NSE makes history, becomes 10th most valuable firm; Macquarie calls it ‘The Dominator’ – here's why

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) created history, making its long-awaited stock market debut on BSE during the trading session on Thursday, September 24, as the exchange services provider’s stock surged more than 5% in the morning market despite a flat listing.

With today's listing NSE has become the 10th most valued company in India with a market capitalisation of ₹4.8 lakh crore at the day's highest level surpassing bluechip companies like Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Titan, Adani Ports, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

NSE shares jumped 5.2% to touch an intraday high of ₹1,878 apiece on Thursday’s market, in comparison to the IPO issue price of ₹1,785 per share, according to the data collected from the BSE website.

Although the shares made a flat debut at ₹1,800 apiece, marking a 0.84% premium over the NSE IPO issue price, the company’s shares extended their gains post-listing with elevated investor interest in the market.

Can NSE be ‘The Dominator’?

Analysts from Australian investment firm Macquarie Group said that they are viewing NSE as ‘The Dominator’ in the company’s market segment, citing the company’s leading market share position and its power.

“We view NSE as ‘The Dominator’, due to its leading market share and power. Full set of services, technology stack and deep liquidity make NSE the lynchpin of India's financialisation,” said Macquarie analysts.

Key factors like the entrenched network effects, industry-leading profitability and cash are expected to drive the positive outlook for the company, at a time when NSE plans to expand its platform to fuel revenue growth.

On the concerns front, Macquarie analysts said that the new closing auction session (CAS) format is expected to add near-term pressure, while the longer term industry outlook remains constructive.

“Superior fundamentals justify a premium multiple. There is room for further re-rating if new products accelerate,” said the experts.

NSE’s financial health

Taking a dive into NSE’s consolidated financials showed that the exchange services provider’s net profit rose 6.7% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹3,120 crore in the April to June quarter of the financial year 2026-27, compared with ₹2,923.85 crore in the same quarter last year.

On the revenue front, the company’s revenue from core operations advanced 13% to ₹4,560.41 crore in the June quarter results for FY27, from ₹4,032.23 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) or operating profit, increased 14% YoY to ₹3,594.24 crore in the first quarter of FY27, from ₹3,129.74 crore in the same period a year earlier.

On the margins front, NSE’s Q1 EBITDA margins expanded 119 basis points to 78.81% in the June quarter, compared to 77.62% in the same period last year.

Did NSE IPO receive healthy bookings?

Data showed that the NSE IPO was subscribed a total of 5.71 times, receiving bids for 50,58,11,384 equity shares combined from all three investor segments, against the 8,86,42,911 shares on offer for public subscription.

Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) led NSE’s subscription with 12.68 times booking, followed by non-institutional investors (NIIs) at 6.55 times booking, and retail investors at 1.39 times subscription.

As the IPO was a completely offer-for-sale (OFS) issue, all the proceeds raised from the listing will be allocated to the corporate selling stakeholders, and the company will receive no part of the funds.

Others like National Insurance Co., United India Insurance, MS Strategic Mauritius, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Aranda Investments Mauritius were the remaining sellers via the OFS issue.