NSE earned ₹16,601 crore from operations in the year to March 2026. Just under ₹10,000 crore of that came from a single product: equity options.
That one fact explains most of what matters in the NSE financials. This profile covers what the exchange does, where its money comes from, and why reported profit fell 15% in a year when the underlying business barely moved.
Figures below come from NSE's audited FY26 results and the investor presentation published alongside them, unless another source is named.
NSE financials at a glance
Consolidated, audited, for the year ended 31 March 2026.
| Measure | FY26 | FY25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | ₹18,713 cr | ₹19,177 cr | (2)% |
| Revenue from operations | ₹16,601 cr | ₹17,141 cr | (3)% |
| Total expenditure | ₹6,127 cr | ₹5,040 cr | +22% |
| Operating EBITDA | ₹11,098 cr | ₹12,647 cr | (12)% |
| Profit after tax | ₹10,302 cr | ₹12,188 cr | (15)% |
| Earnings per share | ₹41.62 | ₹49.24 | |
| Return on equity | 33% | 45% |
Two lines drive everything else. Revenue from operations slipped 3%. Expenses rose 22%.
What NSE actually does
NSE began operations in 1994. It reports in three segments:
- Trading Services. Transaction charges, listing fees, data centre and connectivity charges
- Clearing Services. Clearing and settlement of trades across cash, derivatives, currency and commodities
- Others. Data feeds, terminal services, index licensing and strategic investments
At 31 March 2026 the consolidated accounts covered twelve subsidiaries, including NSE Clearing and NSE Indices, and seven associates, among them NSDL, Power Exchange India and Indian Gas Exchange.
NSE's FY26 presentation reports roughly 25.7 crore registered investor accounts, about 13 crore unique investors and close to 3,000 listed companies. Companies raised ₹20.3 lakh crore across NSE in FY26, of which ₹1.8 lakh crore came through 219 IPOs.
NSE was the world's largest derivatives exchange by contracts traded in calendar 2025, on Futures Industry Association data cited by the exchange.
NSE revenue: where every rupee comes from
Shares are calculated from the reported figures and rounded, so rows may not total 100%.
| Revenue line, FY26 | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction charges | ₹13,057 cr | 79% |
| Data connectivity charges | ₹1,129 cr | 7% |
| Operating investment income | ₹842 cr | 5% |
| Data feed and terminal services | ₹470 cr | 3% |
| Listing services | ₹352 cr | 2% |
| Clearing and settlement services | ₹251 cr | 2% |
| Data centre rack charges | ₹205 cr | 1% |
| Index licensing and data subscription | ₹152 cr | 1% |
| Other operating income | ₹143 cr | 1% |
| Revenue from operations | ₹16,601 cr | 100% |
Nearly four rupees in five come from charging a fee on trades. Every other line is small by comparison.
Options are the engine, and the engine slowed
Transaction charges split by product like this:
| Product | FY26 | FY25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity options (premium value) | ₹9,996 cr | ₹10,192 cr | (2)% |
| Cash market | ₹1,555 cr | ₹1,689 cr | (8)% |
| Equity futures | ₹1,370 cr | ₹1,616 cr | (15)% |
| Others | ₹137 cr | ₹139 cr | (1)% |
| Total | ₹13,057 cr | ₹13,636 cr | (4)% |
Others covers NSE IX, mutual funds, currency derivatives and commodity derivatives.
Options produced 60% of all operating revenue on their own.
Traded value fell across the board in FY26. Average daily traded value dropped 7% in the cash market, 15% in equity futures, 8% in equity options premium and 36% in currency derivatives.
That is the operational story behind the revenue line. Less value traded, less fee income.
NSE profit: why FY26 went backwards
Reported profit after tax over three years:
| Year | Profit after tax |
|---|---|
| FY24 | ₹8,306 cr |
| FY25 | ₹12,188 cr |
| FY26 | ₹10,302 cr |
The 15% fall was not mostly about trading. Expenses rose 22%, and the biggest single mover was a settlement charge.
- SEBI settlement fees: ₹1,432 cr, up from ₹670 cr, a rise of 114%
- Technology expenses: ₹1,315 cr, up from ₹1,022 cr, a rise of 29%
- Employee cost: ₹790 cr, up from ₹672 cr, a rise of 18%
- Regulatory fees: ₹796 cr, down from ₹963 cr, a fall of 17%
Strip out the one-off items and the picture changes. NSE's own normalised measure puts profit before tax at ₹14,135 crore in FY26 against ₹14,875 crore in FY25, a fall of 5%, not 15%. That is a management measure, not an audited line item.
The settlement charge relates to the long-running co-location and dark fibre matters, and that story has since closed. NSE recognised a provision of ₹1,391.21 crore in FY26, on top of ₹100 crore provided earlier. It filed revised settlement terms of ₹1,491.21 crore with SEBI on 13 March 2026. SEBI accepted those terms in principle on 30 July 2026 and raised a demand for the balance. NSE paid ₹714.74 crore on 31 July, completing the amount. On 3 September 2026 the Supreme Court disposed of the related appeals in terms of the settlement, keeping the questions of law open.
Balance sheet, dividend and the tax NSE collects
Total assets stood at ₹87,937 crore at 31 March 2026, against total equity of ₹32,114 crore.
One line needs care. Cash and cash equivalents were ₹32,261 crore, but ₹30,147 crore of that is settlement obligations and member margin money. It sits on NSE's balance sheet and is matched by an equal liability on the other side of it. It is not NSE's money.
A separate ₹13,079 crore sits in the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund, which backstops settlement if a clearing member defaults.
The board recommended a dividend of ₹35 per share of ₹1 face value for FY26, subject to shareholder approval. That includes a one-time special dividend of ₹10, so it is not a run rate.
NSE also collects tax for the government. On the figures in its FY26 results release, its contribution to the exchequer was ₹59,186 crore, of which securities and commodities transaction tax was ₹48,345 crore.
Three things to watch before the NSE IPO
- Options concentration. One product generates 60% of operating revenue. SEBI tightened the equity derivatives framework in 2024 and has revisited it since. Any further change lands squarely on this line.
- The expense base. FY26 expenses carried ₹1,432 crore of settlement fees that should not repeat, so FY27 starts from a very different base. Whether technology spending keeps climbing, after a 29% rise, matters more from here.
- Whether traded value recovers. Every disclosed trading measure was lower in FY26. Q1FY27 was better, with total income up 9% year on year, but one quarter is not a trend.
The offer raises no fresh capital for NSE, so the listing itself adds nothing to the balance sheet. SEBI issued its observation letter on 4 September 2026.
The takeaway
NSE is an infrastructure business with operating EBITDA margins in the sixties and one dominant revenue line. Both halves of that description matter.
Read the FY26 numbers as two separate stories. Traded value and revenue softened across every disclosed segment, which is operational. Reported profit fell much further than normalised profit, largely because of a legal provision that has since been settled and paid in full.
If you want a comparison, the listed exchanges already trading in India can be pulled up with a stock screener and studied against the same lines. The red herring prospectus for the IPO will carry the fuller risk disclosure.
