What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for CME Group Q1 Earnings?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for CME Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.88 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.75. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CME Group’s Q3 2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.93 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.74 EPS.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.53.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $229.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $82.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Company Profile

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, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.