CME Group Inc. (CME)

FairStock Score: 53/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

CME Group is the kind of franchise I admire: it operates futures and options markets and clearing services worldwide, and in fiscal Q3 2026, the quarter ended 2026-09-30, it reported revenue of $1.7B, net income of $1.0B, and diluted EPS of $2.89. In fiscal Q3 2025, the quarter ended 2025-09-30, those figures were $1.5B, $908.0M, and $2.49, so the latest filed quarter improved. The business is highly profitable, carries low debt with a D/E of 0.15, and FairStock calculates ROE of 15.80%. Its exchange-and-clearing network gives it a durable competitive position. But even a fine business can be a poor investment at the wrong price. At the 2026-10-26 close of $308.06, FairStock calculates a P/E of 26.13, P/B of 4.17, FCF yield of 3.8%, PEG of 15.91, EV/EBITDA of 18.18, and a Graham Number of $139.94, implying a margin of safety of -118.46%. Long-term growth has been steady—the computed Lynch category is STALWART, with profit up 14.1% a year over five years and revenue up 6.0%—but recent revenue growth was 0.84% and profit growth 1.63%. FairStock's Piotroski F-Score is 4/9 and Altman Z-Score is 0.48. My conclusion: CME is a high-quality business, but the price leaves no Graham-style margin of safety and is discounting steady future compounding.

In plain English: CME Group runs futures and options markets and clearing services around the world. It is a very profitable business with low debt, but recent sales and profit growth has been slow. At the 2026-10-26 close of $308.06, the shares look expensive compared with the company's current profits and assets, not cheap.

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Data as of 2026-10-26 close · note generated 2026-10-28 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q3 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer