The company is coming up with its Rs. 22,561.57 crore IPO, which is entirely an offer for sale of 12.64 crore shares. The IPO opened for subscription on September 17, 2026, and will close on September 21, 2026, with allotment expected on September 22, 2026.
The IPO has a price band of Rs. 1,700 to Rs. 1,785 per share, with a lot size of 8 shares. At the upper price band, the minimum investment for retail investors is Rs. 14,280. The issue also includes a reservation of up to 4,33,437 shares for employees, offered at a discount of Rs. 170 per share.
Revenue Expanded Nearly Eightfold
Over the last decade, NSE’s revenue from operations has increased sharply from Rs. 2,104.26 crore in FY17 to Rs. 16,601.3 crore in FY26, translating into nearly 8 times growth over the period. This implies a compound annual growth rate of roughly 26%, highlighting how rapidly the exchange’s business scale expanded alongside the growth in India’s capital markets.
The growth was relatively gradual in the initial years before accelerating significantly after FY20. Revenue increased from Rs. 3,507.93 crore in FY20 to Rs. 5,624.82 crore in FY21 and then reached Rs. 8,313.1 crore in FY22. It rose further to Rs. 11,856.2 crore in FY23, Rs. 14,780 crore in FY24 and Rs. 17,140.7 crore in FY25. However, revenue moderated to Rs. 16,601.31 crore in FY26. NSE’s historical financial statements and annual reports provide these figures across the period.
Derivatives Changed the Revenue Mix
The most significant change in NSE’s revenue model has been the increasing importance of derivatives, particularly equity options. While the exchange has traditionally earned transaction fees from cash equities, futures and other products, options have become the largest source of transaction-related income.
In FY26, NSE generated Rs. 13,057 crore from transaction charges. Of this, approximately Rs. 9,996 crore came from options, while cash-market transactions contributed around Rs. 1,555 crore and futures contributed around Rs. 1,370 crore.
Options therefore accounted for nearly 77% of NSE’s transaction-charge income and about 60% of its overall revenue from operations. This illustrates how the exchange’s earnings have become increasingly linked to derivatives activity rather than being driven mainly by cash-market trading.
Transaction Charges Became the Core Revenue Engine
Transaction charges have grown substantially alongside the rise in market activity. NSE’s corporate presentation shows transaction-charge revenue increasing from Rs. 6,971.7 crore in FY22 to Rs. 13,057 crore in FY26, representing a compound annual growth rate of around 17% over four years.
The importance of these charges is even clearer when measured against NSE’s total revenue. Transaction charges represented roughly 79% of revenue from operations in FY26. They accounted for about 70% when measured against total income, which also includes other income such as investment income. Therefore, describing transaction charges as around 70% of operating revenue would understate their contribution; the more accurate figure is close to 79%.
Data and Technology Businesses Expanded
While transaction charges remain dominant, NSE has also expanded its non-transaction businesses. These include data connectivity, data feed and terminal services, listing services, index licensing, data subscriptions and data-centre rack charges, allowing the exchange to generate revenue from its technology infrastructure, market information and listed-company ecosystem.
Data connectivity charges are fees paid by brokers, trading members and financial institutions for dedicated connectivity to NSE’s trading systems, enabling them to transmit orders and receive market data. These charges increased from approximately Rs. 397.5 crore in FY22 to Rs. 1,128.8 crore in FY26, representing a CAGR of around 30%.
Data feed and terminal services involve providing real-time and historical market data, including prices, trades, volumes and other market information, to brokers, institutions, data vendors and other users. Revenue from this segment increased from Rs. 225.5 crore in FY22 to Rs. 470.1 crore in FY26.
Listing services comprise fees paid by companies for getting their securities listed on NSE and for maintaining their listing on the exchange. Revenue from listing services rose from Rs. 183.7 crore in FY22 to Rs. 352.4 crore in FY26.
Data-centre rack charges are earned from providing infrastructure and rack space to market participants that host their servers close to NSE’s trading systems. This helps firms access the exchange’s infrastructure with lower network latency. Revenue from this segment increased from Rs. 73.6 crore to Rs. 205.2 crore during the same period.
NSE also earns index licensing and data subscription fees by allowing asset managers, financial institutions and other users to use its indices and access specialised market-data products. These businesses remain much smaller than transaction income but provide NSE with additional revenue streams linked to its technology, market data, infrastructure and intellectual property.
Revenue Growth Is Still Linked to Market Activity
Despite the expansion of these additional revenue streams, NSE’s financial performance remains closely connected to trading activity. FY26 demonstrated this clearly, as revenue from operations declined 3% from FY25 to Rs. 16,601 crore.
NSE’s own market data showed that average daily turnover in the equity cash segment declined 7% year-on-year, while equity futures and equity options turnover also moderated during the year.
However, the exchange saw a strong recovery in the final quarter. In Q4FY26, equity cash, futures and options activity increased sequentially, supporting a 28% quarter-on-quarter rise in revenue from operations on a standalone basis. This shows that NSE’s revenue can respond quickly to changes in trading activity and market conditions.
What Changed Over the Decade?
The shift in NSE’s revenue model is therefore not simply about generating more revenue, but about where that revenue comes from. A decade ago, the exchange was operating on a much smaller base, while today its earnings are heavily supported by derivatives, particularly equity options. At the same time, businesses such as market data, connectivity, listing and data-centre services have become meaningful secondary revenue streams.
NSE’s model has consequently evolved into a high-volume, technology-led exchange business with significant derivatives exposure and a growing ecosystem of data and infrastructure services. While this model has supported substantial revenue expansion, it also means that changes in trading behaviour, market volumes and regulatory rules governing derivatives can have a meaningful impact on its financial performance.