The National Stock Exchange (NSE) IPO opens for subscription on September 17, 2026, and closes on September 21, 2026, with a price band of ₹1,700-₹1,785 per share. The issue comprises a 100% Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 126.44 million equity shares, meaning the exchange itself will not raise fresh capital, and proceeds will accrue to existing selling shareholders. The bidding for anchor investors will take place on September 16, 2026. The listing has garnered significant attention due to NSE's dominant market position, strong profitability, and vast retail investor interest. NSE shares are slated to make their market debut on September 24, 2026, with the basis of allotment expected to be finalised on September 22, 2026. The grey market premium currently stands at ₹156, indicating an estimated listing price of ₹1,941 and a listing gain of 8.74%. The IPO is looking to raise ₹22,562 crore through this pure OFS structure.
The IPO has been structured with 50% reservation for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), 15% for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) and 35% for retail investors. A lot consists of 8 shares and in multiples thereof, requiring a minimum investment of ₹14,280 according to the upper price band. Employees of the exchange will be eligible for a ₹170 discount on their bids. The issue is being managed by Kotak Mahindra Capital, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley India, SBI Capital Markets, DAM Capital Advisors, HDFC Bank, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities, Avendus Capital, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, JM Financial, Citigroup Global Markets India, JP Morgan India, Pantomath Capital Advisors, Anand Rathi Advisors, Equirus Capital, ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital Services, Nuvama Wealth Management, Axis Capital and 360 ONE WAM as book-running lead managers, with MUFG Intime serving as the registrar. Retail investors can place their bids through the application supported by blocked amount (ASBA) method, with their investment amount remaining blocked until allotment is finalised.
The NSE listing is expected to bring greater valuation transparency to India's exchange sector and allow investors to directly compare NSE with its listed rival, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). As reported by Business Standard, Choice Broking noted that NSE IPO is priced at 47.3x TTM earnings, with BSE trading higher at 48.9x on a business less than a third of NSE's size. Swastika highlighted that NSE trades at ~40.9x-42.9x FY26 diluted EPS versus peer BSE's 54.28x, leaving room for re-rating given NSE's larger scale. The current price band of ₹1,700-₹1,785 is over 10% lower than the current unlisted market price of ₹1,990, and significantly below the peak of around ₹2,400 touched in June 2025. NSE's P/E ratio at the upper price band is around 43 times its reported FY26 earnings of ₹41.62 per share, which is lower compared to BSE's current P/E of around 48. Multiple brokerages including Choice Broking, Swastika, and Ventura have issued 'Subscribe' ratings citing NSE's leadership position, strong brand, technological capabilities, and expanding capital-market ecosystem as key investment drivers.
NSE holds a dominant position in India's largely duopolistic stock exchange industry, having remained the country's largest exchange by total turnover in the cash market and equity derivatives since FY01. In FY26, it ranked among the leading multi-asset-class exchanges worldwide by the number of trades in cash equities and contracts traded in equity derivatives. Its global market share stood at around 11.4% in cash equities and approximately 51.2% in equity derivatives, demonstrating its strong international presence. The exchange also maintains a strong position in the primary market, with companies raising around ₹1,60,000 crore through NSE in FY26, placing it among the top five exchange groups globally in terms of capital raised through IPOs. The primary domestic peer of NSE is BSE, while globally, its peers include the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Korea Exchange, Nasdaq and Japan Stock Exchange, among others. In the F&O segment, NSE has 99.7% market share based on total turnover, but the options segment shows some competitive pressure with NSE's FY26 market share dropping to 68.4% in Q1FY27 from 74.7% in FY26, primarily due to BSE's aggressive expansion in derivatives.
NSE's latest financial results demonstrate strong performance across key metrics, though showing some year-over-year decline. In Q1 FY27, the stock exchange posted a profit after tax of ₹3,120.08 crore, compared to ₹2,923.85 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Total income for Q1 FY27 stood at ₹5,252.17 crore as against ₹4,798.45 crore in Q1 FY27. For the full fiscal year FY26, the company reported a net profit of ₹10,302.06 crore and total income of ₹18,713.37 crore. However, NSE's FY26 revenue declined 3.1% YoY to ₹16,601 crore due to lower income from transaction charges after SEBI measures to curb Futures and Options trading. EBITDA declined 11.1% year-on-year to ₹11,265 crore, with EBITDA margin moderating to 67.9% from 73.9% in FY25. Net profit declined 12.2% year-on-year to ₹10,071 crore. As per Choice Broking, FY26 profit also looks worse than it really is, held down by a settlement charge the company has now paid. NSE's PAT remains 4.1 times higher than BSE's net profit of ₹2,487 crore, though BSE shows stronger growth momentum with 88.1% YoY PAT growth. BSE's 3-year profit growth of 222.1% reflects a dramatic turnaround in operations, especially in derivatives contracts, while NSE's 3-year profit growth of 24.04% reflects steady, mature growth. NSE's licensing charges from passive funds have grown steadily from ₹97.5 crore in FY24 to ₹152 crore in FY26, representing a near-monopoly in the passive fund market where NIFTY-linked index funds and ETFs account for 76.89% of India's total schemes.
