NASDAQ CEO on Meme-stocks, AI, and IPOs

Financial Performance - The company experienced 12% revenue growth and 24% EPS growth across all divisions [1] - The financial technology division saw 10% growth [2] - Capital access platforms, including the index business, experienced 9% growth, with listings and data analytics growing by 17% [2] - The data business increased by 7% due to international demand for US stocks data [12] IPO Market & Trends - There were 83 IPOs in the first half of the year, including three of the top five [3] - Large-cap companies performing well post-IPO are boosting investor confidence [4] - Biotech, tech software infrastructure, and crypto spaces are showing strength in IPOs [6][7] - Companies more dependent on the physical economy are taking longer to go public [8] Retail Investor Activity - Retail investors have been active in the market, driving recovery from the April 2nd drop [9] - Retail engagement increased in the second quarter compared to last year [11] - Retail investors are driving interest in indexes and index products [11] AI & Technology - AI is seen as a major unlock for creating new capabilities and improving client efficiency [14] - AI-powered digital workers can reduce the workload of human teams by 80% in areas like alert assessment and write-ups [16] - Tokenization is viewed as a technology similar to contracts for difference, offering financial interest without owning underlying shares [18][19]