Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Intercontinental Exchange's P/E of 24.6 is below its own 5-year median of 30.2.

P/E below the industry

Intercontinental Exchange's P/E of 24.6 is below the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services median of 25.3.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Intercontinental Exchange's EV/EBITDA of 17.4 is above its 5-year median of 17.3.

P/B below the industry

Intercontinental Exchange's price-to-book of 3.38 is below the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services median of 4.26.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $180.59 is above our fair value estimate of $176.96.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 2.0% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 9.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 30.8% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 31.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 9.7% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 12.1% over the last twelve months; the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services median is 14.4%.

Guidance lowered

Intercontinental Exchange lowered its 2026 2026 Fixed Income & Data Services Recurring Revenue (% growth) outlook on Oct 29, 2026.

Gross margin trend

This company does not report gross profit.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 14.2% over the last twelve months and averaged 11.5% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 8.5%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Intercontinental Exchange's return on equity of 14.2% is above the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services median of 14.2%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 9.7% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 29.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 26.6%.

Net margin above the industry

Intercontinental Exchange's net margin of 29.6% is above the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services median of 3.6%.

High debt

Debt is 87.8% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 97.2% five years ago to 87.8%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 21.9% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 6.8 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.03 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 0.80; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Intercontinental Exchange paid dividends worth 1.1% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.1% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Intercontinental Exchange yields 1.1%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 27.8% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 21.9% of free cash flow.