Free cash flow
Intercontinental Exchange Free cash flow increased by 30.0% to $1.11B in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 15.5%, from $1.31B to $1.11B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 9.9% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $818.00M | $501.00M | $931.00M | $720.00M | $935.00M | $682.00M | $992.00M | $632.00M | $1.11B | $725.00M | $883.00M | $951.00M | $1.12B | $819.00M | $1.31B | $881.00M | $1.45B | $853.00M | $1.11B |
| QoQ Change | — | -38.8% | +85.8% | -22.7% | +29.9% | -27.1% | +45.5% | -36.3% | +75.9% | -34.8% | +21.8% | +7.7% | +17.9% | -26.9% | +60.2% | -32.9% | +64.1% | -41.0% | +30.0% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +14.3% | +36.1% | +6.6% | -12.2% | +18.9% | +6.3% | -11.0% | +50.5% | +0.8% | +13.0% | +48.6% | -7.4% | +29.0% | +4.2% | -15.5% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Intercontinental Exchange's free cash flow?
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reported free cash flow of $1.11B in Q4 2025.
- How has Intercontinental Exchange's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Intercontinental Exchange's free cash flow decreased by 15.5% year-over-year, from $1.31B to $1.11B.
- What is the long-term trend for Intercontinental Exchange's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Intercontinental Exchange's free cash flow has grown at a 9.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.94B to $4.29B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.