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CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) reported record second-quarter revenue and near-record trading activity, while executives used much of the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call to address investor questions about perpetual futures and outline a slate of new product launches.

Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy said second-quarter average daily volume was 29.8 million contracts, the second-highest second quarter in the company’s history and within 1% of the record set a year earlier. He said May and June were particularly strong following a difficult April comparison. Open interest ended the quarter up 8% from a year earlier and 16% since the start of 2026.

Duffy also said CME delivered record capital efficiencies, saving customers an average of more than $95 billion in margin per day. He said 94% of CME’s first-half volume came from institutional customers, a figure he used repeatedly to frame the company’s response to questions about perpetual futures.

Revenue Hits Second-Quarter Record Lynne said CME generated more than $1.7 billion in revenue during the second quarter, up 1% from the same period in 2025. She said that marked a second-quarter record and the company’s second-highest quarterly revenue total ever, behind the first quarter of 2026.

The average rate per contract was $0.678, up $0.026 from the first quarter. Market data revenue rose 20% to $238 million, which Lynne said extended CME’s streak to 33 consecutive quarters of year-over-year market data revenue growth and marked the eighth straight quarter of record market data revenue.

Adjusted expenses were $521 million, or $412 million excluding license fees. Adjusted operating income totaled $1.2 billion, producing a 69.5% adjusted operating margin. Adjusted net income was $1.1 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.99, up 1% from the second quarter of 2025. Lynne said the adjusted net income margin was 63.4%.

CME returned $1.2 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including $468 million in regular quarterly dividends and $695 million through share repurchases.

For the first half of 2026, Lynne said volume was 10% ahead of the prior year, revenue increased 8% and adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 10%. She also said July volumes to date were tracking 18% ahead of the prior year.

Executives Push Back on Perpetual Futures Concerns Duffy said recent discussion of perpetual futures had overshadowed CME’s business performance. He argued that although the products are often described as futures, they function more like leveraged spot instruments and are not substitutes for the institutional hedging tools used by CME’s core customers.

“Perpetual futures are in no way substitutes for the institutional hedging tools that these customers rely on,” Duffy said. He said the products do not provide price or time certainty, which he called necessary components for hedging exposures.

Duffy said CME has the technical and operational capabilities to launch perpetual futures and has contract specifications ready if customer demand or market structure changes justify it. However, he said the company has not heard demand from its core customers. In response to a question from Jefferies analyst Dan Fannon, Duffy said he had spoken with senior executives and derivatives users at major institutional participants, including a large commercial energy firm, and was told they did not want CME to list the product.

Tim added that CME’s cryptocurrency business has continued to grow even as crypto perpetuals have existed outside the U.S. He said CME’s suite of cryptocurrency futures and options was up 44% in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025, and up 76% in June from a year earlier. He said CME was seeing between $4.5 billion and $6.5 billion per day in trading across its cryptocurrency complex, compared with about $270 million at a Bitcoin perpetual product introduced by Kalshi in July.

Duffy also raised concerns about whether perpetual products should be classified as swaps, citing the exchange of payments through funding rates. In response to Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Bedell, he said CME believes its litigation will show that such products are swaps, not futures.

New Products Include Crypto, Gold, Single Stock Futures and Compute Futures Duffy highlighted several product initiatives, including 24/7 trading for crypto futures, 24/7 trading for CME’s one-ounce gold contract, Single Stock futures, Treasury Link and Compute Futures.

He said Single Stock futures are scheduled to launch the following week and will simplify directional trading with capital efficiency. Duffy acknowledged that Single Stock futures had failed in an earlier market cycle but said timing is important and that current market conditions make the product more relevant.

Tim said CME’s equity complex has shown momentum, with second-quarter average daily volume of 8.6 million contracts, up 13% year over year. He said June equity volume was 10.1 million contracts, up 54% from a year earlier, while July volumes were running about 40% to 50% above July 2025. He also said the new Single Stock futures will be financially settled against the closing print of each stock.

Julie said retail brokers globally were “extremely excited” about the Single Stock futures launch and described the product as a significant retail growth catalyst. She said more than 35 retail partners were targeting readiness for day-one or week-one activity.

Duffy and Derek Sammann also discussed Compute Futures, which CME plans to launch in partnership with Silicon Data later in 2026. Sammann said the product will be a daily benchmark tracking the spot hourly rental cost of NVIDIA H100 GPUs. He said the contracts are intended to provide price discovery and risk-management tools for data centers, AI labs, cloud providers, asset managers, banks, energy firms, hedge funds and professional trading firms.

Market Data, Prediction Markets and Treasury Link On market data, Julie said CME’s second-quarter revenue benefited from pricing, professional subscriber growth, derived data revenue and growth in simulation trading device accounts. She said professional subscribers rose 3.5% quarter over quarter, while simulation trading device accounts were up 56% year over year. The quarter also included about $7 million in audits and catch-up payments for prior periods, compared with $3.8 million in the first quarter.

Asked about prediction markets, Lynne said CME has handled about 525 million event contracts since launch, including about 48 million contracts related to market events. She said more than 140,000 accounts traded event contracts during the quarter, up about 13% from the prior quarter, and average daily volume was above 4 million, up about 40% from the first quarter. Duffy said CME is being careful about its product set and repeated his view that some sports-related prediction markets resemble gambling.

At the end of the call, Duffy asked for additional commentary on Treasury Link, a planned fourth-quarter 2026 offering. Mike said Treasury Link will enable centralized spread trading between Treasury futures and BrokerTec cash Treasuries on CME Globex, using FX Link technology. He said the product is designed to connect two major U.S. Treasury liquidity pools and reduce execution lag risk in cash-futures spread transactions.

Duffy closed the call by emphasizing CME’s institutional base, capital efficiencies and product pipeline, saying the company remains focused on expanding its marketplace while maintaining protections and market integrity.

About CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) 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.

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasFinancials 

SummaryCME Group is rated Buy, supported by record results and a resilient, defensible futures franchise.CME's moat is anchored in open interest and margin efficiencies, not just market share, insulating it from FMX's cash bond competition.Three underappreciated growth drivers: Treasury clearing, retail expansion, and crypto, are poised to fuel future compounding.Despite a slightly premium valuation (~20x earnings), CME offers quality defensive exposure and strong fundamentals, making the recent dip a buying opportunity. JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

The Investment Thesis CME Group (CME) shares have had a rough time of late.

This comes at an interesting time. CME closed 2025 as the best year in its history, its fourth consecutive year

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

SummaryCompaniesTotal ADV down 1% from last yearCEO says perps don't appeal to core customersClearing and transaction fees fallJuly 22 (Reuters) - CME Group (CME.O), opens new tab beat Wall Street's second-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday, fueled by ​strong hedging demand, sending the derivatives exchange's shares up 6.1%.

Meanwhile, the company's outgoing CEO, Terry Duffy, ‌reiterated his criticism of perpetual futures, which are listed derivatives without an expiration date. These contracts allow traders to maintain positions indefinitely without the need to roll them over.

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"Strong business performance has been overshadowed by discussions surrounding perpetual futures," Duffy said in a post-earnings ​call with analysts.

The company's second-quarter adjusted profit of $2.99 per share beat analysts' estimates of $2.91 per share, according ​to data compiled by LSEG.

It was also higher than the $2.96 per share it recorded for ⁠the same period last year, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs, helping the derivatives exchange ​post record average daily volumes, or ADV.

In the current quarter, developments around the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the ​wider Middle East conflict kept markets volatile, which helped the exchange, but to a lesser extent.

The company's total ADV was down 1% from last year, largely as volumes in interest rate and energy contracts were down and that for metals trading was flat.

However, its ADV for equity ​indexes jumped 13% during the quarter, as investors showed interest in these products due to a 14.9% rise in ​the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab.

Agricultural and cryptocurrency ADV also rose in the second quarter.

Revenue in its market data and information services segment ‌increased ⁠20.2%, while its clearing and transaction fees fell 2.6%.

"Overall we view this as a solid quarter for CME on the back of tough 1Q26 & 2Q25 comparisons," Piper Sandler analysts said in a note.

CME CUSTOMERS HAVE NOT SOUGHT PERPETUAL FUTURESDespite the strong earnings, the company's stock is down 8% so far this year, partly as investors worry that the so-called "perps" — ​which secured regulatory approval on ​May 29 — would eat into ⁠traditional exchange operators' market share.

Duffy said the exchange has full technical and operational capabilities to launch perps, but has not seen any demand from its customers for the product.

"These ​products do not appeal to our core customers."

The stock has underperformed most of its ​major peers except ⁠New York Stock Exchange-parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N), opens new tab as of last close.

"We believe the bear case related to perpetual futures will prove to be a non-event for CME, but in the meantime it has created an attractive entry point for CME's shares," ⁠said analysts ​at Raymond James in a note.

Duffy, who took over the role ​of CEO about a decade ago at the derivatives exchange, will make way for insider Lynne Fitzpatrick, who will take over as CME's first ​female CEO on March 1 next year, the company announced in June.

Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

CME Group Inc. (CME) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 22, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Company Participants

Adam Minick - Investor Contact
Terrence Duffy - Chairman & CEO
Lynne Fitzpatrick - Senior MD, President & CFO
Tim McCourt - Senior MD & Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products
Derek Sammann - Senior MD & Global Head of Commodities Markets
Julie Winkler - Senior MD & Chief Commercial Officer
Suzanne Sprague - Senior MD, Group COO & Global Head of Clearing
Michael Dennis - Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Fixed Income

Conference Call Participants

Daniel Fannon - Jefferies LLC, Research Division
Alex Kramm - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Christopher Allen - Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division
Kenneth Worthington - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Patrick Moley - Piper Sandler & Co., Research Division
Brian Bedell - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Alexander Blostein - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Benjamin Budish - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division
Michael Cyprys - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
William Katz - TD Cowen, Research Division
Simon Alistair Clinch - Rothschild & Co Redburn, Research Division
William Qi - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Welcome to the CME Group Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions]

I will now turn the call over to Adam Minick. Please go ahead.

Adam Minick
Investor Contact

Good morning, and I hope you're all doing well today. Earlier this morning, we released our earnings commentary, which provides extensive details on the second quarter 2026, which we will be discussing on this call. I'll start with the safe harbor language, and then I'll turn it over to Terry.

Statements made on this call and in the other reference documents on our website that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes

For the quarter ended June 2026, CME Group (CME - Free Report) reported revenue of $1.71 billion, up 0.8% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.99, compared to $2.96 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1.34% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.68 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.91, the EPS surprise was +2.75%.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how CME performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

Average daily volume: 29.84 million compared to the 29.84 million average estimate based on four analysts.Average rate per contract- Interest rates: $0.48 compared to the $0.48 average estimate based on four analysts.Average rate per contract- Equity indexes: $0.61 versus $0.61 estimated by four analysts on average.Average rate per contract- Foreign exchange: $0.81 versus $0.81 estimated by four analysts on average.Average rate per contract- Energy: $1.13 versus the four-analyst average estimate of $1.13.Average rate per contract- Agricultural commodities: $1.43 versus $1.38 estimated by four analysts on average.Average daily volume- Metals: 941 thousand versus the four-analyst average estimate of 941.09 thousand.Average rate per contract: $0.68 compared to the $0.68 average estimate based on four analysts.Average daily volume- Interest rates: 14.53 million compared to the 14.53 million average estimate based on four analysts.Revenues- Other: $115.6 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $114.69 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +9.2%.Revenues- Market data and information services: $238.1 million versus $228.55 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +20.2% change.Revenues- Clearing and transaction fees: $1.35 billion versus $1.34 billion estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -2.6% change.View all Key Company Metrics for CME here>>>

Shares of CME have returned -2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

, /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2026.

The company reported revenue of $1.7 billion and operating income of $1.1 billion for the second quarter of 2026. Net income was $1.0 billion and diluted earnings per common share were $2.88. On an adjusted basis, operating income was $1.2 billion, net income was $1.1 billion and diluted earnings per common share were $2.99. Financial results presented on an adjusted basis for the second quarter of 2026 and 2025 exclude certain items, which are detailed in the reconciliation of non-GAAP results.1    

"The first half of 2026 was the strongest in CME Group's history," said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. "We delivered record H1 performance across revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share, all of which were powered by record trading in Q1 and our second-highest Q2 volumes ever. During Q2, market data revenue increased 20% to a record $238 million. Importantly, we provided more than $95 billion in daily margin efficiencies during the quarter, a new high that represents unparalleled capital savings that our clients can redeploy in their businesses. We also continue to innovate a number of new tools to help clients manage risk and pursue opportunities, including Single-Stock futures, 1-Ounce Gold contracts available 24/7, U.S. Treasury clearing and Compute futures."

Second-quarter 2026 average daily volume (ADV) was the third highest quarterly ADV reaching 29.8 million contracts, which included non-U.S. ADV of 9.1 million contracts.

Clearing and transaction fees revenue for second-quarter 2026 totaled $1.4 billion. The total average rate per contract was $0.678. Market data revenue totaled a record $238 million for second-quarter 2026.

1. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial results mentioned to the respective GAAP figures can be found within the Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Common Share charts at the end of the financial statements.

As of June 30, 2026, the company had $2.3 billion in cash (including $200 million deposited with Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, which is included in other current assets) and $3.4 billion of debt. The company paid dividends during the second quarter of approximately $468 million and repurchased $695 million in CME Group common shares.

CME Group will hold a Q&A conference call to discuss second-quarter 2026 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. A live audio webcast of the Q&A call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CME Group's website at investor.cmegroup.com under Events & Presentations. An archived recording will be available for up to two months after the call.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing.    

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. We want to caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the factors that might affect our performance are increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities, including increased competition from new entrants into our markets and consolidation of existing entities; our ability to keep pace with rapid technological developments, including our ability to complete the development, implementation and maintenance of the enhanced functionality required by our customers while maintaining reliability and ensuring that such technology is not vulnerable to security risks; our ability to continue introducing innovative and competitive new products and services on a timely, cost-effective basis, including through our electronic trading capabilities, and derive revenues that are commensurate with our efforts and expectations, and our ability to maintain the competitiveness of our existing products and services; our ability to adjust our fixed costs and expenses if our revenues decline; our ability to manage variable costs associated with CME Group's transition to the Google Cloud, and minimize duplicative costs of maintaining both on-premise and Google Cloud environments during the transition; the resilience of our electronic platforms and the soundness of our business continuity and disaster recovery plans, including in the event of cyberattacks and cyberterrorism or as impacted by a failure of or disruption at one of our suppliers; our ability to maintain existing customers at substantially similar trading levels, develop strategic relationships and attract new customers; our ability to expand and globally offer our products and services; changes in regulations, including the impact of any changes in laws or government policies with respect to our products or services or our industry, such as any changes to regulations and policies that require increased financial and operational resources from us or our customers, as well as the impact of tariffs and tax policy changes, restrictions on our ability to offer CME Group products and services in specific geographies or to specific customers or limitations or changes in underlying/physical product flows across geographies; the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights and our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others; decreases in revenue from our market data as a result of decreased demand or changes to regulations in various jurisdictions; changes in our rate per contract due to shifts in the mix of the products traded, the trading venue and the mix of customers (whether the customer receives member or non-member fees or participates in one of our various incentive programs) and the impact of our tiered pricing structure; the ability of our credit and liquidity risk management practices to adequately protect us from the credit risks of clearing firms and other counterparties, and to satisfy the margin and liquidity requirements associated with the BrokerTec matched principal business; the ability of our compliance and risk management programs to effectively monitor and manage our risks, including our ability to prevent errors and misconduct and protect our infrastructure against security breaches and misappropriation of our intellectual property assets; our dependence on third-party providers and exposure to risk from third parties, including risks related to the performance, reliability and security of technology used by, or facilities provided by, our third-party providers and third-party providers that our clients and third-parties rely on; our reliance on third-party distribution partners, including independent software vendors, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, broker-dealers, regulatory reporting and data distributors and platform operators, and other partners, for facilitating trading and for market data information, and potential impacts from changes in their business models and priorities; volatility in commodity, equity and fixed income prices, and price volatility of financial benchmarks and instruments such as interest rates, equity indices, fixed income instruments and foreign exchange rates; economic, social, political and market conditions, including new and existing geopolitical tensions or conflicts, the volatility of the capital and credit markets and the impact of economic conditions on the trading activity of our current and potential customers; our ability to accommodate increases in contract volume and market data and order transaction traffic across the entire trade cycle and the ability to implement enhancements meeting our regulatory obligations and customer needs without failure or degradation of the performance of our trading and clearing systems; our ability to execute our growth strategy and maintain our growth effectively; our ability to manage the risks, control the costs and achieve the synergies associated with our strategy for acquisitions, investments, alliances, strategic partnerships and joint ventures; variances in earnings on cash accounts and collateral that our clearing house holds; impact of CME Group pricing/fee level and structure and incentive changes; impact of aggregation services and internalization on trade flow and volumes; any negative financial impacts from changes to the terms of intellectual property and index rights; our ability to continue to generate funds and/or manage our indebtedness to allow us to continue to invest in our business; industry, channel partner and customer consolidation and/or concentration; decreases in trading and clearing activity; the imposition of a transaction tax or user fee on futures and options transactions and/or repeal of the 60/40 tax treatment of such transactions; increases in effective tax rates, borrowing costs, or changes in tax policy; our ability to maintain our brand and reputation; and the unfavorable resolution of material legal proceedings. For a detailed discussion and additional information concerning these and other factors that might affect our performance, see our other recent periodic filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 26, 2026, under the caption "Risk Factors".

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in millions)

June 30, 2026

December 31, 2025

ASSETS

Current Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$                 2,144.2

$                 4,416.9

Marketable securities

131.4

125.0

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

753.1

639.2

Other current assets (includes $4.4 and $6.5 in restricted cash)

491.7

522.1

Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions

158,110.7

159,656.1

Total current assets

161,631.1

165,359.3

Property, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization

351.2

362.7

Intangible assets—trading products

17,175.3

17,175.3

Intangible assets—other, net

2,494.6

2,610.7

Goodwill

10,505.8

10,514.7

Other assets

2,518.6

2,401.5

Total Assets

$             194,676.6

$             198,424.2

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current Liabilities:

Accounts payable

$                      68.0

$                      71.8

Other current liabilities

538.6

568.8

Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions

158,110.7

159,656.1

Total current liabilities

158,717.3

160,296.7

Long-term debt

3,424.2

3,422.3

Deferred income tax liabilities, net

5,220.9

5,242.2

Other liabilities

793.8

734.8

Total Liabilities

168,156.2

169,696.0

Total CME Group Shareholders' Equity

26,520.4

28,728.2

Total Liabilities and Equity

$             194,676.6

$             198,424.2

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)

Quarter Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Revenues

Clearing and transaction fees

$   1,352.5

$   1,388.0

$  2,895.1

$  2,725.3

Market data and information services

238.1

198.1

462.2

392.6

Other

115.6

105.9

229.0

216.4

Total Revenues

1,706.2

1,692.0

3,586.3

3,334.3

Expenses

Compensation and benefits

233.5

221.6

456.5

428.3

Technology

83.3

70.9

159.9

136.6

Professional fees and outside services

29.1

37.4

57.3

65.9

Amortization of purchased intangibles

56.0

56.1

112.1

111.3

Depreciation and amortization

28.2

27.3

55.4

54.6

Licensing and other fee agreements

109.1

96.2

215.9

192.8

Other

59.9

53.2

112.4

107.5

Total Expenses

599.1

562.7

1,169.5

1,097.0

Operating Income

1,107.1

1,129.3

2,416.8

2,237.3

Non-Operating Income (Expense)

Investment income

1,429.7

1,518.4

2,819.0

2,411.1

Interest and other borrowing costs

(43.6)

(44.0)

(87.2)

(85.7)

Equity in net earnings of unconsolidated subsidiaries

97.7

99.0

200.1

187.2

Other non-operating income (expense)

(1,263.2)

(1,372.4)

(2,510.1)

(2,174.8)

Total Non-Operating Income (Expense)

220.6

201.0

421.8

337.8

Income before Income Taxes

1,327.7

1,330.3

2,838.6

2,575.1

Income tax provision

285.9

305.2

642.5

593.8

Net Income

$   1,041.8

$   1,025.1

$  2,196.1

$  1,981.3

Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders of
CME Group - Basic(1)

$   1,041.8

$   1,012.2

$  2,200.4

$  1,956.4

Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders of
CME Group - Diluted(1)

$   1,041.8

$   1,012.2

$  2,196.1

$  1,956.4

Earnings per Share Attributable to Common
Shareholders of CME Group:

Basic

$         2.89

$         2.81

$        6.11

$        5.44

Diluted

2.88

2.81

6.06

5.43

Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:

Basic

360,684

359,658

360,005

359,636

Diluted(2)

361,282

360,355

362,233

360,297

1. The difference between Net Income and Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders of CME Group - Basic and Diluted is the result of the distribution of earnings allocated to preferred shares.

2. Preferred shares of 4,584,000 were all converted to Class A Common stock on March 5, 2026 with their weighted-average impact included in the Diluted shares starting in the first quarter of 2026.

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income

(dollars in millions)

Quarter Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Total Revenues

$    1,706.2

$    1,692.0

$  3,586.3

$  3,334.3

Adjusted Total Revenues

$    1,706.2

$    1,692.0

$  3,586.3

$  3,334.3

Total Expenses

$       599.1

$       562.7

$  1,169.5

$  1,097.0

Restructuring and severance

(6.0)

(1.4)

(10.0)

(2.5)

Deferred compensation(1)

(12.4)

(7.7)

(11.6)

(5.5)

Amortization of purchased intangibles

(56.0)

(56.2)

(112.1)

(111.3)

Strategic transaction-related (costs) credits

(1.0)

(2.8)

(1.6)

(2.8)

Real estate-related (costs) credits

0.7

8.1

—

8.1

Foreign exchange transaction gains (losses)

(0.3)

(3.5)

0.6

(5.9)

Unrealized and realized gains (losses) on assets

—

(0.4)

—

(0.4)

Litigation matters or settlements

(2.9)

(7.6)

(1.9)

(10.9)

Adjusted Total Expenses

$       521.2

$       491.2

$  1,032.9

$      965.8

Operating Income

$    1,107.1

$    1,129.3

$  2,416.8

$  2,237.3

Adjusted Operating Income

$    1,185.0

$    1,200.8

$  2,553.4

$  2,368.5

1. Includes $12.4 million and $11.6 million for changes in our non-qualified deferred compensation liability in the second quarter and first six months of 2026. This impact does not affect net income and adjusted net income, because the compensation and benefits change has an equal and offsetting change in investment income.

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Common Share

(dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)

Quarter Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Net Income

$    1,041.8

$    1,025.1

$  2,196.1

$  1,981.3

Restructuring and severance

6.0

1.4

10.0

2.5

Amortization of purchased intangibles(1)

60.0

69.4

120.1

137.6

Strategic transaction-related costs (credits)(2)

0.3

2.8

0.4

2.8

Real estate-related costs (credits)

(0.7)

(8.1)

—

(8.1)

Foreign exchange transaction (gains) losses

0.3

3.6

(0.6)

6.0

Unrealized and realized (gains) losses on investments

(3.9)

—

19.0

6.4

Unrealized and realized (gains) losses on assets

—

0.4

—

0.4

Litigation matters or settlements

2.9

7.6

1.9

10.9

Income tax effect related to above

(15.3)

(15.5)

(36.3)

(31.6)

Other income tax items(3)

(9.7)

(7.3)

(8.8)

(8.9)

Adjusted Net Income

$    1,081.7

$    1,079.4

$  2,301.8

$  2,099.3

Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Common
Shareholders of CME Group - Basic(4)

$    1,081.7

$    1,065.8

$  2,305.6

$  2,072.9

Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Common
Shareholders of CME Group - Diluted(4)

$    1,081.7

$    1,065.8

$  2,301.8

$  2,072.9

Earnings per Share Attributable to Common Shareholders of CME Group:

     Basic

$         2.89

$         2.81

$       6.11

$       5.44

     Diluted

2.88

2.81

6.06

5.43

Adjusted Earnings per Share Attributable to Common Shareholders of CME
Group:

     Basic

$         3.00

$         2.96

$       6.40

$       5.76

     Diluted

2.99

2.96

6.35

5.75

Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:

     Basic

360,684

359,658

360,005

359,636

     Diluted(5)

361,282

360,355

362,233

360,297

1. Includes $2.6 million and $5.2 million of amortization of purchased intangibles at S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and $1.4 million and $2.8 million of amortization of purchased intangibles at FanDuel Prediction Markets Holdings LLC in the second quarter and first six months of 2026. This is reported in Equity in net earnings of unconsolidated subsidiaries on the Consolidated Statements of Income.

2. The values shown above may differ from what is shown in the Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income as that schedule does not include adjustment items or portions of items included in non-operating results.

3. Other income tax items in the second quarter of 2026 include benefits related to the resolution of certain state income tax examinations and adjustments to tax reserves and tax receivables.

4. The difference between Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders of CME Group - Basic and Diluted is the result of the distribution of earnings allocated to preferred shares.

5. Preferred shares of 4,584,000 were all converted to Class A Common stock on March 5, 2026 with their weighted-average impact included in the Diluted shares starting in the first quarter of 2026.

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Quarterly Operating Statistics

2Q 2025

3Q 2025

4Q 2025

1Q 2026

2Q 2026

Trading Days

62

64

64

61

62

Quarterly Average Daily Volume (ADV)(1)

CME Group ADV (in thousands)

Product Line

2Q 2025

3Q 2025

4Q 2025

1Q 2026

2Q 2026

Interest rates

15,472

13,378

13,010

18,674

14,532

Equity indexes

7,661

6,278

7,738

8,655

8,633

Foreign exchange

1,096

834

853

1,193

989

Energy

3,082

2,295

2,523

3,985

2,667

Agricultural commodities

1,964

1,712

1,787

2,042

2,080

Metals

943

825

1,441

1,682

941

Total

30,217

25,322

27,353

36,231

29,843

Venue

CME Globex

28,097

23,418

25,542

33,633

27,935

Open outcry

993

989

816

1,241

830

Privately negotiated

1,127

915

995

1,357

1,078

Total

30,217

25,322

27,353

36,231

29,843

Quarterly Average Rate Per Contract (RPC)(1)

CME Group RPC

Product Line

2Q 2025

3Q 2025

4Q 2025

1Q 2026

2Q 2026

Interest rates

$          0.481

$          0.487

$          0.486

$          0.457

$          0.480

Equity indexes

0.635

0.652

0.611

0.597

0.605

Foreign exchange

0.772

0.841

0.847

0.780

0.813

Energy

1.138

1.214

1.245

1.084

1.131

Agricultural commodities

1.435

1.423

1.427

1.344

1.426

Metals

1.456

1.505

1.295

1.153

1.315

Average RPC

$          0.690

$          0.702

$          0.707

$          0.652

$          0.678

1. ADV and RPC includes futures and options on futures only.

CME-G

SOURCE CME Group

US equities advanced during Q2, supported by another quarter of better-than-expected corporate earnings and continued enthusiasm for companies benefiting from artificial intelligence-related investment. Our bottom five contributors to return in Q2 were Accenture, CME Group, Salesforce, Boston Scientific and EOG Resources. Our top five contributors to return in Q2 were Texas Instruments, Lam Research, NXP Semiconductors, Elevance Health and Alphabet.

Key Takeaways CME Group is expected to benefit from market data growth and higher clearing and transaction fee income. CME's equity index and agricultural volumes rose, while interest rate, energy and FX trading declined. Higher employee compensation and technology investments are expected to increase quarterly expenses. CME Group Inc. (CME - Free Report) is expected to register a decline in both top and bottom lines when it reports second-quarter 2026 results on July 22, before the opening bell.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CME’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.69 billion, indicating a 0.1% decrease from the year-ago reported figure.

The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.93 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CME’s second-quarter earnings has moved 2.3% south in the past 30 days. The estimate suggests a year-over-year decrease of 1%.

What the Zacks Model SaysOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for CME Group this time around. This is because the stock has the right combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), which increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is not the case, as you can see below.

Earnings ESP: CME Group has an Earnings ESP of -1.04%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate of $2.90 is pegged lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.93. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: CME Group currently carries a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell). 

Factors Likely to Shape Q2 ResultsCME Group’s second-quarter results are likely to benefit from its diversified product portfolio, heightened market volatility and strong competitive position.

Revenue growth is likely to have been aided by gains in market data and information services, as well as higher clearing, transaction and other fee-based income.

Increased volatility across asset classes appears to have boosted trading volumes, which, in turn, supported clearing and transaction fees. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for clearing and transaction fees stands at $1.4 billion, indicating a 1.7% decrease compared with the same period last year.

CME Group reported a quarterly average daily volume (ADV) of 29.8 million contracts in the second quarter, which declined 1% year over year. Trading activity decreases across multiple segments, including interest rates, energy and foreign exchange. Agricultural ADV of 2.1 million contracts in the second quarter of 2026 increased 6% from the prior-year period. Equity Index ADV of 8.6 million contracts increased 13% year over year.

Market data and information services revenues are likely to have benefited from pricing adjustments on certain products as well as increased demand and usage. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this segment is pegged at $227 million, suggesting a 14.6% year-over-year increase.

On the cost side, expenses are expected to have risen during the quarter, primarily due to higher spending on employee compensation and benefits, along with increased investment in technology.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are three finance stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.82% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.41, indicating a year-over-year increase of 38.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CBOE’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.

Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +8.84% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.77, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 10.1%.

CINF’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.

The Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +23.32% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $4.92, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 17.1%.

ALL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.

CME Group (CME - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 22. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade and other exchanges is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.98 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +0.7%.

Revenues are expected to be $1.7 billion, up 0.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.65% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for CME?For CME, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -2.82%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that CME will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that CME would post earnings of $3.37 per share when it actually produced earnings of $3.36, delivering a surprise of -0.30%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

CME doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

There will soon be a new way to trade shares of Tesla (TSLA +1.36%) and Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +1.70%). On June 27, commodities and futures exchange CME Group will introduce futures contracts on both tickers.

That won't be of much interest to most investors. For a small segment of the market, though, there's a case to be made for reaching into this toolbox.

But first things first. What are futures?

Image source: Getty Images.

Just know the leverage works both ways Simply put, like stock options, single-stock futures contracts are highly leveraged bets on that stock's price movement within a particular time frame. CME's futures will magnify SpaceX's and Tesla's price changes by a factor of 10 or even 100, allowing investors to capitalize on even modest changes in the underlying ticker's value. For every $1 put to work, you could see up to $100 worth of gain.

That leverage also works against you just as much, though, and unlike buying ordinary equity options, investors' potential losses on futures aren't limited to the amount of money put into a particular trade. If the stock in question moves too far in the wrong direction, your broker could require you to add more capital to the account. In theory, your potential loss is infinite, although most investors will let go of losing trades soon enough, even if it means locking in a loss.

Today's Change

(

1.70

%) $

2.53

Current Price

$

150.83

Sounds scary? It can be. And such leverage certainly isn't something most investors will want or need.

As was noted, however, there's a case to be made for utilizing these instruments. Namely, they're a way of temporarily hedging against an adverse move from a stock you may already hold a position in. For instance, if you own SpaceX but fear it may be due for a short-term drop, shorting futures on this stock will let you make some money on such a pullback. Conversely, if you've shorted Tesla shares, going long on Tesla futures -- even with just a relatively small trade -- will let you offset some of your loss if the stock moves higher.

Just remember that futures contracts eventually expire. You'll want to buy or short the ones with enough time left to do you enough good. Your broker can help you identify the symbol of the specific contract you may be looking for.

Today's Change

(

1.36

%) $

5.37

Current Price

$

399.43

Of course, if you simply want to make a bold, highly leveraged bet on a move from Tesla or SpaceX shares with a big potential payoff (and don't mind the risk), futures are a way of doing so.

Also know that not all brokerage accounts are necessarily capable of buying or shorting futures contracts. They usually require special permissions and, often, a minimum amount of capital.

Not for the inexperienced They're still not for everyone. And, given the extreme volatility of both SpaceX and Tesla stocks, even veteran futures traders should think carefully before buying or shorting futures on either ticker.

It's still an interesting way to temporarily curb your risk if you're long or short either stock, though.

If you're curious as to whether or not you're ready to add futures to your investing repertoire, you may want to hypothetically "paper trade" them -- not using actual money -- for a while to make sure you understand how they work and how they trade.

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Based in Chicago, CME Group (CME - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -13.36%. Currently paying a dividend of $1.30 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.2%. In comparison, the Securities and Exchanges industry's yield is 1.63%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.38%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.20 is up 4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, CME Group has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.52%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. CME's current payout ratio is 44%, meaning it paid out 44% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

CME is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $12.28 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 9.64%.

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CME is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Offering to include standard- and micro-sized contracts across 50+ leading U.S. stocks Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Nvidia and SpaceX among listed firms , /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced it will launch Single Stock futures across more than 50 of the top U.S. stocks on July 27, pending completion of all regulatory review and processes. This new offering will include 55 larger-sized and 22 Micro-sized futures contracts, providing market participants with additional flexibility to manage their equity exposure.

"Clients want to manage equity price risk with more precision and with the capital efficiencies of a centralized marketplace," said Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products at CME Group. "Our new Single Stock futures will simplify access to the most liquid U.S. stocks and enable traders to easily transition between broad market index hedging and targeted single-name exposure."

Demand for equity derivatives continues to grow across both institutional and retail audiences, with new volume and open interest (OI) highs in 2026 including:

Futures and options average daily volume (ADV) of 8.6 million contracts and average OI of 11.7 million contracts. Futures ADV of 7.2 million contracts, up 12% year-over-year, and record average futures OI of 5.4 million contracts. The contracts will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME. For more information on these products, please visit cmegroup.com/ssf.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CME-G

SOURCE CME Group

CHICAGO, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced its longest-serving Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy will transition to Executive Chairman on March 1, 2027. Lynne Fitzpatrick, currently President and Chief Financial Officer, will be named Chief Executive Officer and will join the CME Group Board of Directors at that time.

Duffy, will hand the reins to Fitzpatrick, currently president and chief financial officer, on March 1, 2027.

The succession will mark the end of an era for the derivatives exchange, which transformed under Duffy's long run.

Outgoing CME Group CEO Terrence Duffy said on CNBC's "Fast Money" on Wednesday afternoon that the exchange operator will sue the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the agency's move to approve perpetual futures.

The CFTC approved prediction market platform Kalshi in late May to begin offering bitcoin perpetual futures, or "perps." These are futures contracts that have no expiration date but allow traders to speculate on a price without owning the underlying asset. This approval marked the first time that the asset class, already popular overseas, was allowed in the U.S. Kalshi has since expanded its perps offerings to include other cryptocurrencies.

Duffy asserted that perpetual futures are actually swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act. He said this will be the basis of the CME's lawsuit, which will be filed on Thursday.

"We have an exclusive license with every single provider of the benchmarks. So all of these would have to go through CME regardless of the perpetual," Duffy said on "Fast Money."

"They would have to list them as swaps, if that's the way that it came out," he added.

watch now

Duffy, who will be stepping down as CEO in March 2027, added that he'd been working on this plan with his board for the past eight months, and that he was "always up for a good battle."

"I've never shied away from one, and I won't shy away from this," he said. "I'm prepared, and I will be prepared to go through this. And that's why I wanted to announce on your show that we will be filing this litigation tomorrow, because we are not taking this lightly."

The CFTC did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Earlier this week, CFTC chair Michael Selig defended his agency's decision to approve perpetual futures domestically in an appearance on CNBC's "Fast Money."

"It's time to approve regulated futures contracts that have no expiration date," he said. "We're going to make sure the product's available, but it's well regulated here in the U.S."

Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Based in Chicago, CME Group (CME - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -7.52%. Currently paying a dividend of $1.30 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.06%. In comparison, the Securities and Exchanges industry's yield is 1.48%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.44%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.20 is up 4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, CME Group has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.52%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. CME's current payout ratio is 44%, meaning it paid out 44% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for CME for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $12.28 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 9.64%.

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, CME is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors looking for stocks in the Securities and Exchanges sector might want to consider either London Stock Exchange Group plc - Unsponsored ADR (LSEGY - Free Report) or CME Group (CME - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

London Stock Exchange Group plc - Unsponsored ADR and CME Group are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that LSEGY's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

LSEGY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.32, while CME has a forward P/E of 20.06. We also note that LSEGY has a PEG ratio of 1.46. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CME currently has a PEG ratio of 2.75.

Another notable valuation metric for LSEGY is its P/B ratio of 1.92. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CME has a P/B of 3.35.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to LSEGY's Value grade of B and CME's Value grade of D.

LSEGY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that LSEGY is likely the superior value option right now.

On June 16, 2026, we conduct a DCF analysis for CME Group Inc CME , which has shown mixed price performance recently. The stock has increased by 6.1% over the past week but has decreased by 10.5% in the last month. Year-to-date, it has only gained 0.3%, and over the past year, it has risen by 2.6%. Here are some key points from our analysis:

DCF Earnings-based intrinsic value of $193.55 vs current price of $266.08 (margin of safety: -37.5%) DCF FCF-based intrinsic value of $189.44 vs current price (second opinion shows -40.5% margin of safety) GF Score™ of 88/100 indicates strong reliability of the DCF inputs What Is CME Worth? DCF Earnings-Based Model The DCF earnings-based model for CME Group Inc uses a two-stage growth approach. In the first stage, we project earnings growth for the next ten years, followed by a terminal phase where growth stabilizes. The assumptions for this model are summarized in the table below:

Parameter Value Current EPS (TTM, excl. non-recurring) $11.77 10-Year Growth Rate 10.4% 10-Year Treasury Rate 4.44% Discount Rate (ceil(Treasury) + 6%) 11% Terminal Growth Rate 4% In the first stage (Years 1-10), we expect EPS to grow at 10.4% annually, discounted at a rate of 11%. The value derived from this growth stage is $114.26 per share. In the second stage (Years 11-20), we assume a terminal growth rate of 4%, also discounted at 11%, resulting in a terminal stage value of $79.29 per share. The calculation summary is as follows:

Stage Description Value Growth Stage (Years 1-10) EPS growing at 10.4%, discounted at 11% $114.26 Terminal Stage (Years 11-20) 4% terminal growth, discounted at 11% $79.29 Intrinsic Value Growth + Terminal $193.55 Comparing the current price of $266.08 with the intrinsic value of $193.55 indicates that CME is modestly overvalued, with a margin of safety of -37.5%. It is important to note that GuruFocus uses EPS excluding non-recurring items, as research shows stock prices correlate more closely with earnings than free cash flow. For more detailed calculations, visit the CME DCF Calculator.

What Does the Free Cash Flow DCF Say? The free cash flow (FCF) based intrinsic value for CME Group Inc is calculated at $189.44. When compared to the earnings-based intrinsic value of $193.55, both models suggest that CME is modestly overvalued, with the FCF model indicating a margin of safety of -40.5%. This reinforces the notion that the stock is trading above its intrinsic value based on both earnings and cash flow assessments.

How Does GF Value™ Compare to the DCF Models? The GF Value™ for CME Group Inc is calculated at $270.47, providing a third perspective on the valuation. GF Value™ is GuruFocus' proprietary measure derived from historical trading multiples, past business growth, and future performance estimates. While the DCF models indicate that CME is overvalued, GF Value™ suggests a slight undervaluation. This discrepancy highlights the importance of considering multiple valuation methods. For more information, visit the GF Value™ page.

What Does CME's GF Score™ Tell Us? The GF Score™ ranks stocks from 0 to 100 based on five key aspects: Financial Strength, Profitability, Growth, Valuation, and Momentum. Stocks with higher GF Score™ values have been found to generate higher long-term returns based on backtested data from 2006-2021. The GF Score™ for CME is 88/100, indicating strong fundamentals. The table below summarizes the key metrics:

Metric Rating GF Score™ 88/100 Financial Strength 5/10 Profitability 8/10 Growth 10/10 Valuation 9/10 Momentum 4/10 The predictability rank for CME is 2/5 stars, indicating that the DCF model may be less reliable for this stock due to its lower predictability. For further insights, visit the CME stock page.

Key Assumptions and Limitations It is important to note that DCF models are highly sensitive to the assumptions made regarding growth rates and discount rates. Stocks with low predictability ratings, such as CME's 2/5 stars, tend to produce less reliable DCF estimates. Additionally, the terminal growth rate of 4% is a simplifying assumption that may not reflect future market conditions.

What This Means for Investors In summary, all three valuation models—DCF earnings, DCF FCF, and GF Value™—suggest that CME Group Inc is currently overvalued. The earnings-based intrinsic value is $193.55, the FCF-based intrinsic value is $189.44, and the GF Value™ is $270.47, indicating a range of perspectives on the stock's valuation. Overall, the consensus points towards CME being overvalued at its current price of $266.08. For the full DCF analysis, visit the CME DCF Calculator. You can also explore the GF Value™ page, or use the GuruFocus Stock Screener to find undervalued predictable companies.

Frequently Asked Questions What is CME's intrinsic value based on DCF?

Answer: earnings-based $193.55, FCF-based $189.44

Is CME overvalued or undervalued?

Answer: CME is currently overvalued based on DCF and GF Value™ consensus.

How reliable is the DCF model for CME?

Answer: The DCF model's reliability is limited due to a predictability rank of 2/5.

This stock alert was generated using automated technology and GuruFocus financial data to provide readers with timely and accurate market reporting. This content was reviewed by GuruFocus editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

CME Group Inc. (CME) Presents at Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference Transcript

PASADENA, Calif., June 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wedbush Securities, a leading financial services firm, today announced its full support for CME Group’s launch of 24/7 Cryptocurrency futures trading, providing clients with uninterrupted access to regulated digital asset markets and risk management tools.

This complements Wedbush’s existing 24/7 derivatives offerings, adding to its current support of the Coinbase Derivatives Exchange and its prediction offering at CME and Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA).

The launch further strengthens Wedbush’s position as a leading provider of multi-asset clearing, execution, and technology solutions for professional traders, institutions, and introducing brokers seeking access to the next generation of global financial markets.

Wedbush has been operating around the clock for over a year and was ready on day one of the CME Group launch, reflecting the firm's ongoing investment in operations, technology, and infrastructure, and its commitment to clients at the vanguard of financial market innovation.

“Cryptocurrency markets operate continuously, and as financial innovation accelerates, our clients expect the same level of access, reliability, and support from their clearing and execution partner. Our responsibility is to ensure clients can access new opportunities with confidence,” said Bob Fitzsimmons, Executive Vice President of Wedbush Securities. “We remain committed to providing the technology, expertise, and service needed to participate in evolving global markets.”

Wedbush's investment in technology talent, infrastructure, and in-house capabilities ensures the firm remains ready to support clients across digital assets, prediction markets, and the full spectrum of next-generation market structures.

About Wedbush Securities

Wedbush Securities is a leading Securities commission merchant and division of Wedbush Securities Inc., providing clearing, execution, risk management, and technology solutions to institutional, professional, and introducing broker clients worldwide. Through a combination of proprietary technology, experienced market professionals, and a commitment to innovation, Wedbush delivers reliable access to global securities and derivatives markets.

Media Inquiries:
Serina Molano
[email protected]
213-688-4564

Higher-for-Longer Rates Could Reward These 3 Overlooked StocksCME Group NASDAQ: CME Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy sharply criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approval of a Bitcoin perpetual futures contract for Kalshi, saying the product does not fit his view of a futures contract and raises risks for retail investors.

Speaking at an investor conference, Duffy said the CFTC handled the contract under what he described as a full review process for products that are “new or novel or complex,” but completed that review faster than the shorter self-certification process. He said that troubled him because the agency’s order described the product as novel and complex.

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Gold, Silver, and Copper Are Surging—Here Are 3 Smart Ways to Play ItDuffy argued that the Commodity Exchange Act defines a futures contract as one with a future delivery or expiration date. “Nowhere does it contemplate that it can go on in perpetuity,” he said. “A perpetuity or perpetual is a contract that never ends.” He said if the product is anything, “that is a swap.”

Duffy Raises Concerns Over Leverage and Retail Risk Duffy said his concerns center on leverage, auto-liquidation and whether perpetual contracts can be used effectively by institutions for hedging. He compared leverage available in some European Union perpetual products, which he said can range from 20 times to 250 times, with CME’s U.S. institutional crypto leverage of 5-to-1.

Capitalize on Volatility: 3 Finance Stocks Thriving in 2025“How can that possibly be something that’s sustainable?” Duffy said.

He said perpetual contracts rely on funding rates to keep prices tied to spot markets, which can erode the economics of a hedge. Using an airline hedging crude oil as an example, Duffy said a company could face funding-rate costs as prices rise, undermining the protection the hedge was intended to provide.

Duffy also warned that high leverage could attract retail traders who may not understand the risks. He said he has spent decades building retail participation with education and tools, but believes some highly leveraged products could put customers in positions they should not be in.

“I really believe it’s 2007,” Duffy said, comparing the current speculation environment to the housing market period before the financial crisis. He clarified later that his reference to Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX was about leverage and auto-liquidation models, not an accusation of wrongdoing against Kalshi or its leadership.

CME’s Stance on Perpetuals Remains Undecided Asked whether CME would participate if perpetual products proliferate in the U.S., Duffy said he was not saying the company would or would not enter the market. However, he repeatedly said the product does not align with CME’s core institutional risk-management business.

“A perpetual is unhedgeable,” Duffy said. “A perpetual is tied to the spot market.”

Duffy said 85% to 90% of CME’s business is institutionally driven, and the company has 135 million open positions and holds $400 billion of capital on behalf of major institutions. He said CME is not focused on “battling away for the small retail participants with no capital.”

On a separate issue, Duffy said he believes an S&P 500 perpetual product licensed to TradeXYZ on the Hyperliquid blockchain infringes on CME’s licensing agreement with S&P Global. “I know it’s infringing on my license agreement with them,” he said, adding that CME is working with S&P Global and expects to reach a solution over time.

Macro Risk and New Product Areas Asked about the environment for CME’s business after a record first quarter in which average daily volume rose 22% and open interest increased 11%, Duffy said geopolitical risk remains the largest risk facing markets. He cited conflict involving Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine and potential future tensions involving China and Taiwan.

Duffy said investors may be too dismissive of these risks and emphasized the importance of portfolio diversification and risk management. He said many investors remain concentrated in a small number of major technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks.

CME is also preparing to relaunch single-stock futures. Duffy said the key difference from the prior OneChicago effort is timing, not structure. He said the company expects to focus on about 50 or fewer of the world’s largest market-cap companies and sees the product as a risk-management tool for both retail and institutional investors.

Duffy also discussed CME’s partnership with Silicon Data for compute futures, describing the potential asset class as a way to manage risk tied to GPUs, CPUs and data-center-related infrastructure. He said product specifications have not yet been released, but he is “more excited about the potential of the asset class to be traded.”

Prediction Markets, Capital Returns and Efficiency Duffy said CME’s prediction market effort with FanDuel began as a distribution opportunity, leveraging FanDuel’s large customer base. The analyst noted that since going live in December, the business has surpassed 270 million contracts traded and attracted more than 150,000 new accounts.

Duffy said he views prediction markets as gambling, but added that CME will participate where regulators allow the products and where contracts do not violate Commodity Exchange Act restrictions on contracts readily susceptible to manipulation. He said CME has seen encouraging activity in economic-event contracts, at times exceeding sports-related contracts.

On capital allocation, Duffy said he remains committed to returning capital to shareholders through dividends and other means, while also pursuing acquisitions only when they benefit CME’s users and, by extension, shareholders. The analyst said CME returned $3.2 billion to shareholders in the first quarter and had another $758 million in asset sale proceeds left to deploy.

Looking ahead, Duffy said CME’s biggest opportunities will likely come from improving market efficiencies. He pointed to capital efficiencies CME creates for large participants and said future innovations could include stablecoin applications within CME’s ecosystem to reduce payment friction and support 24/7 trading.

About CME Group NASDAQ: CMECME 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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, /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, announced the launch of Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures.

At expiration, these contracts are financially settled to the value of the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index, which measures the performance of the largest and most actively traded cryptocurrencies. As of June 9 the index includes bitcoin and bitcoin cash, ether, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, and lumens.

"With trading now officially underway, our new Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures represent a major milestone in the expansion of our regulated digital asset marketplace," said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. "In today's volatile markets, investors are increasingly seeking diversified exposure to the cryptocurrency ecosystem while retaining the capital efficiencies and transparency of a regulated futures marketplace. These contracts give clients a cost-efficient tool to hedge their risk or directly pursue broad-based crypto opportunities."

"As investor participation in digital assets continues to grow, so does demand for benchmarks built with the same governance and transparency expected in other asset classes," said Sean Wasserman, Head of Index Product Management at Nasdaq. "Futures linked to the index are a natural extension of how index-based frameworks support market development."

"The launch of NCI futures is another sign of crypto's maturation and its ongoing intersection with traditional financial market infrastructure," said Mick McLaughlin, U.S. Chief Executive Officer and Head of Global Distribution, Hashdex Asset Management. "Since 2018, our goal has been to provide investors institutional-quality access to digital assets in the same way they access other asset classes. Today's announcement advances our vision, and represents a meaningful step in allowing investors and advisors to proactively manage and hedge crypto portfolios through a regulated and index-oriented approach.

Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures are listed on and subject to the rules of CME. For more information on these products, please visit https://www.cmegroup.com/nasdaqcrypto.

About CME Group

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CME-G

SOURCE CME Group

Serving as the Federal Reserve Chair isn't easy. Kevin Warsh is already finding that out. And he hasn't even chaired his first Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting yet.

Actually, Warsh's job just got much harder. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May employment numbers last week. Nonfarm payrolls rose to a seasonally adjusted 172,000, more than doubling the Dow Jones (the company, not the stock index) consensus estimate of 80,000.

This blowout jobs report makes it very difficult for Warsh to cut interest rates. Instead, it boosts the chances that a rate increase will be needed. An eventual showdown between the new Fed chair and President Trump now appears to be in motion.

Image source: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok.

Putting the jobs numbers in context Why would positive employment numbers make Warsh's job harder? Warsh would probably love to cut interest rates and make the president happy. However, like all Fed chairs, he must balance the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices.

When job numbers are weak, the Fed can justify lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy. But it can only do so when inflation is also under control, since a booming economy tends to drive inflation higher. Unfortunately for Warsh, the exact opposite of these two scenarios is currently unfolding.

Employment remains strong overall. Granted, job gains were heavily concentrated in two areas. Leisure and hospitality added 70,000 jobs in May, while local governments added 55,000 jobs. However, the Warsh-led Fed won't find much support for rate cuts in the latest data.

Meanwhile, inflation continues to rise. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April was 3.8%, well above the 2% level the Fed has historically targeted. The May inflation numbers are scheduled to be released on June 10 (after this article was written and published). If the CPI stays close to 3.8% or rises further, the pressure on Warsh to forgo near-term rate cuts will be intense.

CME Group's (CME +2.80%) FedWatch now projects a 98.2% chance that the FOMC will leave rates unchanged at the meeting next week. Furthermore, FedWatch estimates that the odds of a rate increase rise steadily throughout the rest of this year and into early 2027, topping 80% by March of next year.

President Trump has made it clear that he wants rate cuts. He repeatedly criticized Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not lowering rates quickly enough. The president stated at a rally just hours after Warsh was sworn in that everyone will "be very, very happy" if interest rates come down.

Did the strong May jobs report make President Trump more open to the possibility that rate increases may be necessary? Nope. He said in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, "Nowadays when you have good reports, the market goes down because they think they're going to raise interest rates. There's no reason to raise interest rates."

The president also doubled down on his view about rate cuts, stating, "We should actually lower interest rates." He said, "Growth does not cause inflation."

NBC's Kristen Welker asked Trump if he would be upset if the Fed raises rates. He replied, "I'm-- I'm-- living with Kevin. I have a lot of respect for him, but my feeling is that when a country is doing well, they shouldn't be penalized by immediately raising interest rates."

However, Warsh could quickly find himself the object of Trump's ire just as Powell did if he doesn't go along with the president's wishes. And his desire to dramatically shrink the Fed's balance sheet could push interest rates higher regardless of the FOMC's actions.

Between a rock and a hard place Warsh could advocate for cutting rates at the FOMC meeting next week. If he does so, though, he would go against the views of most economists, given persistent high inflation and better-than-expected employment numbers. He would also almost certainly be outvoted by other FOMC members.

A push for rate cuts would also likely be viewed as a capitulation to the president. Warsh probably doesn't want to be seen as weakening the Fed's political independence in his first FOMC meeting as chair.

On the other hand, President Trump doesn't pull any punches in verbally attacking those who oppose his agenda. Warsh's honeymoon period with the president could come to a grinding halt.

Maybe Warsh can avoid a near-term clash with the president by supporting leaving rates unchanged for now while giving lip service to potential rate cuts in the future. But if inflation remains high and the jobs numbers remain strong, Warsh will either face a showdown with the man who nominated him to his position or lose credibility with Wall Street.

Any way you look at it, the new Fed chair is caught between a rock and a hard place. Investors should be prepared for stock market volatility.

, /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, along with Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment insights, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year licensing agreement for CME Group to launch derivatives products based on key Morningstar equity index benchmarks, including the Morningstar US Total Market, Large Cap, Large Cap Value, Large Cap Growth, Mid Cap, and Small Cap Indexes.

Through this exclusive agreement, CME Group will offer derivatives on the Morningstar Market Indexes, currently rebranding from CRSP, for the first time, enabling clients to utilize derivatives based on the indexes which underpin over $3 trillion in linked assets.

"We are pleased to partner with Morningstar to help unlock more precise, next-generation risk management tools for the global investment community," said Tim McCourt, CME Group Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products. "Together, CME Group's deeply liquid equity derivatives marketplace paired with Morningstar's data-driven, benchmark ecosystem is expected to allow us to provide our global clients with an optimized framework to safely navigate market volatility and capture new opportunities."

"We're excited to collaborate with CME Group to offer derivative products for the first time on the Morningstar Market Indexes, the most definitive and comprehensive measures of the US equity market," added Morningstar Indexes President Amelia Furr. "With our acquisition of CRSP earlier this year, we have become a leading provider of U.S. equity benchmarks, and the new relationship with CME Group will accelerate our growth even further. Most exciting, we expect to open new doors and bring our high-quality equity indexes to an entirely new segment of the global investment marketplace."

About CME Group 
As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The Company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers and owners, retirement plan providers and sponsors, institutional investors in the debt and private capital markets, and alliances and redistributors. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, debt securities, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with approximately $370 billion in AUMA as of March 31, 2026. The Company operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in 32 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on LinkedIn @Morningstar.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations about future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as "aim," "committed," "consider," "estimate," "future," "goal," "is designed to," "maintain," "may," "might," "objective," "ongoing," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "possible," "potential," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "prospects," "continue," "strategy," "strive," "will," "would," "determine," "evaluate," or the negative thereof, and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the events we discuss not to occur or to differ significantly from what we expect. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, failing to achieve the anticipated benefits of the licensing agreement between CME Group and Morningstar. If any of these risks and uncertainties materialize, actual future results and other future events may vary significantly from what we expect. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. You are, however, advised to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects, and about new or additional risks, uncertainties and assumptions in our future filings with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

About Morningstar Indexes
Morningstar Indexes was built to keep up with the evolving needs of investors—and to be a leading-edge advocate for them. Morningstar's rich heritage as a transparent, investor-focused leader in data and research uniquely equips Morningstar Indexes to support individuals, institutions, wealth managers and advisors in navigating investment opportunities across all major asset classes, styles, and strategies. In February 2026, the acquisition of CRSP brought the CRSP Market Indexes – benchmarks for over $3 trillion in US equities – into the Morningstar Indexes family. Additionally, CRSP's Research Data Products, renowned for their academic rigor, historical depth and accuracy, further enhances Morningstar's equity benchmark and data capabilities. This powerful combination unites two trusted sources of market insight, reinforcing a shared commitment to transparency, quality and investor-focused solutions. Please visit indexes.morningstar.com for more information.

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SOURCE CME Group; Morningstar, Inc.