1,901,000
-5,402,000
Net Other Financing Charges
-860,000
-5,330,000
Cash Dividends Paid
-293,000
-274,000
Common Stock Dividend Paid
-293,000
-274,000
Net Common Stock Issuance
-401,000
-400,000
Common Stock Payments
-401,000
-400,000
Net Issuance Payments Of Debt
3,455,000
602,000
Net Short Term Debt Issuance
3,455,000
618,000
Short Term Debt Payments
Short Term Debt Issuance
3,528,000
Net Long Term Debt Issuance
0
-16,000
Long Term Debt Payments
0
-1,250,000
Long Term Debt Issuance
1,234,000
Investing Cash Flow
-917,000
-3,082,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Investing Activities
-917,000
-3,082,000
Net Other Investing Changes
-601,000
-1,802,000
Net Investment Purchase And Sale
-1,014,000
Purchase Of Investment
-1,014,000
Net Business Purchase And Sale
778,000
0
Purchase Of Business
778,000
0
Capital Expenditure Reported
-226,000
-266,000
Operating Cash Flow
1,162,000
1,275,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Operating Activities
1,162,000
1,275,000
Change In Working Capital
-279,000
-24,000
Change In Other Working Capital
-156,000
-156,000
Change In Other Current Liabilities
99,000
116,000
Change In Other Current Assets
-18,000
26,000
Change In Payables And Accrued Expense
-192,000
0
Change In Payable
-192,000
0
Change In Receivables
-12,000
-10,000
Changes In Account Receivables
-12,000
-10,000
Other Non Cash Items
17,000
9,000
Stock Based Compensation
71,000
69,000
Deferred Tax
14,000
-6,000
Deferred Income Tax
14,000
-6,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion
399,000
389,000
Depreciation And Amortization
399,000
389,000
Amortization Cash Flow
Amortization Of Intangibles
Depreciation
Operating Gains Losses
-16,000
Earnings Losses From Equity Investments
-16,000
-4,000
Gain Loss On Investment Securities
0
-20,000
Net Income From Continuing Operations
956,000
862,000
📊Quarterly mode — Graham Fair Value & 7 Criteria require annual data. Switch to Annual for full analysis.
Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year
YoY strips seasonality
Revenue Growth (YoY)
Prior year: $3.0B▲ $3.6B+20.7%
Revenue growth vs same quarter last year strips seasonality. Consistent double-digit growth is a Buffett hallmark.
Gross Margin
Prior year: 56.8%▲ 54.9%-1.9pp
Buffett: consistent gross margin above 40% signals durable pricing power and competitive moat.
Operating Margin
Prior year: 48.5%▲ 40.2%-8.3pp
Graham: operating margin reflects true business economics before financing. Trend matters as much as level.
Net Margin
Prior year: 27.1%▲ 25.9%-1.2pp
Net margin can be distorted by one-time items, tax timing, or interest costs — compare to operating margin for signal quality.
Quarterly Health Checks
3 Graham/Buffett criteria that are valid and reliable on quarterly data
✅ Adequate Size
Graham required scale for resilience. Quarterly revenue × 4 gives an annualised proxy.
$3.6B/qtr (≈$14.5B ann.)
vs > $1.5B annualised revenue
❌ Financial Condition
Current assets vs current liabilities — a real-time liquidity snapshot. Valid and reliable on quarterly data.
1.03x current ratio
vs ≥ 2.0x
✅ Free Cash Flow
Buffett's most important single metric. A positive FCF quarter means the business generated real cash for owners after maintaining its asset base.
$936M
vs Positive
Operating Cash Flow
$1.2B
Latest quarter · Buffett's cash reality check
ROIC
2.1%
Based on latest annual operating income
Return on Invested Capital — Buffett's preferred measure for asset-light businesses. ROIC > 15% consistently signals a durable competitive advantage (moat). More meaningful than P/B for software, pharma, and consumer brand companies where most value is intangible and off-balance-sheet.
Market Cap / Net Assets
3.2x
Net Assets: $30.0B
⚠️Revenue grew vs prior year but operating margin contracted. Possible explanations: deliberate investment in growth (hiring, marketing, R&D), input cost inflation, or pricing pressure from competition. Buffett distinguishes between spending that builds moat vs. spending that doesn't.
Peers & Industry
No auto-detected peers for Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. You can manually compare ICE against any stock using the Compare tool.
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
0.82%
Low — management has little skin in the game
Return on Equity (ROE)
3.1%
Weak — poor returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
0.5%
Poor — assets are not generating adequate returns
Share Buybacks (Latest Year)
$1.4B
Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks
Debt Trend YoY
+16.9% YoY
Debt is growing — management is leveraging up
Leadership Team
Jeffrey Sprecher
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Age 70
Pay: $5,466,833
0.582% of net income
Benjamin Jackson
Chair of ICE Mortgage Technology & President
Age 52
Pay: $2,846,936
0.303% of net income
Warren Gardiner
Chief Financial Officer
Age 44
Pay: $2,605,959
0.277% of net income
Christopher Scott Edmonds
President of ICE Fixed Income & Data Services
Age 56
Pay: $2,625,606
0.279% of net income
Lynn Martin
President of NYSE Group and Chair of ICE Fixed Income & Data Services
Age 48
Pay: $2,583,083
0.275% of net income
Top Institutional Holders
Institution
% Owned
Shares
Blackrock Inc.
9.08%
50,727,686
Vanguard Capital Management LLC
6.61%
36,936,565
State Street Corporation
4.65%
25,966,680
Harris Associates L.P.
3.23%
18,050,700
Morgan Stanley
2.35%
13,117,904
Geode Capital Management, LLC
2.29%
12,823,626
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC
2.24%
12,540,053
Wellington Management Group, LLP
2.11%
11,812,273
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
0.84
Low volatility — more stable than the market
Short Interest
1.2% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
0.80x
Conservative balance sheet — low financial risk
Current Ratio
1.03x
Adequate liquidity
52-Week Price Range
Low: $121.79Current: $172.27High: $177.94
Currently at 90% of 52-week range
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) fundamental analysis — Overall grade C based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's
Fair Value: $44.84. Margin of safety: 0%. Gross profit margin: 54.9%. Operating margin: 40.2%. Net margin: 25.9%. Market cap: $96.3B. Sector: Financial Services. Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett
principles.
Disclaimer: 360investing is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. All data is sourced from public third-party providers
and may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Analysis, scores, and valuations are algorithmic and do not represent professional investment recommendations. Always conduct your own due
diligence and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Use of this tool constitutes acceptance that 360investing and its operators bear no liability for decisions made based on information presented here.