Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

Updated on October 30, 2026 · accounts published on October 29, 2026

A highly profitable business with widening margins and a balance sheet that leans on debt

Intercontinental Exchange trades at a P/E of 23.0×, 18 % below its ten-year median, with a 43 % operating margin over the last 12 months.

• Is Intercontinental Exchange expensive or cheap? At a P/E of 23.0×, Intercontinental Exchange trades 18 % below its ten-year median but 78 % above its sector median.
• How is the business doing? Operating margin reached 43 % over the last 12 months, above the 38 % average of fiscal 2014-2025, with EPS up 21 %.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Debt stands at 0.80 times equity over the last 12 months, above the 0.5 the sector deems prudent; the dividend has risen 11 years running.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $1.95 when Intercontinental Exchange reports on February 4, 2027; 30 of 36 rate it a buy.
• Is it a scalable business with little leverage? Four of six sector tests pass: revenue per share grew 8.2 % a year in fiscal 2020-2025, but debt at 0.80 times equity fails.

Is Intercontinental Exchange expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Intercontinental Exchange trades at a P/E of 23.0×, 18 % below its ten-year median of 28.2×. Across the decade the multiple ranged from 12.5× to 53.6×, and it has been lower than today only 27 % of the time. It also sits under 90 % of its five-year average of 29.6×, the line the sector rule treats as cheap. Against peers the picture flips: the median financial-services company trades at 13.0×, so it carries a 78 % premium. A free cash flow yield of 3.6 % shows investors still pay up for this business.

How is the business doing?

Revenue grew 7.5 % over the last 12 months while EPS rose 21 %, so profit is growing nearly three times faster than sales. That gap shows in the margins: the operating margin over the last 12 months is 43 %, against 39 % in fiscal 2025 and a 38 % average across fiscal 2014-2025. The net margin stands at 32 %. Earnings also turn into cash, with free cash flow equal to 130 % of net income in fiscal 2025. Return on equity is the weak spot at 14 % over the last 12 months, modest next to margins this wide.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt to equity of 0.80 over the last 12 months fails the 0.5 ceiling that financial-services firms are usually held to, which makes leverage the main mark against the company. Shareholder returns look steadier. The dividend yields 1.2 % over the last 12 months and has risen for 11 consecutive fiscal years through 2025. The payout was 33 % of fiscal 2025 earnings, and free cash flow exceeded net income that year, so the dividend is well covered. With a P/B of 3.2× over the last 12 months, the market values the equity well above its book value.

What to expect from the next earnings?

On October 29, 2026 Intercontinental Exchange reported EPS of $2.02, 2.5 % above the $1.97 consensus, its seventh beat in the last eight quarters. Estimates have moved up since: over the last 30 days the 2026 EPS consensus rose 1.1 %, from $8.10 to $8.19, and the revenue consensus 0.7 %. Of the 36 analysts covering the company, 30 recommend buying, 5 holding and none selling. The $1.95 expected for next quarter sits below the figure just reported. The stock has gained 15 % in the last 12 months and trades 3 % below its 52-week high of $175.10.

Is it a scalable business with little leverage?

Asset managers, brokers, fintechs and exchanges are not banks: they live on fees, so what counts is revenue growth, how much of each dollar becomes profit and how much of that profit arrives as cash. On those tests Intercontinental Exchange scores well. Revenue per share grew 8.2 % a year over fiscal 2020-2025, above the 6 % healthy threshold; the fiscal 2025 operating margin of 39 % clears the 30 % bar; and free cash flow covered 130 % of net income against a 90 % minimum. ROE of 14 % sits just under the 15 % line, and debt at 0.80 times equity exceeds the prudent 0.5.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.