UPDATE: NASDAQ Posts Better-Than-Expected Q3 Profit, Cuts Expense Forecast

The NASDAQ OMX Group

reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter and announced a new $500 million stock-buyback program. The New York-based company posted a quarterly profit of $123 million, or $0.71 per share, versus ay year-ago profit of $113 million, or $0.66 per share. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $0.72 per share. Its revenue excluding transaction rebates, brokerage, clearance and exchange fees, slipped 1.8% to $497 million. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.70 per share on revenue of $511 million. NASDAQ's market services unit posted a 3% drop in revenue to $194 million. Its information services revenue slipped 2.6% to $114 million, while technology solutions revenue dropped 1.5% to $130 million. Listing services revenue gained 3.5% to $59 million in the quarter. The company now projects 2014 operating expense of around $1.205 billion to $1.225 billion, versus its earlier forecast of $1.22 billion to $1.25 billion. NASDAQ repurchased repurchased $27 million of stock in the quarter at an average price of $41.39. "Nasdaq's unmatched contribution of stable, subscription and recurring revenues, and an unrelenting focus on efficiency helped deliver for our shareholders by matching non-GAAP EPS records and creating recent highs in non-GAAP operating margins," said Bob Greifeld, CEO, Nasdaq. NASDAQ shares rose 0.90% to close at $41.30 yesterday.