Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024.
First quarter 2024 net revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of $203 million, or 22%, compared to the prior-year period with organic growth of 6%, or an increase of 7% on a pro forma basis. The increase in revenue includes a net benefit of $150 million primarily related to the Adenza acquisition and a $2 million increase from the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.
Solutions revenue was $871 million in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $227 million, or 35%, compared to the prior year period with organic growth of 11% or 13% on a pro forma basis, reflecting strong growth from index and financial Technology.
ARR grew 29% YoY, 5% organic or 7% on a pro forma basis in the first quarter with 12% pro forma ARR for Financial Technology and 1% ARR for Capital Access Platforms.
Market Services net revenue was $237 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $23 million, or 9%, compared to the prior-year period. The $23 million organic decrease was primarily due to an $11 million decrease in U.S. equity derivatives revenue, an $8 million decrease in U.S. tape revenue and a $3 million decrease in U.S. equity revenue.
First quarter 2024 GAAP operating expenses were $707 million, an increase of $205 million, or 41%, compared to the prior year period. The increase for the first quarter of 2024 is due to the inclusion of $86 million in amortization expense of acquired intangible assets, $68 million in other AxiomSL and Calypso operating expenses, a one-time charge of $23 million related to the liquidation of our pension plan.
The increase also reflected restructuring charges of $8 million related to programs Nasdaq initiated to optimize its efficiency as a combined organization as well as to integrate the Adenza acquisition.
First quarter 2024 non-GAAP operating expenses were $524 million, an increase of $88 million, or 20%, compared to the prior year period with organic growth of 4% or 5% on a pro forma basis. The increase for the first quarter of 2024 is primarily due to the inclusion of $68 million of non-GAAP AxiomSL and Calypso operating expenses.
First quarter 2024 cash flow from operations was $530 million, allowing the company to continue to make significant progress on its deleveraging plan. The company returned $127 million to shareholders through dividends and paid down the remaining $340 million term loan and net $67 million in commercial paper.
Nasdaq did not repurchase any shares during the first quarter of 2024. As of March 31, 2024, $1.9 billion remains under the board-approved share repurchase program.
Adena Friedman, President and CEO said:
“Nasdaq delivered another quarter of solid results, with double-digit revenue growth in our Solutions businesses, including strong FinTech results and outstanding Index performance. We continue to make progress on our strategic priorities of Integration, Innovation and Acceleration with continued momentum in our integration workflows and One Nasdaq go-to-market strategy.
As we look ahead to the remainder of the year, we are well positioned to execute the next phase of our scalable, profitable and sustainable growth.”