NSE IPO opens on September 17: Over 78% of FY26 revenue came from one segment; know how NSE makes money

NSE IPO price band has been set between ₹1,700 and ₹1,785, with a lot size of 8 shares. The minimum investment required for retail investors to apply for 1 lot of the NSE IPO is ₹14,280 at the upper end of the price band. NSE IPO will remain open for subscription till Monday, September 21, followed by listing on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

With an issue size of ₹22,561.5 crore, the NSE IPO will be the second-largest IPO in the domestic stock market. The company is seeking a valuation of around ₹4.42 lakh crore at the upper end of its IPO price band.

NSE is the largest stock exchange worldwide with a global market share of 11.38% in the number of trades in cash equities and 51.18% in contracts traded in equity derivatives in FY26, as per a report by the World Federation of Exchanges.

In FY26, NSE had a market share of 92.9% in cash market turnover, 99.7% in equity futures and 74.7% in equity options. NSE earns its revenue from multiple segments like transaction charges, listing services, data connectivity, data feed & terminal services charges.

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) holds a dominant near-monopoly position in the domestic exchange market. As of June 30, 2026, the NSE platform had 13.2 crore unique registered investors, 26.1 crore registered investor accounts, 1,328 trading members and 3,005 listed entities, whose aggregate market capitalisation was ₹474.08 lakh crore.

National Stock Exchange of India financials

NSE dominance in the Indian capital market is also reflected in its financials. NSE revenue has grown at a CAGR of 5.98% over the last three years. In FY26, NSE reported revenue of ₹16,601 crore with net profit of ₹10,302.1 crore. The company has zero debt to equity.

Transaction charges: a key revenue stream

As shown in the table above, NSE earns most of its revenue (78.6%) from transaction charges, a small fee the exchange charges for every buy/sell trade in cash and derivatives markets. Exchanges provide a safe and secure platform where buyers and sellers meet, and for offering these services, they levy fees for delivery and intraday trades.

The transaction charges NSE earns are driven principally by the volume of trades executed across its various products, including the cash market, futures, options, mutual funds platform, commodity derivatives and others

Transaction charges contribute significantly to NSE’s consolidated revenue due to the high volume of trade on the exchange platform, especially in the derivatives market. In FY26, NSE generated ₹13,057 crore from transaction charges, equivalent to 78.6% of revenue from operations, down from 79.5% in FY25 and 82.0% in FY24.

The revenue from transaction charges is heavily concentrated in the derivatives segment, as 69.1% of FY26 revenue came from the futures and options (F&O) segment, with options alone contributing ₹9,997.8 crore, or 60.2% of consolidated revenue.

• NSE in its DRHP explicitly mentions that any significant decrease in the trading volume and value of transactions could impact the company’s revenue.

• In recent years, SEBI has taken several measures to curb Futures and Options (F&O) trading, like increasing the minimum contract value, offering only one weekly expiry per benchmark index, and increasing the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) to curb speculation in the F&O market.

• These major regulatory changes by SEBI have impacted the NSE’s business as revenue from transaction charges as its decreased by 4.2% YoY to ₹13,057 crore in FY26, primarily due to a decrease in revenue earned from the cash market and equity futures and options.

Other key revenue segments

• The above table shows various other revenue streams other than transaction charges through which NSE earns its revenue. Over the years, NSE has monetised its infrastructure, technology and ecosystem to create different streams of revenue.

• Over the years, NSE has gradually diversified its revenue stream beyond transaction charges. In FY26, revenue from non-transaction charges accounted for 21.4% of total revenue, up from 18% in FY24.

• Data connectivity charges are NSE's biggest non-transaction revenue source at ₹1,128.7 crore in FY26. Its contribution has increased consistently from 5.5% of operating revenue in FY24 to 6.8% in FY26.

Disclaimer:

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risk. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. The stock discussed in this article is only for educational purposes and not a buy or sell recommendation. Investors are advised to conduct their own analysis and risk due diligence before trading and investing in the stock market.