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Earnings top forecasts despite slight revenue miss
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) reported second-quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, delivering adjusted earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, although revenue came in slightly below analysts’ forecasts.
The derivatives exchange operator posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.99, ahead of the consensus estimate of $2.95.
Revenue totaled $1.71 billion, narrowly missing analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion, but still representing a 0.8% increase from $1.69 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
Shares of CME Group rose 1.10% in premarket trading following the announcement.
Record market data revenue supports results
Adjusted operating income reached $1.2 billion during the quarter, while adjusted net income totaled $1.1 billion.
Clearing and transaction fees generated $1.4 billion in revenue, while market data revenue climbed 20% year over year to a record $238 million.
Average daily trading volume reached 29.8 million contracts, marking the second-highest second quarter and the third-highest quarterly trading volume in the company’s history.
“The first half of 2026 was the strongest in CME Group’s history,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy.
“We delivered record H1 performance across revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share, all of which were powered by record trading in Q1 and our second-highest Q2 volumes ever.”
Capital returns remain strong
The company’s average rate per contract was $0.678 during the quarter, compared with $0.690 in the same period last year.
CME Group continued returning capital to shareholders, paying $468 million in dividends and repurchasing $695 million of its common stock during the quarter.
Strong liquidity position maintained
As of June 30, 2026, the company held $2.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents while carrying $3.4 billion in debt.
CME Group also said it provided more than $95 billion in daily margin efficiencies during the quarter, helping clients reduce capital requirements across its clearing network.
CME Group stock price
