CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

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 Performance

Shares of CME traded up $5.93 on Thursday, reaching $300.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 192,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,116. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $108.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group has a 12-month low of $239.70 and a 12-month high of $302.06.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat/operational strength — CME reported $2.77 EPS and ~$1.65B revenue, ADV hit an all‑time Q4 high and the company posted record annual revenue, underpinned by strong clearing and market‑data performance. CME Group Inc. Reports Fourth Consecutive Year of Record Annual Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Morgan Stanley’s Michael Cyprys reaffirmed a Buy rating and other firms maintain above‑consensus price targets, which can support investor demand. CME Group: Resilient Fee-Based Franchise … Justifies Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue levers and product expansion — management is targeting a 1%–1.5% revenue uplift via fee adjustments and expanding 24/7 crypto and securities clearing, signaling modest near‑term upside from fee policy and new services. CME Group targets 1-1.5% revenue lift …
• Neutral Sentiment: Exploring a proprietary token and tokenized cash pilot with Google — CEO Terry Duffy confirmed the exchange is evaluating a CME‑issued token and tokenized cash infrastructure; this could be transformational long‑term but is speculative and faces operational/regulatory work. CME CEO Duffy says exchange is exploring issuing its own token
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and mixed institutional flows — recent filings show multiple insider sales and some large institutional rebalancing (including notable reductions), which can introduce caution for some investors. CME GROUP ($CME) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Speculative headlines on a “CME coin” could drive volatility — press coverage and price calls tied to a potential proprietary token are speculative and may cause outsized intraday moves without immediate revenue impact. CME Group to Launch Own Digital Token and 24/7 Crypto Trading

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.24.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 7,580.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 15.9% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $242,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.