What Is Nasdaq Stock Exchange? What Does Nasdaq Stand For?

What Is the Nasdaq Stock Exchange?

By Frank Bass – Updated Jul 13, 2025 at 2:11 PM | Fact-checked by Robin Hartill, CFP

Key Points

Nasdaq, founded as the world's first electronic stock market, now has over 3,000 company listings.
It offers automated trading systems and was the first exchange to support online trading.
Nasdaq trades stocks, bonds, ETFs, and more, making it a crucial platform for varied investments.

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An infographic explaining what the Nasdaq is and showing a timeline of its major milestones. — Image source: The Motley Fool.

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Eventually the Nasdaq became the world's first electronic stock market, taking over trading for many stocks that had previously traded in places other than formal stock exchanges. Now the Nasdaq has formal listing requirements that companies have to meet to list their shares on its stock exchange. The Nasdaq has become the largest global exchange to rely solely on electronic trading.

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Some investors also use the term the Nasdaq to refer to the Nasdaq Composite index, an index of the stocks listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Many of the world's largest businesses are among the more than 3,500 companies that list their shares on the Nasdaq. In part because of the way the Nasdaq has embraced technological innovation in its trading platform, the stock exchange has attracted many of the world's leading companies in technology, as well as companies in other cutting-edge industries like biotechnology. Here are a few of the companies that trade on the Nasdaq:

Apple (AAPL -0.49%)
Amazon (AMZN +3.99%)
Alphabet (GOOG +0.78%) (GOOGL +0.88%)
Meta Platforms (META -1.67%)
Comcast (CMCSA -3.07%)

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More recently, there's been a wave of consolidation among exchanges. In 2007, the Nasdaq Stock Market agreed to merge with Scandinavian exchange operator OMX ABO. The resulting company was called Nasdaq OMX Group, and was renamed simply Nasdaq (NDAQ +1.10%) in 2015.

In addition to continuing to run the Nasdaq, the company also oversees its Nasdaq Nordic markets in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and the Baltic states. Nasdaq-operated exchanges also enable investors to trade in bonds, commodities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other more sophisticated investments.

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Source: Nasdaq Stock Market
Holiday	2025 Date
New Year's Day	Wednesday, Jan. 1
Martin Luther King Day	Wednesday, Jan. 15
Presidents' Day	Monday, Feb. 17
Good Friday	Friday, April 18
Memorial Day	Monday, May 26
Juneteenth	Thursday, June 19
Independence Day	Friday, July 4
Labor Day	Monday, Sep. 1
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, Nov. 27
Christmas Day	Thursday, Dec. 25

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The Nasdaq also is scheduled to close early, at 1 p.m. Eastern time on July 3; on Nov. 28, the Friday after Thanksgiving; and on Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday and if the regular Christmas holiday is observed on Dec. 25.

The Nasdaq Stock Market is the second-largest stock exchange in the world, and it plays a vital role in incorporating technology into the trading process. The Nasdaq provides an alternative to the New York Stock Exchange for companies that want to list their stocks on a U.S.-based stock exchange. With a long history of innovation, the Nasdaq should continue to help investors for years to come.

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About the Author

Frank Bass is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst and editor covering energy, healthcare, consumer, and financial sectors. Frank has decades of experience in financial journalism, holding reporting and editing roles at The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Bloomberg. He also currently edits research on the global energy transition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and is a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Fun Facts: Frank has hiked The Long Trail in Vermont from end to end, and currently lives in a semi-dry cabin in Interior Alaska.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Frank Bass has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast and Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.