AES Corp vs Nasdaq Inc — how do they compare? AES Corp trades at $14.73 (market cap $10.49B), while Nasdaq Inc trades at $95.08 (market cap $53.11B). The key difference: Nasdaq Inc is far larger — about 5.1× AES Corp's market cap, and AES Corp pays the higher dividend (4.79%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AES | NDAQ | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $10.49B | $53.11B |
Sector | Utilities | Financials |
52-Week High | $17.28 | $100.98 |
52-Week Low | $12.51 | $76.85 |
Enterprise Value | $40.75B | $59.57B |
Dividend Yield | 4.79% | 1.22% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
AES trades at $14.73, unchanged on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and a pending acquisition by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT at $15 per share. The company reported revenue of $12.23B in 2025, with a net income margin of 7.43%, and has beaten earnings estimates in two of the last three quarters. Valuation ratios appear attractive with a P/E of 5.51 and P/S of 0.81, while cash flow from operations improved to $4.31B in 2025.
The outlook is dominated by the acquisition, offering a capped upside to $15. Strong profitability metrics like a 45.05% ROE and a 4.8% dividend yield provide support, but risks include shareholder litigation and regulatory scrutiny over the deal. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 42.86% buy ratings, reflecting uncertainty until transaction closure.
Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades at $95.62, up 1.09% today, with strong technical momentum and consistent earnings beats. Revenue grew to $8.26B in 2025, with net income margin expanding to 22.52%. The company announced the acquisition of LeveL Markets, advancing its always-on markets strategy, and maintains a bullish analyst consensus.
Outlook remains positive with a consensus price target of $109.20, offering ~14% upside. Risks include market volatility sensitivity and integration challenges from acquisitions. Solid profitability and strategic growth initiatives support a favorable investment case, though macroeconomic headwinds warrant monitoring.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
AES is a global power company operating across 14 countries and 4 continents. Its current generation portfolio as of year-end 2021 consists of over 31 gigawatts of generation, with the generation mix composed of renewables (43%), gas (32%), coal (23%), and oil (2%). The company has 3.5 gigawatts of generation under construction. AES has majority ownership and operates six electric utilities distributing power to 2.6 million customers.
Read more on AES →Founded in 1971, Nasdaq is primarily known for its equity exchange, but in addition to its market-services business (about 35% of sales), the company sells and distributes market data as well as offers Nasdaq-branded indexes to asset managers and investors through its information-services segment (30%). Nasdaq's corporate-services business (20%) offers listing services and related investor relations products to publicly traded companies and through the company's market technology group (15%), Nasdaq facilitates the exchange operations of other exchanges throughout the world and provides financial compliance services.
Read more on NDAQ →