What it does
The company states that it provides technology and data to financial institutions, corporations and government entities. It operates through three segments while describing itself as one business: Exchanges; Fixed Income and Data Services; and Mortgage Technology. Its exchange operations cover the listing, trading and clearing of derivatives and financial securities, alongside related data and connectivity. Its fixed-income business provides execution, clearing, pricing, reference data, indices, analytics and network services. Its mortgage platform supplies digital workflow tools across the U.S. residential mortgage life cycle, from application through closing, servicing and the secondary market.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
How it makes money
The filing describes revenue streams across its three reported segments, which are summarized in the segment table below. In Exchanges, revenue includes transaction activity, data and connectivity services, and listings; the company states that data, connectivity and listing fees are largely recurring. Fixed Income and Data Services includes execution and CDS-clearing activity as well as data, analytics, index and network offerings, with several data businesses described as largely recurring. Mortgage Technology earns recurring subscription and software fees, transaction-based fees tied to workflow activity, professional services, and data-product subscriptions.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Customers and geography
The company identifies its customers as financial institutions, corporations and government entities. Its exchange customers and participants use markets for trading, clearing, risk management and price discovery. The filing says fixed-income customers use data, indices and analytics for pre-trade decisions, post-trade regulatory and compliance needs, and operations. Mortgage Technology serves stakeholders across the U.S. residential mortgage industry, including originators, lenders, servicers, title and settlement agents, county recorders, investors and third-party service providers. The company operates globally; it states that most identifiable assets are in the U.S. and U.K., while its mortgage business focuses on the U.S. residential market.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Competition
The filing states that ICE faces intense competition across exchanges, trading systems, clearing, data, network services and digital mortgage solutions. It specifically names Nasdaq, Inc. and Cboe Global Markets, Inc. as principal U.S. competitors for NYSE Arca Options and NYSE American Options. The filing also names Nasdaq as a competitor for U.S. corporate listings, and names Nasdaq and Cboe as competitors for ETF listings. Beyond those companies, the filing describes competitor categories, including regulated markets, dark pools, alternative trading systems, market makers, investment banks, brokers, data vendors, financial institutions and mortgage technology providers.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 and Item 1A — sec.gov
Key risks
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Global economic, political and financial market events or conditions could negatively affect the business, including through lower subscriptions or trading volumes.
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The company and many clients are subject to extensive legislation and regulatory scrutiny, and changes to the regulatory environment could affect operations.
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Cyberattacks, hacking and other cybersecurity risks affecting company or third-party systems could compromise information or discourage customer use of platforms.
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Service disruption, settlement or processing failures, inaccurate data, and third-party supplier dependencies could create operational and financial risks.
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Intense competition and rapid changes in technology and client preferences could negatively affect the company’s competitive position.
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The company may fail to realize anticipated benefits from past or future acquisitions and strategic investments.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1A — sec.gov
People and operations
As of December 31, 2025, the company had 12,844 employees. The filing states that it monitors voluntary attrition and provides employee development through structured coursework and self-directed learning. Operationally, the company operates regionally diverse primary and backup data centers and maintains business-continuity, disaster-recovery, incident and crisis-management plans. It states these arrangements are designed to support nearly continuous availability of markets and other services following a disruption or disaster. The filing also says that technology and software are central to its trading, clearing, data, connectivity and mortgage platforms, while reliance on technology and third parties creates cybersecurity exposure.
Source: Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov