The Nasdaq Stock Market, officially known as the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is an American stock exchange and the second-largest in the world by market capitalization. Founded on February 8, 1971, it was the world's first electronic stock market, initially providing a computerized system for over-the-counter securities quotations. Nasdaq is located in Manhattan, New York City, and is one of the most active stock trading venues in the United States. As of January 2026, it had 4,025 listings and a market cap of $42.2 trillion as of December 2025.
Nasdaq is owned and operated by Nasdaq, Inc. which is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: NDAQ). Nasdaq has been the primary listing exchange for many technology companies, including Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. The Nasdaq-100, a well-known index, tracks 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. Furthermore, Nasdaq has a greater trading volume than the New York Stock Exchange, with approximately 1.8 billion trades per day. Nasdaq also owns and operates several other exchanges, including the Philadelphia and Boston Stock Exchanges, and several European stock exchanges known as Nasdaq Nordic.
