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CME FY2025 Q3 IMPROVING

CME Group Inc. earnings call

Oct 22, 2025 · 04:30 ET Adam MinnickJohn PietrowiczLynn Reilly
Buzzberg read

Retail strategy to grow organically, M&A not needed

CME reported a solid Q3 with record market data revenue and high open interest, though total revenue dipped slightly year-over-year. Management highlighted growth in crypto, new event contracts (including a FanDuel partnership), and the launch of BrokerTec Chicago. The tone was confident on innovation and cost control, with FY2025 expense guidance lowered modestly. No major cross-company signals beyond the Google cloud partnership. Q3 revenue $1.5B (-3% YoY), adjusted EPS $2.68; record market data revenue of $203M.

Buzzberg read Retail strategy to grow organically, M&A not needed CME reported a solid Q3 with record market data revenue and high open interest, though total revenue dipped slightly year-over-year. Management highlighted growth in crypto, new event contracts (including a FanDuel partnership), and the launch of BrokerTec Chicago. The tone was confident on innovation and cost control, with FY2025 expense guidance lowered modestly. No major cross-company signals beyond the Google cloud partnership. Q3 revenue $1.5B (-3% YoY), adjusted EPS $2.68; record market data revenue of $203M. Read full analysisCollapse analysis

CME reported a solid Q3 with record market data revenue and high open interest, though total revenue dipped slightly year-over-year. Management highlighted growth in crypto, new event contracts (including a FanDuel partnership), and the launch of BrokerTec Chicago. The tone was confident on innovation and cost control, with FY2025 expense guidance lowered modestly. No major cross-company signals beyond the Google cloud partnership. Q3 revenue $1.5B (-3% YoY), adjusted EPS $2.68; record market data revenue of $203M.

  • Record crypto volumes (340K contracts/day), driven by Solana/XRP futures; 24-7 crypto trading planned for early 2026.
  • Announced event contracts partnership with FanDuel for distribution (not sports initially).
  • Launched BrokerTec Chicago, a combined cash and futures treasury platform, with early volume and dealer engagement.
Revenue $1.5376B reported
EPS $2.68 reported
Gross margin 84.55% reported
Free cash flow $0.9497B reported

What changed this quarter

01
Retail

Retail strategy to grow organically, M&A not needed

CME reported a solid Q3 with record market data revenue and high open interest, though total revenue dipped slightly year-over-year. Management highlighted growth in crypto, new event contracts (including a FanDuel partnership), and the launch of BrokerTec Chicago. The tone was…

02
Regulation

CME will list sports event contracts if allowed

Q3 revenue $1.5B (-3% YoY), adjusted EPS $2.68; record market data revenue of $203M.

03
Regulation

CME not opposed to listing sports event contracts

Record crypto volumes (340K contracts/day), driven by Solana/XRP futures; 24-7 crypto trading planned for early 2026.

04
Crypto

24-7 crypto trading planned for 2026

Announced event contracts partnership with FanDuel for distribution (not sports initially).

AI, capex & demand read

AI

Platform & monetization

AI is not explicitly discussed in this transcript, aside from mentions of the Google partnership for tokenization and technology transformation.

Demand

Bookings & conversion

Management remains confident in organic growth, product innovation (crypto, event contracts, BrokerTec Chicago), and cost discipline, with no signs of demand deterioration despite lower volatility.

Capex

Investment and capacity

Capital expenditures were approximately $19 million in the third quarter. The company is investing in operational readiness for 24-7 crypto trading and tokenization, with cost discipline noted in managing Google-related spend.

Tone · Confident

Management expressed confidence in growth strategies across retail, crypto, and fixed income, emphasizing record results and innovation.

Company read-throughs

+32.1%
since call
$255.96$338.13
Partners

CME is deepening its partnership with Google on tokenization and cloud infrastructure, which could drive future cost efficiencies and product innovation for CME and reinforce Google's cloud position in financial services.

“we've been fortunate to be partnering with Google over the past few years towards that initiative”
Suzanne Sprague