What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for CME Group Q3 Earnings?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of CME Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.72 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.74. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CME Group’s Q4 2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.86 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.11 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $3.10 EPS.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

CME stock opened at $273.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group has a twelve month low of $204.16 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock valued at $676,663 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

About CME Group

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.