Nasdaq dividend: payment, cash coverage and yield
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Nasdaq pays $0.31 per share quarterly, or $1.24 per share at the starting rate in the forecast. In 2025, Nasdaq generated $2.0 billion of ordinary free cash flow after $266 million of capital spending, above net income of $1.8 billion.
How much does Nasdaq pay in dividends over the years shown?
The dividend begins at $1.24 per share, based on the declared $0.31 quarterly rate. The base case raises it by about 6% annually, while the bull case uses roughly 10% increases and the bear case holds it flat. The base path follows five consecutive annual increases and strong free cash flow, but remains below the recent step-up because debt, investment, and buybacks compete for cash.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 3.09 | 1.93 | 2.08 | 2.26 | 2.35 |
| Free cash flow per share | 3.44 | 2.99 | 3.03 | 3.12 | 1.82 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 1.04 | 0.93 | 0.87 | 0.77 | 0.69 |
How much would Nasdaq's dividend pay you?
$10,000 invested in Nasdaq at its 1.2% dividend yield (our report of October 23, 2026) pays $120.00 in the first year, before tax. If its dividend per share keeps changing 10.8% a year, as it did from 2021 to 2025, and the dividends are reinvested, year 10 pays $356.92, with $2,173.13 received in all.
Before tax. Past dividend growth is not a promise. Information only, not investment advice.
Does Nasdaq's cash cover its dividend?
In 2025, operating cash was $2.3 billion. After $266 million of capital spending, ordinary free cash flow was $2.0 billion, above net income of $1.8 billion. Amortization helps explain the difference because it reduces accounting profit without requiring another cash payment that year. Capital spending still matters because software investment has not disappeared.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 1,989 | 1,732 | 1,538 | 1,554 | 920 |
| − Dividends paid | 601 | 541 | 441 | 383 | 350 |
| − Share buybacks | 616 | 145 | 269 | 633 | 943 |
| − Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 5,766 | 41 | 2,430 |
| − Debt repaid | 826 | 812 | 631 | 1,097 | 804 |
| Paid out, % of real free cash flow | 66.7% | 43.1% | 50.1% | 70.2% | 155.8% |
What this means. The company's own net debt is higher than ours because it subtracts only cash, while we also subtract investments that can be sold quickly.
What could change Nasdaq's dividend?
By year-end 2027, the key test is whether the $100 million Adenza cross-sell target and $100 million AI-efficiency target become reported results rather than signed intentions. Faster launches and successful upsells would move the forecast toward the bull case; slow production revenue would move it toward the bear case.
Across 2027–2029, weaker trading would pressure Market Services revenue after rebates and transaction costs, while weaker listings or lower index-linked assets would pressure Capital Access Platforms revenue. From 2028 onward, disappointing cash conversion while debt remains high would slow buybacks and compress the multiple. The next-twelve-month EPS estimate of $4.68261 anchors the starting path; actual results from October 2027 onward will show whether stable 22x valuation remains justified.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 2,263 (1,920 / 2,449) | 2,521 (1,947 / 2,886) | 2,782 (1,954 / 3,298) |
| Shares (millions) | 548 (553 / 545) | 542 (551 / 535) | 536 (550 / 527) |
| Dividends per share | 1.24 (1.24 / 1.24) | 1.32 (1.24 / 1.36) | 1.40 (1.24 / 1.50) |
| Price to earnings | 22.00 (18.00 / 26.00) | 22.00 (17.00 / 28.00) | 22.00 (16.00 / 30.00) |
What is Nasdaq's dividend yield today against its price?
Nasdaq’s current price assumes that recurring earnings will grow, not merely that today’s business will persist. The company is part exchange operator, part market-information and financial-technology provider, so the valuation depends on which earnings investors believe are durable.