Cme Group — Financial Results
Revenue and Profit Rose Steadily in 2025
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenues | $6,520.6M | $6,130.1M | +6% |
| Net income | $4,072.2M | $3,525.8M | +15% |
| Diluted EPS | $11.16 | $9.67 | +15% |
| Operating margin | 64.9% | 64.1% | +0.8pp |
CME grew revenues by 6% in 2025 while keeping expense growth to just 4%, allowing profit to expand faster than revenue — a hallmark of a well-run exchange business. Net income jumped 15%, and the operating margin (the share of revenue left after expenses) ticked up to 64.9%, meaning nearly two-thirds of every dollar earned flows through to profit.
Trading Volumes Hit Record Levels Driven by Global Uncertainty
| Product | 2025 Avg Daily Volume (000s) | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metals | 988 | 736 | +34% |
| Equity indexes | 7,410 | 6,847 | +8% |
| Energy | 2,695 | 2,488 | +8% |
| Agricultural | 1,853 | 1,711 | +8% |
| Interest rates | 14,203 | 13,716 | +4% |
Average daily volume (contracts traded per day) rose 6% overall to 28.1 million contracts, with metals leading the way at +34%, driven by gold and silver as investors sought safe-haven assets. Tariff uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and Federal Reserve policy debates all pushed customers toward CME's risk-management products — essentially, turbulent markets are good for CME's business.
Market Data Revenue Jumped 13%, Adding a Reliable Income Stream
Market data and information services revenue climbed from $710.2M to $803.1M, a 13% increase. This revenue comes from selling real-time and historical trading data to subscribers — it does not depend on trading volume the same way transaction fees do. The growth came from both price increases and higher usage, making it a steadily growing, relatively predictable complement to CME's volume-driven core business.
A Large One-Time Gain Came from Selling the OSTTRA Joint Venture
In the fourth quarter of 2025, CME sold its stake in OSTTRA (a post-trade services joint venture) and recorded a $306.1 million gain. This was a meaningful one-time boost to non-operating income and contributed to the 81% surge in total non-operating income. Investors should note that this gain will not repeat in 2026.
Cash Generation Was Strong, and CME Declared a Large Variable Dividend
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $4,277.1M | $3,690.5M | +16% |
| Cash on hand (year-end) | $4.4B | $2.9B | +52% |
CME generated $4.3 billion in cash from operations and ended the year with $4.4 billion in cash. The board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share plus an additional variable annual dividend of $6.15 per share in February 2026 — the variable dividend reflects strong prior-year performance and is not guaranteed to repeat at the same level each year.