NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ)

Competition by national and regional exchanges, ECNs and the Alternative Display Facility may reduce our transactions, trade reporting and market information revenues and impact our ability to increase our market share of transactions in Nasdaq-listed and exchange-listed securities.

We have invested considerable capital in the trading services we offer through the Nasdaq Market Center. These services have been launched into a competitive environment. Any decision by market participants to quote, execute or report trades through regional exchanges or the Alternative Display Facility maintained by NASD, as discussed below, could have a negative impact on our share of quotes and trades in securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market and may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We currently face increased competition from regional exchanges for quotation, execution and trade reporting business for securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market, which affects revenues from the Market Services segment. ECNs such as Instinet Group, which operates INET, quote and report trades to regional exchanges and ArcaEx quotes and reports to the Pacific Exchange.

Additionally, the NYSE has formally requested entry into the UTP Plan that governs the sharing of market information revenues for Nasdaq-listed securities, with the stated purpose of being able to trade QQQ now that it has listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market. If the NYSE chooses to trade QQQ and other Nasdaq-listed stocks once they are a participant, then we could face competition in our Market Services segment, in addition to listing competition from the NYSE.

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It is possible that a competing securities exchange, ECN, market maker, network provider, or technology company could develop ways to replicate the network offered through the Nasdaq Market Center in a more efficient manner than we do and persuade a critical mass of market participants to switch to such a new network. If there is an increase in the number of market makers or ECNs that determine they do enough order routing traffic to justify setting up a proprietary network for their traffic, we may be forced to alter our pricing structure or risk losing share in the order routing or execution business.

As a condition for the SEC’s approval of our current trading platform, the SEC required NASD to provide NASD members with the ability to opt-out of reporting trades to the Nasdaq Market Center by providing the Alternative Display Facility as an alternative quotation and trade reporting facility for NASD members. If additional market participants quote through the Alternative Display Facility, we face the risk of reduced market share in revenues from the Market Services segment, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Through the Nasdaq Market Center, we also compete for trading in exchange-listed securities, including securities listed on the NYSE and Amex. Historically, we have had a comparatively small percentage of this market due in part to the centralized nature of NYSE and Amex. As a result, the national exchanges offer greater liquidity in these stocks than we do. In addition, regulatory limitations currently hinder us from increasing our market share in trading NYSE-listed securities. See “—Regulation—Recent Regulatory Developments.” Accordingly, we face major obstacles in trying to increase our market share of trading in exchange-listed securities.

The NYSE has stated that it intends to increase its focus on its electronic trading capabilities. In August 2004, the NYSE sought the SEC’s approval of an NYSE rule proposal to expand its electronic trading system and to make it a permanent facility of the NYSE. We believe our electronic trading model has significant advantages over the NYSE’s current floor-based model. Accordingly, a move to enhance market participants’ ability to engage in automated electronic trading on the NYSE could undermine one of our competitive advantages and could negatively impact our business.

Our responses to competition may not be sufficient to regain lost business or prevent other market participants from shifting some of their quoting and/or trade reporting to regional exchanges. We may be required to take further action to remain competitive such as reducing prices. If we are unable to compete for transactions, trade reporting and market information revenues, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Over the past few years, competition from ECNs and other electronic trading platforms has significantly reduced our market share of trade executions in Nasdaq-listed securities. If this trend of declining market share of trade executions in Nasdaq-listed securities continues, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.