Intercontinental Exchange Investment Thesis

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates regulated exchanges, clearing houses, and listings venues for commodity, financial, fixed income, and equity markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, Israel, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The company operates marketplaces for listing, trading, and clearing an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange, and equities, as well as corporate and exchange-traded funds; trading venues, including 13 regulated exchanges and 6 clearing houses; and offers futures and options products for energy, agricultural and metals, financial, cash equities and equity, over-the-counter, and other markets, as well as listings and data and connectivity services. It also provides fixed income data and analytic, fixed income execution, CDS clearing, and other multi-asset class data and network services. In addition, the company offers proprietary and comprehensive mortgage origination platform, which serves residential mortgage loans; closing solutions that provides customers connectivity to the mortgage supply chain and facilitates the secure exchange of information; data and analytics services; and Data as a Service for lenders to access data and origination information. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Every Asset Class

1. Executive Summary

ICE is best known for owning the NYSE, but that is the "boring" part. The real thesis is their dominance in Energy trading (Brent Crude futures) and Mortgage Technology (Ellie Mae/Black Knight). ICE is effectively digitizing the two largest asset classes in the world: Housing and Energy.

Key Thesis Points

Energy Volatility: When the world is chaotic (wars, inflation), traders hedge oil and gas. ICE takes a fee on every contract. Volatility is their friend.
Mortgage Monopoly: By acquiring Black Knight, ICE now controls the software that processes ~65% of US mortgages. As rates fall and refi activity picks up, this division will print money.
Data Services: Real-time fixed income pricing is mandatory for bond traders. This is high-margin recurring revenue.

2. Business Overview

Exchanges: NYSE, ICE Futures Europe (Energy).
Fixed Income & Data: Bond pricing and indices.
Mortgage: Loan origination software (Encompass).

3. Risks

Antitrust: The Black Knight deal faced heavy FTC scrutiny. Future M&A will be difficult.
Housing Freeze: If interest rates stay at 7% forever, the Mortgage Technology division will stagnate (no refinancing).

Intercontinental Exchange Investment Thesis

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Every Asset Class

1. Executive Summary

Key Thesis Points

2. Business Overview

3. Risks

ICE Valuation Model

Investment Idea: Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE)

ICE (ICE): The Unsexy Financial Infrastructure Play Powering Global Markets

ICE (ICE): The Unsexy Financial Infrastructure Play Powering Global Markets

ICE (ICE): The Unsexy Financial Infrastructure Play Powering Global Markets