Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin69.7%
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin61.4%
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Financial Health
C
Years to Pay Off Debt3.0 yrs
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt-$420M
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital$3.0B
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Valuation
F
Margin of Safety0.0%
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book3.34x
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Cash Flow
A
Free Cash Flow$1.2B
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income1.9%
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings$1.3B
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
About CME Group Inc.
CME Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, and foreign exchange; and agricultural, energy, and metals commodities, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services. The company provides clearing house services, including clearing, settling, and guaranteeing futures and options contracts, and cleared swaps products traded through its exchanges. In addition, the company offers a range of market data services, including real-time and historical data services. It serves professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, governments, and central banks. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
CME Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, and foreign exchange; and agricultural, energy, and metals commodities, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services. The company provides clearing house services, including clearing, settling, and guaranteeing futures and options contracts, and cleared swaps products traded through its exchanges. In addition, the company offers a range of market data services, including real-time and historical data services. It serves professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, governments, and central banks. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Margin of Safety
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Mr. Market is currently offering CME Group Inc. at $246.38.
The business passes only 2 of 6 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.
At $246.38, the stock trades at a 239% premium to its Graham Number of $72.60. Graham would consider this price speculative.
There is no margin of safety at the current price. Graham would advise patience and waiting for a better entry point.
Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign..
Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.
Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Gross Profit %
88.1%▲
85.4%
Operating Margin %
69.7%▲
61.8%
Net Income %
61.4%▼
71.7%
Diluted EPS
3.18▼
3.24
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Total Assets
$202.0B
$198.4B
N/A
Total Debt
$3.4B▲
$3.4B•
N/A
Working Capital
$3.0B▼
$5.1B•
N/A
Years to Pay Debt
2.97
2.89
N/A
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Free Cash Flow
$1.2B▲
$1.1B•
N/A
Owner Earnings
$1.3B
$1.3B
N/A
CapEx % of Net Income
1.9%
2.7%
N/A
Income Statement
2026
2025
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items
327,875
445,188
Tax Rate For Calcs
0
0
Normalized EBITDA
248,500
-72,200
Total Unusual Items
1,389,300
1,776,700
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill
1,389,300
1,776,700
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest
1,154,300
1,182,900
Reconciled Depreciation
83,300
82,400
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue
223,000
241,100
EBITDA
1,637,800
1,704,500
EBIT
1,554,500
1,622,100
Net Interest Income
-43,600
-43,700
Interest Expense
43,600
43,700
Normalized Income
92,875
-148,612
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation
1,154,300
1,182,900
Total Expenses
570,400
629,100
Total Operating Income As Reported
1,309,700
1,019,600
Diluted Average Shares
363,208
360,233
Basic Average Shares
359,318
359,633
Diluted EPS
0
0
Basic EPS
0
0
Diluted NI Availto Com Stockholders
1,154,300
1,168,000
Average Dilution Earnings
-13,700
Net Income Common Stockholders
1,168,000
1,168,000
Otherunder Preferred Stock Dividend
0
9,200
Preferred Stock Dividends
-13,700
5,700
Net Income
1,154,300
1,182,900
Net Income Including Noncontrolling Interests
1,154,300
1,182,900
Net Income Continuous Operations
1,154,300
1,182,900
Tax Provision
356,600
395,500
Pretax Income
1,510,900
1,578,400
Other Income Expense
244,800
602,500
Other Non Operating Income Expenses
-1,246,900
-1,262,400
Earnings From Equity Interest
102,400
88,200
Gain On Sale Of Security
1,389,300
1,776,700
Net Non Operating Interest Income Expense
-43,600
-43,700
Interest Expense Non Operating
43,600
43,700
Operating Income
1,309,700
1,019,600
Operating Expense
347,400
388,000
Other Operating Expenses
235,900
257,700
Depreciation Amortization Depletion Income Statement
83,300
82,400
Depreciation And Amortization In Income Statement
83,300
82,400
Amortization
56,100
55,900
Amortization Of Intangibles Income Statement
56,100
55,900
Depreciation Income Statement
27,200
26,500
Selling General And Administration
28,200
47,900
General And Administrative Expense
28,200
47,900
Other Gand A
28,200
47,900
Gross Profit
1,657,100
1,407,600
Cost Of Revenue
223,000
241,100
Total Revenue
1,880,100
1,648,700
Operating Revenue
1,766,700
1,535,900
Balance Sheet
2026
2025
2024
Ordinary Shares Number
361,793
358,953
Share Issued
361,793
358,953
Net Debt
1,032,000
535,600
Total Debt
3,423,200
3,422,300
Tangible Book Value
-3,613,900
-1,572,500
Invested Capital
30,041,400
32,150,500
Working Capital
3,003,400
5,062,600
Net Tangible Assets
-3,613,900
-1,572,500
Common Stock Equity
26,618,200
28,728,200
Total Capitalization
30,041,400
32,150,500
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest
26,618,200
28,728,200
Stockholders Equity
26,618,200
28,728,200
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings
59,400
81,900
Other Equity Adjustments
59,400
81,900
Retained Earnings
4,884,600
6,433,200
Additional Paid In Capital
21,670,600
22,209,500
Capital Stock
3,600
3,600
Common Stock
3,600
3,600
Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest
175,375,300
169,696,000
Total Non Current Liabilities Net Minority Interest
9,377,500
9,399,300
Other Non Current Liabilities
733,200
734,800
Non Current Deferred Liabilities
5,221,100
5,242,200
Non Current Deferred Taxes Liabilities
5,221,100
5,242,200
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
3,423,200
3,422,300
Long Term Debt
3,423,200
3,422,300
Current Liabilities
165,997,800
160,296,700
Other Current Liabilities
165,922,400
160,224,900
Current Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
749,800
Current Debt
749,800
Other Current Borrowings
749,800
Payables And Accrued Expenses
75,400
71,800
Payables
75,400
71,800
Accounts Payable
75,400
71,800
Total Assets
201,993,500
198,424,200
Total Non Current Assets
32,992,300
33,064,900
Other Non Current Assets
2,404,800
2,401,500
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets
30,232,100
30,300,700
Other Intangible Assets
19,726,100
19,786,000
Goodwill
10,506,000
10,514,700
Net PPE
355,400
362,700
Accumulated Depreciation
-1,028,300
-1,005,700
-1,024,300
Gross PPE
1,383,700
1,368,400
Leases
149,500
147,100
Machinery Furniture Equipment
1,088,200
1,132,700
Buildings And Improvements
130,700
130,700
Properties
0
0
Current Assets
169,001,200
165,359,300
Other Current Assets
508,600
515,600
Restricted Cash
165,041,700
159,662,600
Receivables
935,500
639,200
Accounts Receivable
935,500
639,200
Allowance For Doubtful Accounts Receivable
-9,500
-10,000
Gross Accounts Receivable
945,000
649,200
Cash Cash Equivalents And Short Term Investments
2,515,400
4,541,900
Other Short Term Investments
124,200
125,000
Cash And Cash Equivalents
2,391,200
4,416,900
Cash Flow
2026
2025
2024
Free Cash Flow
1,238,100
1,101,400
Repurchase Of Capital Stock
-538,700
-257,900
Repayment Of Debt
0
0
Issuance Of Debt
0
0
Capital Expenditure
-21,800
-32,500
Interest Paid Supplemental Data
46,300
23,900
Income Tax Paid Supplemental Data
42,700
308,800
End Cash Position
167,432,900
164,079,500
Beginning Cash Position
164,079,500
151,494,500
Changes In Cash
3,353,400
12,585,000
Financing Cash Flow
2,116,500
9,899,200
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities
2,116,500
9,899,200
Net Other Financing Charges
5,352,800
10,612,100
Cash Dividends Paid
-2,697,600
-455,000
Common Stock Dividend Paid
-2,697,600
Net Common Stock Issuance
-538,700
-257,900
Common Stock Payments
-538,700
-257,900
Net Issuance Payments Of Debt
0
0
Net Long Term Debt Issuance
0
0
Long Term Debt Payments
0
0
Long Term Debt Issuance
0
0
Investing Cash Flow
-23,000
1,551,900
Cash Flow From Continuing Investing Activities
-23,000
1,551,900
Net Investment Purchase And Sale
300
600
Sale Of Investment
1,100
1,700
Purchase Of Investment
-800
-1,100
Net Business Purchase And Sale
-1,500
1,583,800
Purchase Of Business
-1,500
-7,600
Net PPE Purchase And Sale
-21,800
-32,500
Purchase Of PPE
-21,800
-32,500
Operating Cash Flow
1,259,900
1,133,900
Cash Flow From Continuing Operating Activities
1,259,900
1,133,900
Change In Working Capital
2,100
104,400
Change In Other Current Liabilities
13,300
68,900
Change In Other Current Assets
-46,600
-27,700
Change In Payables And Accrued Expense
331,200
60,400
Change In Payable
331,200
60,400
Change In Account Payable
3,600
-3,100
Change In Tax Payable
327,600
63,500
Change In Income Tax Payable
327,600
63,500
Change In Receivables
-295,800
2,800
Changes In Account Receivables
-295,800
2,800
Other Non Cash Items
-11,100
63,800
2,300
Stock Based Compensation
21,800
28,900
Deferred Tax
-13,400
21,300
Deferred Income Tax
-13,400
21,300
Depreciation Amortization Depletion
83,300
82,400
Depreciation And Amortization
83,300
82,400
Amortization Cash Flow
56,100
55,900
Amortization Of Intangibles
56,100
55,900
Depreciation
27,200
26,500
Operating Gains Losses
22,900
-349,800
Gain Loss On Investment Securities
22,900
-349,800
Net Income From Continuing Operations
1,154,300
1,182,900
📊Quarterly mode — Graham Fair Value & 7 Criteria require annual data. Switch to Annual for full analysis.
Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year
YoY strips seasonality
Revenue Growth (YoY)
Prior year: $1.6B▲ $1.9B+14.5%
Revenue growth vs same quarter last year strips seasonality. Consistent double-digit growth is a Buffett hallmark.
Gross Margin
Prior year: 87.4%▲ 88.1%+0.7pp
Buffett: consistent gross margin above 40% signals durable pricing power and competitive moat.
Operating Margin
Prior year: 79.7%▲ 69.7%-10.1pp
Graham: operating margin reflects true business economics before financing. Trend matters as much as level.
Net Margin
Prior year: 58.2%▲ 61.4%+3.2pp
Net margin can be distorted by one-time items, tax timing, or interest costs — compare to operating margin for signal quality.
Quarterly Health Checks
3 Graham/Buffett criteria that are valid and reliable on quarterly data
✅ Adequate Size
Graham required scale for resilience. Quarterly revenue × 4 gives an annualised proxy.
$1.9B/qtr (≈$7.5B ann.)
vs > $1.5B annualised revenue
❌ Financial Condition
Current assets vs current liabilities — a real-time liquidity snapshot. Valid and reliable on quarterly data.
1.02x current ratio
vs ≥ 2.0x
✅ Free Cash Flow
Buffett's most important single metric. A positive FCF quarter means the business generated real cash for owners after maintaining its asset base.
$1.2B
vs Positive
Operating Cash Flow
$1.3B
Latest quarter · Buffett's cash reality check
ROIC
2.9%
Based on latest annual operating income
Return on Invested Capital — Buffett's preferred measure for asset-light businesses. ROIC > 15% consistently signals a durable competitive advantage (moat). More meaningful than P/B for software, pharma, and consumer brand companies where most value is intangible and off-balance-sheet.
Market Cap / Net Assets
3.3x
Net Assets: $26.6B
⚠️Revenue grew vs prior year but operating margin contracted. Possible explanations: deliberate investment in growth (hiring, marketing, R&D), input cost inflation, or pricing pressure from competition. Buffett distinguishes between spending that builds moat vs. spending that doesn't.
Peers & Industry
No auto-detected peers for Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. You can manually compare CME against any stock using the Compare tool.
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
0.41%
Low — management has little skin in the game
Return on Equity (ROE)
4.3%
Weak — poor returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
0.6%
Poor — assets are not generating adequate returns
Share Buybacks (Latest Year)
$266M
Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks
Debt Trend YoY
+0.0% YoY
Debt is roughly stable
Leadership Team
Terrence Duffy
Chairman & CEO
Age 67
Pay: $10,018,304
0.868% of net income
Lynne Fitzpatrick
President & CFO
Age 46
Pay: $2,212,366
0.192% of net income
Suzanne Sprague
Senior MD, Group COO & Global Head of Clearing
Top Institutional Holders
Institution
% Owned
Shares
Blackrock Inc.
8.68%
31,448,257
Vanguard Capital Management LLC
6.45%
23,367,282
State Street Corporation
4.43%
16,055,287
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO
3.37%
12,209,761
Morgan Stanley
2.60%
9,406,843
Geode Capital Management, LLC
2.52%
9,146,888
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC
2.49%
9,029,289
Capital World Investors
1.91%
6,936,488
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
0.24
Low volatility — more stable than the market
Short Interest
1.4% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
0.14x
Conservative balance sheet — low financial risk
Current Ratio
1.02x
Adequate liquidity
52-Week Price Range
Low: $244.56Current: $246.38High: $329.16
Currently at 2% of 52-week range
CME Group Inc. (CME) fundamental analysis — Overall grade B based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's
Fair Value: $72.60. Margin of safety: 0%. Gross profit margin: 88.1%. Operating margin: 69.7%. Net margin: 61.4%. Market cap: $89.0B. Sector: Financial Services. Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett
principles.
Disclaimer: 360investing is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. All data is sourced from public third-party providers
and may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Analysis, scores, and valuations are algorithmic and do not represent professional investment recommendations. Always conduct your own due
diligence and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Use of this tool constitutes acceptance that 360investing and its operators bear no liability for decisions made based on information presented here.