# CME Group Inc. (CME)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/CME · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, CME Group Inc. (CME), nexqual.com/CME" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 305.98 (+3.45% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 295.79 · day 300–307.26 · 52w 218.31–329.16 · market cap $110B · NMS

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $6.77B, net income $4.29B (63.3% margin), free cash flow $4.21B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 25.7x (avg 23.8x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends).
- 7 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold CME (13F, Q2 2026): 3 new, 1 added, 1 reduced, 2 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 5 Form 4 filings, $16.6M; 5 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($16.6M); 4 by opportunistic insiders (4 outside 10b5-1 plans), 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.35 on a 1–5 scale) (17 analysts), mean target USD 313.81 (range 227–367).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +18.2% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +73.2% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-10-21, EPS estimate USD 3.03, revenue estimate $1.77B.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.69B | $5.02B | $5.58B | $6.13B | $6.52B | $6.77B |
| Operating income | $2.65B | $3.02B | $3.44B | $3.93B | $4.23B | $4.41B |
| Net income | $2.64B | $2.69B | $3.23B | $3.53B | $4.07B | $4.29B |
| EPS (diluted) | $7.29 | $7.40 | $8.86 | $9.67 | $11.16 | — |
| Free cash flow | $2.28B | $2.97B | $3.38B | $3.60B | $4.19B | $4.21B |
| Operating margin | 56.4% | 60.1% | 61.6% | 64.1% | 64.9% | 65.1% |
| Net margin | 56.2% | 53.6% | 57.8% | 57.5% | 62.5% | 63.3% |
| Revenue growth | -4.0% | +7.0% | +11.1% | +9.9% | +6.4% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $2.95B | $2.82B | $3.02B | $3.01B | $4.54B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 25.7x · P/S 16.3x · P/FCF 26.1x · P/B 4.2x · FCF yield 3.83% · Earnings yield 3.90% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 3.70%
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 24.2x, Dec 2024 23.7x, Dec 2023 23.5x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
7 of 80 tracked investors hold CME. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Klarman | Baupost Group | 2.52% | $137M | New position |
| William Von Mueffling | Cantillon Capital Management | 2.12% | $14.1M | Reduced -95.4% |
| Van Den Berg Management I |  | 1.03% | $4.9M | Added +19.4% |
| Mairs & Power | Mairs & Power Funds | 0.40% | $43.2M | New position |
| Viking Global | Viking Global Investors | 0.10% | $33.8M | New position |
| Thomas Gayner | Markel Group | 0.08% | $11.0M | Unchanged |
| Lindsell Train |  | 0.06% | $1.5M | Unchanged |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 5 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-22 | Gepsman Martin J | Director | 400 | $121K | 1.6% | No | Opportunistic (traded every year 2023–2025, no repeating month) |
| 2026-09-14 | Cook Elizabeth A | Director | 500 | $140K | 2.7% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2025) |
| 2026-09-10 | Duffy Terrence A | Chairman and CEO | 15,000 | $4.1M | 27% | No | Opportunistic (traded every year 2023–2025, no repeating month) |
| 2026-05-18 | Piell Hilda Harris | Sr MD & Chief HR Officer | 5,753 | $1.8M | 17.2% | No | Opportunistic (traded every year 2023–2025, no repeating month) |
| 2026-05-15 | Duffy Terrence A | Chairman and CEO | 35,000 | $10.4M | 38.6% | No | Opportunistic (traded every year 2023–2025, no repeating month) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.35 on a 1–5 scale), 17 analysts; mean target USD 313.81 (low 227, high 367).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-22 | UBS | Target raised | Neutral | $270 → $310 |
| 2026-10-22 | Morgan Stanley | Target raised | Overweight | $337 → $359 |
| 2026-10-22 | Barclays | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $281 → $321 |
| 2026-10-22 | Wells Fargo | Target raised | Overweight | $315 → $333 |
| 2026-10-22 | Piper Sandler | Target raised | Overweight | $295 → $330 |
| 2026-10-22 | JP Morgan | Upgrade | Underweight → Overweight | $367 |
| 2026-10-14 | Wells Fargo | Target raised | Overweight | $301 → $315 |
| 2026-10-09 | Morgan Stanley | Target raised | Overweight | $330 → $337 |
| 2026-10-07 | Barclays | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $270 → $281 |
| 2026-10-05 | UBS | Target raised | Neutral | $260 → $270 |
| 2026-10-05 | TD Cowen | Target raised | Buy | $292 → $300 |
| 2026-10-02 | Wells Fargo | Initiated | Overweight | $301 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +18.2% | +73.2% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +18.3% | +11.6% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 24.5% | 20.7% |
| Max drawdown | -31.1% (Mar 2026→Jun 2026) | -31.2% (Mar 2022→Oct 2022) |

## Peers (Financial Data & Stock Exchanges)
ICE (Intercontinental Exchange Inc.) USD 163.84 +3.90% · SPGI (S&P Global Inc.) USD 453.1 +2.24% · MCO (Moody's Corporation) USD 491.05 +2.08% · NDAQ (Nasdaq, Inc.) USD 103.3 +7.47% · MSCI (MSCI Inc.) USD 620.24 +2.61% · COIN (Coinbase Global, Inc.) USD 169.09 -4.51%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/CME · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in CME's own 10-K filed 2026-02-26 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1156375/000115637526000009/cme-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Partner | Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) | "Partnership with Google Cloud - In 2021, we entered into a 10-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate our move to the cloud." |
| Partner | S&P Dow Jones Indices | "Through our joint venture with S&P Global, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, we have a long-term, ownership-linked, exclusive license to list futures and options based on the S&P 500 Index and certain other S&P indices." |
| Partner | Flutter Entertainment plc (FLUT) | "Our joint venture with FanDuel, a part of Flutter Entertainment plc, launched in December 2025." |
| Partner | Fixed Income Clearing | "We have enhanced our arrangement with FICC through the partnership with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to offer enhanced capital efficiencies to our eligible clearing firms." |
| Partner | The Depository Trust & Clearing | "We have enhanced our arrangement with FICC through the partnership with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to offer enhanced capital efficiencies to our eligible clearing firms." |
| Partner | FanDuel Prediction Markets | "FanDuel Prediction Markets LLC, which is part of our joint venture with FanDuel, is a registered FCM." |

## Revenue by product line (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest from Performance Bonds | $1.39B | 81.4% | -6.6% |
| Clearing and transaction fees | $1.35B | 79.3% | -2.6% |
| Market data and information services | $238.1M | 14.0% | +20.2% |
| Other | $115.6M | 6.8% | +9.2% |
| Total revenue | $1.71B | 100% | — |
The lines above cover 181.4% of total revenue.

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $3.03 | $2.97 | +1.9% | $1.77B | 14 |
| Next quarter (ends 2027-03-31) | $3.32 | $3.29 | +1.2% | $1.86B | 12 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $12.42 | $12.27 | +1.2% | $7.10B | 15 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $13.20 | $12.94 | +2.0% | $7.45B | 16 |

## Options: expected move (Cboe, 15-min delayed)

| Expiration | Days | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | 7 | 25.7% | ±3.1% |
| 2026-11-06 | 14 | 26.6% | ±4.3% |
| 2026-11-13 | 21 | 26.4% | ±5.2% |
| 2026-11-20 | 28 | 24.6% | ±5.6% |
| 2026-11-27 | 35 | 25.1% | ±6.3% |
| 2026-12-04 | 42 | 25.0% | ±6.8% |
| 2026-12-18 | 56 | 23.9% | ±7.7% |
| 2027-01-15 | 84 | 24.7% | ±9.6% |