NASDAQ CEO Sells Hundreds of Millions in Stock... Cashing Out Through Options
By ATTN Desk · Editorial oversight: Sean Han
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) CEO Adena T. Friedman exercised 300,000 employee stock options on February 2 and immediately sold the same number of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan at approximately $96.91 per share. The transaction generated roughly $29.1 million in gross proceeds (about KRW 39 billion). After accounting for the $22.22 exercise price, the pre-tax spread on the sale was approximately $22.4 million (around KRW 30 billion). Even after this transaction, Friedman retains a substantial equity stake, including about 1.92 million common shares.
On January 6, the company’s Global Chief Legal Officer John Zecca sold 4,500 shares at roughly $100 per share, realizing about $450,000 (approximately KRW 600 million). According to the filing, Zecca still holds approximately $12.57 million (around KRW 17 billion) in combined common stock, restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance stock units (PSUs).
In its January 29 release of fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, Nasdaq reported net revenues of $5.2 billion (approximately KRW 7 trillion) and solutions revenues of $4.0 billion (about KRW 5 trillion) for the first time. Full-year net revenues grew by 13% year-over-year, marking double-digit growth. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share rose 60%, while non-GAAP diluted EPS increased 24%. Annual recurring revenues (ARR) reached $3.1 billion (roughly KRW 4 trillion), up 10% from the prior year.
Founded in 1971, Nasdaq is a U.S. financial services and technology company that operates the Nasdaq Stock Market, the Philadelphia and Boston exchanges, and seven Nordic & Baltic exchanges. It provides data, indices, trading systems and regulatory technology to financial institutions worldwide.
Adena T. Friedman has served as Nasdaq’s CEO since 2017 and as Board Chair since 2023. She is credited with driving the company’s strategic transformation from an exchange-centric model into a diversified data, software and technology platform business.
Source: SEC 4 Filing