CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Announces Earnings Results

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from CME Group’s conference call:

• Record year: CME reported a landmark 2025 with revenue of $6.5 billion (up 6%) and adjusted net income of $4.1 billion, driving 9% adjusted EPS growth versus 2024.
• Clearing and capital efficiencies: The SEC approved CME Securities Clearing and CME expects to launch it ahead of the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate, and combined with planned CME‑FICC client cross‑margining, customers’ average daily margin savings reached about $80 billion.
• Retail and crypto expansion: New event contracts and retail offerings (microproducts +59% Q4) generated strong early traction (68M event contracts in six weeks), while crypto ADV jumped 92% in Q4; CME will add new crypto futures Feb 9 and roll out 24/7 crypto trading next quarter.
• 2026 outlook and pricing actions: 2026 guidance includes adjusted operating expenses (ex-license) of ~ $1.695B, capex ~$85M, a 23.5%–24.5% tax rate, and announced market data/transaction/incentive fee changes expected to raise revenue ~1%–1.5% on similar activity.
• Capital returns: Board approved using remaining OSTTRA proceeds for buybacks (repurchased $256M in Q4 and an additional $276M YTD) and CME paid ~$3.9B in dividends in 2025 with variable dividend timing aligned to Q1.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ CME opened at $297.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $276.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.84. CME Group has a 52 week low of $239.70 and a 52 week high of $302.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $269,000. Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $264,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors lifted its stake in CME Group by 11.7% in the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.82.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and volumes — CME reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and rising profits driven by record average daily volume and higher clearing fees, supporting the view that the fee-based franchise is resilient and helped push the stock to a one‑year high. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization & crypto clearing opportunity — CEO Terry Duffy said CME is exploring a proprietary token and is piloting tokenized cash with Google; management is also pushing 24/7 crypto and securities clearing, initiatives that could expand addressable markets and create new fee streams if scaled. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Several analysts reiterated positive views (Morgan Stanley maintained Buy) and RBC raised its price target, underscoring confidence in CME’s structural growth and resilient margins. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary & valuation caution — Some analysts and commentaries acknowledge high quality but urge valuation discipline (Seeking Alpha piece arguing quality alone doesn’t imply immediate buy). Investors should weigh growth optionality against a ~26.6x P/E and elevated expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst target tweaks — Raymond James trimmed its target by $1 while keeping Outperform; such minor moves reflect fine‑tuning rather than a major change in sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher precious‑metals margins — CME raised initial/maintenance margins for gold and silver futures (gold to 9% from 8%; silver to 18% from 15%) to curb volatility. That can reduce volumes and liquidity in those products in the near term and dent related fee revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish shop still present — JPMorgan kept an Underweight rating (while nudging its target), signaling some investors and allocators remain cautious about upside from current levels. That may cap near-term multiple expansion. Read More.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.