Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) said fourth-quarter profit rose 67% on higher revenue.

The New York-based exchange operator has sought to diversify its revenue as it, like its rivals, has struggled with a slide in stock trading by individual investors and asset managers over the past several years. Last year it bought bond-trading and investor-relation businesses and is expected to soon launch a marketplace for trading private shares in pre-IPO companies.

The diversification helped lift net income to $141 million, or 81 cents, a share, compared with $85 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company's adjusted earnings for the period were 69 cents a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share earnings of 67 cents on $513 million in net revenue.

Nasdaq's net revenue rose 2.5% to $533 million. Operating expenses increased 14% to $282 million, mostly because of its acquisitions, according to the company.

Write to Bradley Hope at bradley.hope@wsj.com

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