2025 marked a yr of heightened volatility, with world markets navigating geopolitical shifts, speedy transformations within the know-how sector and a broad secular rotation of equities.
Amid this evolution, Nasdaq Europe strengthened its position on the coronary heart of Europe’s monetary ecosystem.
By appearing as a significant engine of progress, driving resilient capital formation, and offering trusted connectivity inside the markets, Nasdaq Europe helped to empower firms, buyers, and markets alike.
“2025 was a landmark yr for Nasdaq Europe. Throughout seven exchanges within the Nordics and Baltics, we strengthened our position because the trusted material of Europe’s monetary markets.” Roland Chai, EVP and President of European Market Companies.
These accomplishments mirror Nasdaq’s strategic dedication to shaping sustainable markets, fostering innovation, and driving confidence within the monetary economies throughout the area.
Greater than half of all European IPO capital was raised on Nasdaq exchanges in 2025. Buying and selling volumes in money equities and fairness derivatives have been up 11% and 5% respectively year-on-year throughout its Nordic and Baltic platforms, and cash raised throughout the Nasdaq Nordic company bond market alone hit €1.2 trillion, a brand new report. Retail investor exercise additionally continued to outpace different European facilities, exceeding 12% in 2025, demonstrating the depth and variety of its markets throughout the area.
In opposition to a context of fragmented markets and rising safety imperatives, Nasdaq prolonged its Nordic labelled bond mannequin to protection: our new Protection Bond phase units specific transparency and course of necessities, enabling issuers that help EU or NATO member safety to entry capital whereas giving buyers mandate‑aligned decisions throughout armament, cybersecurity, and significant infrastructure.
The yr additionally marked main anniversaries that mirror the evolution of Nasdaq’s European presence, together with 25 years of ETFs in Europe, 4 many years of and the 40th anniversary of choices buying and selling on Nasdaq Stockholm.
Stockholm’s Outsized Efficiency
Whereas the worldwide IPO markets remained selective amid geopolitical uncertainty, Stockholm demonstrated spectacular resilience due to the depth and class of its investor base.
“What occurred this yr is a testomony to the power of the Swedish market,” mentioned Adam Kostyál, Senior Vice President and Head of European Listings at Nasdaq. “We have turn out to be well-known for the power to checklist small and medium-sized firms with robust institutional possession, however this yr, we have proven that we’re additionally a terrific marketplace for robust, bigger firms,” mentioned Kostyál.
The Verisure IPO marked a defining second for European capital markets. By elevating €3.7billion, Verisure not solely delivered the biggest European IPO since 2022 but additionally set a report because the continent’s greatest non-public equity-backed itemizing. The corporate’s robust debut—pushed by a 21% share worth improve and €560 million in turnover, accounted for roughly 1 / 4 of Nasdaq Stockholm’s buying and selling that day—underscoring investor confidence and market resilience.
With 60,000 retail buyers now shareholders, this milestone reinforces our dedication to inclusive progress and broad market participation, positioning Nasdaq because the platform of alternative for transformative listings.
Stockholm separates itself from rivals by supporting firms of all sizes alongside their progress journeys. Traditionally, Kostyál famous, about 30% of Nordic non-public equity-backed firms have transitioned to public markets, in contrast with 7 to eight% throughout broader Europe.
“What distinguishes our market is the power to checklist small and medium-sized firms with robust institutional possession and powerful engagement from buyers — all the pieces from retail to establishments,” Kostyál famous.
Innovation & Infrastructure
The listings success rested on continued funding in Europe’s underlying market infrastructure — from new derivatives merchandise and bond frameworks to know-how upgrades and anti-financial crime instruments.
Nasdaq launched Europe’s first protection bond framework in 2025, in response to shifting geopolitical realities and financing wants throughout the continent. It welcomed its first issuer, Lithuanian state-owned Valstybės Investicinis Kapitalas, in October.
“There’s a clear and rising want for financing options that deal with Europe’s safety challenges. Demonstrating management in how we construction and handle these choices – and making certain buyers perceive the underlying themes – is important. Security and safety lengthen past cyber resilience; they embody making a trusted setting the place our clients can function confidently and thrive.” mentioned Chai.
The listed derivatives enterprise general posted a report yr for Nordic single inventory choices in traded notional worth and open curiosity, with Danish single inventory choices buying and selling up 209% yr over yr and Norwegian choices up 55%. buying and selling commenced for the primary time, pushing ahead Nasdaq’s European derivatives providing in thematic index merchandise.
“Buying and selling each in money equities and derivatives was very robust, and we additionally see very robust progress in new services throughout the board,” mentioned Chai.
In 2025, Nasdaq was additionally the primary buying and selling venue in Nordic equities.
The mounted earnings market maintained its spectacular progress trajectory. Excellent company bond quantity within the Nordic area grew 12.3% from January via November and welcomed a report variety of new issuers. The sustainable bond market marked its tenth anniversary with greater than €80 billion in listed quantity, whereas whole bond listings throughout Nordic markets exceeded €1.2 trillion.
Nasdaq additionally signed its first proof of idea with a Tier 1 European financial institution for anti-financial crime know-how and printed its European Monetary Crime Report, further indicators of the alternate’s efforts to enhance market integrity.
“On the buying and selling facet, we’re frequently sustaining very excessive market share and creating new improvements in each lit and darkish liquidity options for our shoppers,” mentioned Chai. “We’re consistently leveraging our know-how platforms to ship the perfect threat administration options in a fragmented market.”
The ETF & ETP enterprise added 57 new merchandise in 2025 together with 42 crypto exchange-traded merchandise–with 5 new issuers becoming a member of the platform. Crypto ETN trades surged greater than 271% yr over yr.
“ETFs are positively a progress space,” Chai mentioned. “We see progress in structured merchandise. We see progress in crypto ETPs and passive ETFs typically, and we do assume that is a rising development in Europe and the Nordics.”
Outlook for 2026
Nasdaq anticipates continued momentum heading into the brand new yr, although count on markets to stay selective. The IPO pipeline is constructing, and broader European capital markets reforms underneath the EU’s Financial savings and Funding Union initiative might present tailwinds.
“The markets can be selective, however I feel there can be an urge for food for sure riskier investments, when it comes to firms which might be at an earlier stage,” Kostyál mentioned. “We are going to in all probability see a gravitation in direction of smaller firms inside high-growth segments corresponding to healthcare. And naturally, now we have a phase which has turn out to be dominant: the protection sector.”
Chai pointed to pro-growth developments as a possible catalyst. “The Nordics and Sweden supply fashions that Brussels and the remainder of Europe need to emulate,” he mentioned. “I feel that is a precedence each politically and economically throughout the EU.”
The Verisure itemizing could have opened doorways for extra non-Nordic European firms to contemplate Stockholm. Kostyál famous that following the IPO, he’s had extra conversations with worldwide issuers evaluating the market as a brand new venue.
Geopolitical uncertainty stays the wild card. Protection spending, vitality infrastructure funding and broader financial stimulus throughout Europe might help elevated valuations and company exercise. However executives acknowledge that the setting requires cautious navigation.
“In 2025 Nasdaq Europe has confirmed the power to run resilient markets within the face of actual macro volatility and uncertainty,” Chai mentioned. “2026 can be about constructing on the power of the Nordic markets and scaling our platform to boost the power of European monetary markets.”
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