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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for CME Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.88 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.53.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $229.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.30. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 149.4% in the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 23,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after purchasing an additional 14,234 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in CME Group by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in CME Group by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after buying an additional 303,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.