CME Group
CME Group's revenue rose 6.4% to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 64.9%, up from 64.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $4.2 billion, up 16.6%. It paid out $3.9 billion in dividends and buybacks, 94% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.1%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
What CME Group does
CME Group runs financial exchanges. It lets customers trade futures, options, and cash and over-the-counter products across interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange, farm goods, energy, metals and cryptocurrencies. Its exchanges are CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX. It also runs BrokerTec for bond and repo trading and EBS for currency trading.
Customers use its products to hedge risk, speculate and allocate assets. CME earns money mainly from clearing and transaction fees charged for trades executed and cleared through it. It also sells market data, such as real-time and historical prices, along with research and analytics tools.
CME says liquidity, the ability of a market to absorb large trades quickly, is key to attracting and keeping customers. It is based in Chicago, and it is mainly overseen by regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Its biggest risks, as it describes them
- Competition from other exchanges and trading venues.
- Trading volume falling if it cannot keep its customers, which would cut revenue.
- System failures or capacity limits that stop it from running its markets.
- Credit risk from its clearing firms and other counterparties.
- Rules from regulators in the U.S., U.K. and EU, including rules on digital assets.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 10.5% a year and net income 11.5% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 6% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value CME Group yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from CME Group's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from CME Group's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $4.2B, net cash of $1.1B at December 31, 2025 and 360 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to CME Group: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 9.1% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9% for a business of moderate risk (Financial Exchanges & Data); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $308.06
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from CME Group's earnings per share of $12.19 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 25.3×, the middle of CME Group's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (CME Group's own P/E today) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $308.06
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- CME Group's P/E at the last close
- 25.3×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moody'sMCO | $484.45 | $16.41 | 29.5× |
| NasdaqNDAQ | $104.72 | $3.66 | 28.6× |
| Cboe Global MarketsCBOE | $335.25 | $12.83 | 26.1× |
| CME GroupCME | $308.06 | $12.19 | 25.3× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 2,950 | 2,816 | 3,024 | 3,006 | 4,542 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 4,194 | 3,438 | 3,425 | 3,428 | 3,422 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 1,245 | 622 | 402 | 422 | −1,120 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.5x | 0.2x | 0.1x | 0.1x | −0.3x |
| Debt to equity | 0.1x | 0.1x | 0.1x | 0.1x | 0.1x |
| Interest coverage | 15.8x | 18.5x | 21.6x | 24.4x | 24.4x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x |
| Quick ratio | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $666,921 of CME Group shares on the open market, and 10 insiders sold $30.2 million, $1.1 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2026 | Martin J GepsmanDirector | Sold | 400 | $302.50 | $121,000 | Form 4 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | William R ShepardDirector | Bought | 293 | $268.76 | $78,626 | Form 4 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | Elizabeth A CookDirector | Sold | 500 | $280.11 | $140,055 | Form 4 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | Terrence A DuffyChairman and CEO, Director | Sold | 15,000 | $274.44 | $4.1 million | Form 4 |
| Jun 25, 2026 | William R ShepardDirector | Bought | 339 | $230.57 | $78,186 | Form 4 |
| May 18, 2026 | Hilda Harris PiellSr MD & Chief HR Officer | Sold | 5,753 | $304.63 | $1.8 million | Form 4 |
| May 15, 2026 | Terrence A DuffyChairman and CEO, Director | Sold | 35,000 | $298.51 | $10.4 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 26, 2026 | William R ShepardDirector | Bought | 1,470 | $297.38 | $437,101 | Form 4 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Jonathan L MarcusSr MD General Counsel | Sold plan | 3,291 | $333.37 | $1.1 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Ken VromanChief Transformation Officer | Sold | 5,160 | $309.00 | $1.6 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Elizabeth A CookDirector | Sold | 1,000 | $320.00 | $320,000 | Form 4 |
| Feb 23, 2026 | Bryan T DurkinDirector | Sold | 4,200 | $309.65 | $1.3 million | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| F-score | 6 of 8 | 5 of 8 | 7 of 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −0.1% | −0.1% | −0.1% |
Compare
Put CME Group side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CME Group | FY25 | 6.4% | 64.9% | 64.3% | 11.8% | −0.3x | 7 | |
| Coinbase | FY25 | 9.4% | 20.0% | 31.9% | 14.5% | −2.4x | 4 | Compare |
| Moody's | FY25 | 8.9% | 43.4% | 33.4% | 31.1% | 1.2x | 9 | Compare |
| Nasdaq | FY25 | 11.7% | 28.2% | 24.1% | 9.5% | 3.4x | 9 | Compare |
| Cboe Global Markets | FY25 | 15.1% | 31.1% | 35.7% | 22.8% | −0.5x | 9 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 3,595 | 3,645 | 4,309 | 4,868 | 4,884 | 4,690 | 5,019 | 5,579 | 6,130 | 6,521 |
| Revenue growth | 8.1% | 1.4% | 18.2% | 13.0% | 0.3% | −4.0% | 7.0% | 11.2% | 9.9% | 6.4% |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 2,200 | 2,311 | 2,608 | 2,588 | 2,637 | 2,645 | 3,016 | 3,436 | 3,932 | 4,230 |
| Net income | 1,534 | 4,063 | 1,962 | 2,116 | 2,106 | 2,637 | 2,691 | 3,226 | 3,526 | 4,072 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 4.53 | 11.94 | 5.71 | 5.91 | 5.87 | 7.29 | 7.40 | 8.86 | 9.67 | 11.16 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 339 | 340 | 344 | 358 | 358 | 359 | 359 | 360 | 360 | 360 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 1,732 | 1,751 | 2,441 | 2,673 | 2,716 | 2,402 | 3,056 | 3,454 | 3,690 | 4,277 |
| Capital expenditure | 92 | 82 | 117 | 246 | 198 | 127 | 90 | 76 | 94 | 84 |
| Free cash flow | 1,640 | 1,669 | 2,324 | 2,427 | 2,518 | 2,275 | 2,966 | 3,377 | 3,596 | 4,194 |
| Dividends paid | 1,787 | 1,994 | 2,150 | 1,696 | 2,110 | 2,189 | 2,634 | 3,236 | 3,584 | 3,933 |
| Share buybacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 1,795 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 66 | 58 | 96 | 73 | 96 | 75 | 84 | 83 | 90 | 95 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,952 | 1,994 | 1,447 | 1,635 | 1,734 | 2,950 | 2,816 | 3,024 | 3,006 | 4,542 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 2,231 | 2,233 | 4,401 | 3,842 | 3,535 | 4,194 | 3,438 | 3,425 | 3,428 | 3,422 |
| Total assets | 69,369 | 75,791 | 77,476 | 75,215 | 124,660 | 196,780 | 174,176 | 129,706 | 137,447 | 198,424 |
| Total liabilities | 49,029 | 53,379 | 51,510 | 49,056 | 98,308 | 169,381 | 147,297 | 102,968 | 110,960 | 169,696 |
| Shareholders' equity | 20,341 | 22,412 | 25,918 | 26,129 | 26,320 | 27,399 | 26,879 | 26,738 | 26,487 | 28,728 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 61.2% | 63.4% | 60.5% | 53.2% | 54.0% | 56.4% | 60.1% | 61.6% | 64.1% | 64.9% |
| Net margin | 42.7% | 111.5% | 45.5% | 43.5% | 43.1% | 56.2% | 53.6% | 57.8% | 57.5% | 62.5% |
| Free cash flow margin | 45.6% | 45.8% | 53.9% | 49.9% | 51.6% | 48.5% | 59.1% | 60.5% | 58.7% | 64.3% |
| Return on capital | 7.1% | 10.7% | 7.2% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 7.3% | 8.3% | 9.8% | 11.3% | 11.8% |
| Return on equity | 7.5% | 19.0% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.0% | 9.8% | 9.9% | 12.0% | 13.2% | 14.8% |
| Return on assets | 2.2% | 5.6% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 2.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.1x | 0.1x | 1.1x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.5x | 0.2x | 0.1x | 0.1x | −0.3x |