Is Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Poised for Long-Term Shareholder Return?

Macquarie Asset Management, an investment management company, released its “Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund Institutional Class shares posted negative absolute returns; however, they surpassed the performance of the Fund’s benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index. Despite market challenges, the firm’s investment style performed well, focusing on higher-quality businesses. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks such as Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE). Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is a financial services company that offers market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities. The one-month return of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was 1.72%, and its shares gained 31.63% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 24, 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) stock closed at $180.85 per share, with a market capitalization of $103.74 billion.

Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“At the individual stock level, the greatest contribution was attributable to not owning Tesla, and our positions in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) and Visa Inc. ICE is a leading financial exchange operator, fixed income data provider, and mortgage technology company. While many know it as the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, the company is well diversified and essentially a monopoly across several critical businesses like energy futures trading, end-to-end digital mortgage origination, and fixed income pricing needed for exchange-traded funds. The stock recently fluctuated with interest rates but drove strong revenue growth in 2024 and should compound shareholder return over the long term through its diversified set of businesses.”

Intercontinental Exchange Reports 13% Rise in May Average Daily Volume

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Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 94 hedge fund portfolios held Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) at the end of the first quarter, which was 91 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) reported an 8% increase in net revenue.  While we acknowledge the potential of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) and shared the list of some of the next generation dividend aristocrat stocks. During the first quarter of 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) significantly contributed to Janus Henderson Forty Fund’s performance. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of ICE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.