Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC | “Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. is a leading global provider of financial market technology and data, operating a diversified portfolio that includes regulated exchanges, clearing houses, and comprehensive mortgage technology solutions. The company facilitates the trading, clearing, and data distribution for various asset classes, spanning energy, financials, fixed income, and U.S. residential mortgages. Significant pressure came from investor fears regarding the 'on-shoring' of perpetual futures following regulatory approvals for competitors, which sparked concerns over potential institutional capital flight from traditional exchanges. Additionally, performance was weighed down by a sequential decline in trading revenues and tough year-over-year comparisons against heightened activity during the Liberation Day and Iran War periods.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Sep 2, 2026 | View Pitch |
Emerald Wealth Partners - Focused Equity Strategy Portfolio Manager | “Intercontinental Exchange's 21.4% share decline knocked 58 bps from the portfolio's performance. ICE is emblematic of a broader group of high-quality businesses caught in a negative AI narrative largely disconnected from their underlying fundamentals. The company owns a unique collection of complementary franchises — including the New York Stock Exchange, clearing houses, fixed-income data businesses and a mortgage technology platform — assembled over decades through disciplined and accretive acquisitions. These businesses continue to benefit from secular growth in trading volumes and recurring data revenues, while the electronification of mortgage origination remains in its early stages. In our view, artificial intelligence is far more likely to enhance the value of ICE's proprietary data and infrastructure than replicate the assets that underpin its competitive advantages.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 21, 2026 | View Pitch |
Pershing Square Holdings William A. Ackman | “We recently established an investment in Intercontinental Exchange, a business we have followed for nearly a decade. Founded in 2000 by current Chairman & CEO Jeff Sprecher, ICE is a leading global exchange operator and financial data and infrastructure provider built through 25 years of organic growth and acquisitions of marquee financial infrastructure assets. Its highly moated Exchanges segment generates nearly 70% of earnings, anchored by a crown-jewel energy franchise with revenues more than two-and-a-half times those of its next-largest competitor. ICE has delivered an 18% annualized return since its 2005 IPO and 15% annual EPS growth since 2006, with EPS growing in each of the last nineteen years. Despite exceptional earnings growth and business momentum into 2026, ICE shares fell 21% in the year before our purchase as its multiple compressed from 25 times to 17 times earnings per share, near a record low. More recent fears center on perpetual futures, or perps, following regulatory approval of the first onshore contract, for Bitcoin, on May 29th. We are confident perps hold little if any appeal for institutional investors who drive over ~95% of ICE's trading volume. ICE's existing contracts offer orders of magnitude greater liquidity, far lower financing rates fixed upfront, and the ability to take physical delivery of a commodity and hedge specific geographic and temporal exposures.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 13, 2026 | View Pitch |
Aristotle Core Equity Fund Mr. Fitzpatrick | “Intercontinental Exchange detracted from performance in the second quarter following the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) approval of Bitcoin perp...” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 10, 2026 | View Pitch |
Horizon Kinetics Murray Stahl | “Intercontinental Exchange's (ICE) first quarter revenues were much higher than in 2025, its operating margin was higher still, and per-share net income even higher. The same rising revenue and expanding operating margins relationship is apparent in the full-year 2025 results. The revenue expansion for the year is only 6%, but the end result—inclusive of a 33% after-tax net profit margin—is a double-digit per-share earnings growth rate. The year's 14% increase in per-share earnings is essentially equal to the 20-year annualized increase of 15%. ICE owns 17% of Polymarket, which it purchased in late 2025 for $1 billion. It added another $600 million to its investment this March. The NYSE division of ICE is exploring a blockchain-based settlement capability that would allow 24/7 trading on the New York Stock Exchange. At over $11 billion, the two smallest-cap companies in the S&P 500 are larger than Penske and have weights of 0.1% and 0.0%.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 4, 2026 | View Pitch |
Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Brian A. Christiansen, David E. Levanson, Daniel Pilling | “Intercontinental Exchange is a leading provider of financial market infrastructure, spanning global exchanges, clearinghouses, fixed income data, and mortgage technology. The business detracted during the quarter, as investor concerns about AI disruption and mortgage market sensitivity continued to pressure its valuation multiple, even as fundamentals remained strong. In our view, the market is overstating the risk that AI will displace its mortgage technologies business. Intercontinental Exchange's platforms are deeply embedded systems of record, which AI models may rely on as trusted data sources rather than replace. Mortgage activity has also begun to improve as rates eased from 2024 peaks and buyers adjusted to higher costs. This should support gradual recovery in recurring mortgage revenue. Meanwhile, the exchanges business continues to benefit from broader market participation and more global energy trading activity. With the multiple compressed to roughly 15 times earnings, versus a historical level closer to 20 times, we believe current expectations understate Intercontinental Exchange's durability.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Sands Capital Select Growth Fund Wesley A. Johnston, Thomas H. Trentman, Benjamin H. Betcher | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is one of the world's largest operators of financial exchanges and clearinghouses. Shares declined as investor concerns around AI disruption in ICE's Mortgage business and potential competition from perpetual futures contracts weighed on the stock. Much of the underperformance appears to reflect multiple compression rather than a weakening of fundamentals, which remain solid. In our view, the market is overestimating the risk that AI will displace ICE Mortgage. The business is not simply a workflow solution; it is a platform that connects lenders, data vendors, and other participants required to originate, sell, and service mortgages, while also serving as a system of record for a significant portion of the U.S. mortgage ecosystem. We also believe concerns around perpetual futures competition are overstated, as the structure of these products may limit their use in institutional hedging and risk management, particularly before accounting for liquidity. As such, we believe the recent sell-off more than discounts these risks.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
GreensKeeper Value Fund Michael P. McCloskey | “Our largest detractor during the quarter was Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which declined 21.7%. The company's underlying performance remains strong, with revenue and earnings increasing 20% and 34%, respectively, to start the year. Nevertheless, ICE's shares declined alongside peers including Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) and CME Group (CME), amid concerns of a cyclical peak in earnings. Investors are also concerned that a relatively new product known as perpetual futures could pose a competitive threat to incumbent derivatives exchanges. Trading activity is currently concentrated in cryptocurrency markets, but several recent product announcements have raised concerns that perpetual futures could expand into more traditional asset classes. We view these concerns as overblown, particularly for ICE's flagship energy markets (such as Brent crude and TTF natural gas). ICE's core users are commercial hedgers and institutional investors, not retail speculators. These market participants rely on fixed settlement dates, standardized contracts, deep liquidity, robust clearing, and established regulatory oversight—features perpetual futures do not prioritize. Furthermore, should institutional demand for perpetual contracts ever materialize, ICE is well-positioned to launch its own offerings. Its market-leading technology, clearing infrastructure, regulatory standing, and global customer base give it a massive advantage over emerging platforms. While record volatility set a high bar for year-over-year volume comparisons, ICE's diversified footprint across exchanges, data, and mortgage technology should enable it to continue compounding earnings and intrinsic value over the long run.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 29, 2026 | View Pitch |
Harris Associates Concentrated Strategy Tony Coniaris | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was a detractor during the quarter. The financial exchange and data company's stock price declined due to market concerns about AI disruption and potential competition from new exchanges launching perpetual futures. We do not view either of these developments as credible threats to ICE's business, which benefits from strong network effects. The company continues to grow its earnings per share at a double-digit clip and return the majority of free cash flow to shareholders. We believe ICE is a durable business with a long runway for growth.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 28, 2026 | View Pitch |
Platinum International Fund David Steinthal | “Intercontinental Exchange detracted from Fund performance. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is a high-quality business that is not particularly AI-sensitive and that we see trading at a compelling valuation. ICE is trading on a forward price to earnings ratio of around 17x, a level we have not seen since the GFC. There are some market concerns around the impact AI may have on the number of people using ICE's proprietary data and analytics. We think this is a peripheral issue and unlikely to materially impact ICE. The larger market concern is that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates many of ICE's markets, may authorise 'perpetual' derivatives and encourage competition in products such as crypto that could compete with established regulated exchanges. These issues are complex and technical so this is an area where detailed industry knowledge is critical. We do expect pro-competition regulatory developments and, in some areas, increased competition for retail customers. Nevertheless, we view ICE's core franchises as well positioned for a range of legal, regulatory and commercial reasons. ICE management is also actively partnering with and investing in participants across crypto and prediction markets, positioning the company to adapt as the regulatory framework evolves. We modestly added to the ICE position at a price well below our assessment of fair value.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 25, 2026 | View Pitch |
Madison Large Cap Fund Joe Maginot, Haruki Toyama, Rich Eisinger | “Intercontinental Exchange, an operator of leading financial exchanges and ancillary data products, reported strong results in the quarter, but its stock has been caught up in the broad sell-off in asset-light companies that are perceived as 'AI losers'. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) operates leading financial exchanges and clearing houses, as well as provides data and software to its customers. Founder and CEO Jeff Sprecher has long characterized ICE's overarching strategy as 'bringing transparency, efficiency, and standardization to markets with a mission to digitize the analog'. We believe ICE should continue to grow revenue and profits at an attractive clip over time and could even see the rate improve if AI trading strategies proliferate, ICE expands into new markets, and the mortgage market picks up after a multiyear slumber. ICE is currently priced at a decade low valuation as investors are concerned about the potential impact of artificial intelligence technologies. We believe this sentiment is misplaced, as ICE's exchanges could actually benefit from AI trading strategies, and its data and software are regulatory-compliant, largely proprietary, and deeply embedded in customer workflows.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 17, 2026 | View Pitch |
L1 Capital International Fund David Steinthal | “Intercontinental Exchange and Intuit each detracted from the Fund's performance by more than 1.0%. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is an example of a high-quality business that is not particularly AI-sensitive (positively or negatively) that we assess to be trading at a compelling valuation. ICE is trading on a forward price to earnings ratio of around 17x, a level we have not seen since the GFC. ICE has been a long-term holding of the Fund, and we have discussed the investment on many prior occasions. In our view, not much has changed. There are some market concerns around the impact AI may have on the number of people using ICE's proprietary data and analytics. We think this is a peripheral issue and unlikely to materially impact ICE. The larger market concern is that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates many of ICE's markets, may authorise 'perpetual' derivatives and encourage competition in products such as crypto that could compete with established regulated exchanges. Discussion on these issues is complex and rapidly turns technical. This is an area where detailed industry knowledge is critical. To simplify, we do expect pro-competition regulatory developments and, in some areas, increased competition for retail customers. Nevertheless, we continue to view ICE's core franchises as well positioned for a range of legal, regulatory and commercial reasons. ICE management is also actively partnering with and investing in participants across crypto and prediction markets, positioning the company to adapt as the regulatory framework evolves. We have modestly added to the ICE investment at a price well below our assessment of fair value.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 17, 2026 | View Pitch |
Oakmark Global Select Fund David G. Herro, Tony Coniaris, Eric Liu, M. Colin Hudson, John A. Sitarz | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was the top detractor during the quarter. The financial exchange and data company's stock price declined due to market concerns about AI disruption and potential competition from new exchanges launching perpetual futures. We do not view either of these developments as credible threats to ICE's business, which benefits from strong network effects. The company continues to grow its earnings per share at a double-digit clip and return the majority of free cash flow to shareholders. We believe ICE is a durable business with a long runway for growth.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 15, 2026 | View Pitch |
Oakmark Select Fund William C. Nygren | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was the top detractor during the quarter. The financial exchange and data company's stock price declined due to market concerns about AI disruption and potential competition from new exchanges launching perpetual futures. We do not view either of these developments as credible threats to ICE's business, which benefits from strong network effects. The company continues to grow its earnings per share at a double-digit clip and return the majority of free cash flow to shareholders. We believe ICE is a durable business with a long runway for growth.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 15, 2026 | View Pitch |
Value Line Asset Allocation Fund Stephen E. Grant | “Intercontinental Exchange detracted from quarterly returns as financials faced generalized headwinds. The manager maintains the holding as a solid constituent of their steady earnings growth focus.” | BULL | Q1 2026 Mar 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Horizon Kinetics Murray Stahl | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is another holding in most client portfolios that derived from a private securities exchange. Just about 20 years ago, the NYSE was planning to demutualize and come public. There was an indirect way of gaining participation by buying shares of Archipelago, which later merged with the NYSE. NYSE Euronext was eventually purchased by Intercontinental Exchange in 2013. There are some venerable HK client accounts that participated in the entire two-decade Archipelago-to-ICE venture. BSD Analysis: ICE is a global market infrastructure powerhouse, owning critical exchanges, clearinghouses, and data platforms. Its futures and energy markets benefit from volatility and hedging demand. The mortgage technology segment adds long-term secular growth tied to housing digitization. High margins reflect the essential nature of its services. Switching costs and regulatory barriers are enormous. Capital returns are consistent and meaningful. ICE is a high-quality compounder built on financial plumbing.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 1, 2026 | View Pitch |
Latitude Global Fund Freddie Lait | “During the summer, the market began to value all information services companies as losers due to AI. Investors decided that Intercontinental Exchange was squarely in the losing camp, causing the shares to decline c.25% from peak. ICE is a business we have followed and admired for years. The company has a deep competitive moat with 80% of its exchange segment being an oligopoly in futures and derivatives across energy, agriculture and fixed income. We foresee major potential in these fields, and the fixed income division is notably exposed to structural growth in volumes as they migrate onto exchange and electronic trading. The valuation of ICE was 60% lower than Interactive Brokers following its rally. We gained less cyclical exposure at a materially lower price, for what we believe is still at least a 13-14% fundamental growth rate. BSD Analysis: Intercontinental Exchange is successfully evolving from a traditional exchange operator into a comprehensive data and technology provider for the global financial and mortgage markets. The 2026 outlook is bolstered by high single-digit growth in its Data and Network Technology segment, as the demand for high-quality, AI-ready data reaches record levels. The successful integration of Black Knight has transformed the company's mortgage technology business, positioning ICE to significantly reduce loan origination costs through its unified digital ecosystem. Trading volumes across energy and interest rate derivatives remain robust, benefiting from ongoing macroeconomic volatility and the transition toward cleaner energy sources. With a strong IPO backlog expected to clear throughout the year and a focus on expanding its Treasury clearing capabilities, ICE is well-positioned for sustained double-digit earnings growth.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
L1 Capital International Fund David Steinthal | “Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is a long-term holding and remains a top 10 position in the Fund. ICE's share price has been under pressure, largely due to AI-related concerns. The share price has already recovered 15% from recent lows. BSD Analysis: ICE is a financial infrastructure tollbooth masquerading as an exchange operator, and that distinction matters. Its real power sits in data, clearing, and mission-critical workflows that market participants can't easily unplug. Volatility actually helps ICE by driving volumes while long-term contracts stabilize revenues when markets calm down. The NYSE brand gets the headlines, but the quiet dominance in energy, rates, and mortgage technology is where compounding happens. Margins remain elite because switching costs are enormous and regulation works in ICE's favor. Investors often underappreciate how asset-light and sticky this model really is. ICE is boring in the way monopolies usually are.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
ACATIS Investment Dr. Hendrik Leber | “Most of the large global stock exchanges do not make their money with share trading but with the sale of data. But does the world still need expensive data in the era of artificial intelligence? Because of this concern, several stock exchanges, including Intercontinental Exchange, were negative in September. BSD Analysis: ICE is financial market plumbing embedded in trading, clearing, and mortgage infrastructure. Exchanges look cyclical, but clearing and data revenue provide durability beyond volume swings. Investors fixate on transaction volatility and miss subscription-like analytics and index businesses. Pricing power exists because switching venues is operationally complex. Mortgage tech adds long-duration optionality. Capital-light economics amplify free cash flow. This is financial infrastructure monetizing volatility rather than fearing it.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Oct 6, 2025 | View Pitch |
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC | “Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. operates a global network of exchanges, clearing houses, and data services spanning major asset classes, including energy, equities, fixed income, and U.S. residential mortgages. We like the company for its resilient business model. It combines transaction-based revenues that benefit from market volatility with a growing base of recurring data and technology revenues, each generating strong, consistent cash flow for debt reduction and shareholder returns. The stock underperformed during the quarter, however, we maintain confidence in the company's long-term potential. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} BSD Analysis: ICE's diversified fee mix (transactions + data/tech) supports durable margins and FCF. Mortgage tech normalization and rate volatility are cyclical tailwinds; deleveraging enables continued buybacks. Exchanges historically command premium multiples due to network effects and high switching costs—valuation upside remains. Risks include macro volume softness and regulatory change, but recurring revenue provides ballast.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Sep 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund Delaware Management Company (now part of Nomura Asset Management) | “ICE, which operates wide moat commodity exchanges, mainly futures and options for energy, as well as a mortgage technology business, fell out of favor during the quarter. Trading volumes slowed in several areas, particularly energy, which offset strength in equities. However, we focus on the long-term structural aspects of the energy market that favor sustained commodity volatility, supporting long-term volume growth. We believe ICE maintains a defendable, industry-leading position across multiple business lines with the potential for favorable long-term trends. BSD Analysis: ICE is a multi-core compounding engine — exchanges, clearing, data, and now mortgage-tech — with recurring revenue and pricing power that make earnings extraordinarily resilient. Mortgage market normalization will be the next margin tailwind. The company's ability to turn data assets into subscription products is unmatched. Despite its stability and growth, ICE trades at a modest multiple. This remains one of the most reliable long-term performers in financial infrastructure.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Sep 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC | “Intercontinental Exchange benefits from a highly diversified business model and secular tailwinds in energy markets driven by the global energy transition. Recent market volatility has driven elevated volume growth in its exchanges segment, while signs of stabilization are emerging in its mortgage technology business.” | BULL | Q1 2025 Mar 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.