CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share.

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 Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $3.58 on Wednesday, reaching $289.49. The company had a trading volume of 206,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,782. The firm has a market cap of $104.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $275.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.52. CME Group has a 1 year low of $239.70 and a 1 year high of $296.16.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at $164,648,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in CME Group by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,830,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $764,725,000 after acquiring an additional 528,358 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its position in shares of CME Group by 6,579.0% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 307,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,156,000 after acquiring an additional 303,160 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,925,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $63,880,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CME. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment 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 data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.18.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat/raised confidence: CME reported adjusted EPS of $2.77, topping consensus and up from $2.52 a year earlier — a signal of continued operating leverage and margin strength. Zacks: Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Record annual results and quarterly operating income: Management reported record full?year revenue ($6.5B) and fourth?quarter operating income ~ $1.0B, reinforcing the view of durable revenue streams (market data + derivatives). PR Newswire: Full?Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger trading volumes: January set a record ADV of 29.6M contracts (up 15% YoY), with new highs in several products — higher volumes support fee revenue and helped lift quarterly top?line. PR Newswire: January Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Profit uplift tied to hedging demand: Coverage notes the profit rise was driven by elevated trading activity as market participants increased hedging, supporting the revenue/earnings beat. Reuters: Profit Rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst landscape and targets: Recent analyst price targets have a median around $304.5 (above current levels), which could support upside over time but expectations are mixed across shops. QuiverQuant: Analyst Targets & Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Client pricing update: CME notified clients of pricing and disclosure changes (impact depends on fee mix and customer response); this is worth watching but unclear near term. TipRanks: Pricing Update
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and mixed institutional flows: Filings show several insider sales (including senior executives) and large, mixed moves by institutions (some big adds, some large trims), which can be read as a modest cautionary signal by investors. QuiverQuant: Insider & Institutional Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Minor revenue estimate discrepancies: One data source flagged a small miss vs. a particular revenue estimate (roughly ~$17.7M), which could temper bullish reaction for some traders focused on top?line beats. QuiverQuant: Revenue Note

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.