What CME Group does

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) is the world's largest derivatives marketplace, operating four CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Markets (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX) that list futures and options across six asset classes: Agriculture, Energy, Equity Index, FX, Interest Rates, and Metals. The company runs an electronic trading infrastructure—anchored by the CME Direct platform and supplemented by BrokerTec (U.S. Treasuries/European government bonds) and EBS (FX spot metals)—with near 24-hour, six-day-a-week access, and a central counterparty clearing model (CME Clearing / CME ClearPort) that mitigates counterparty risk. In May 2026, average daily notional reached roughly $10.6 trillion across product groups, with Equity Index at $1.1T, Interest Rates at $8.9T, and BrokerTec at $925.4B; average daily volume hit a record 36.2 million contracts in Q1 2026.

The company generates revenue primarily through transaction and clearing fees on traded contracts, complemented by market data and information services and OTC clearing fees via CME ClearPort. Its go-to-market is a multi-channel model: direct electronic access (CME Direct), an intermediated network of futures commission merchants and clearing firms, market data distribution through vendors, and international partner exchanges. The customer base spans institutional traders and hedgers (JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas), commercial hedgers (energy producers, agricultural processors), and active retail traders served through the Micro Futures suite, CME Institute, and 24/7 crypto offerings. CME Group held approximately 92% of the U.S. exchange-traded derivatives market and reported $6.52B in 2025 revenue, with Q1 2026 revenue up 14% YoY to a record $1.9B.

Underlying infrastructure is being modernized through a 10-year, $1B Google Cloud partnership (announced 2021), which supports data, analytics, and new product development. The Micro Futures suite lowers retail barriers across equity, metals, energy, FX, and crypto products, while the 24/7 crypto futures and options launch (May 2026) and upcoming 10-barrel WTI and 1-ounce gold round-the-clock contracts extend platform reach. A planned CEO transition in March 2027 will move Lynne Fitzpatrick from President/CFO to CEO (first female CEO) while Terry Duffy becomes Executive Chairman.

Name

CME Group

Legal name

CME Group Inc.

Website

http://www.cmegroup.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1848

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CME Group operates the world's largest derivatives marketplace, offering futures and options across six asset classes through four CFTC-regulated exchanges, serving institutional hedgers, commercial users, and active retail traders globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Derivatives Exchange and Clearing Services

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Listed Derivatives Execution Platforms (Futures/Options) (FSAFANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Listed Derivatives CCPs (Futures & Options) (FSAFAFAA), Derivatives Liquidity Provision, Market Making & RFQ Desks (FSADAGAJ), Credit Derivatives Trading Venues (Listed CDS & Credit Index Derivatives) (FSAFABAG), Listed Derivatives Market Making (Futures & Options) (FSACANAD)

Keywords

• Derivatives exchange
• Futures and options
• Central counterparty clearing
• Market data services
• OTC swaps clearing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Transaction and Clearing Fees: CME Group earns revenue through transaction fees charged on futures and options contracts traded on its exchanges, plus clearing fees for processed trades. Volume-based revenue with average daily volume of 36.2 million contracts in Q1 2026.
2. Market Data and Information Services: Revenue from providing real-time and delayed market data, including pricing data, volume statistics, and analytical tools to traders, institutions, and data vendors.
3. OTC Clearing Services: Revenue from clearing over-the-counter swaps through CME ClearPort, providing risk management services for bilateral derivatives trades.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CME Group operates the world's largest derivatives marketplace, offering futures and options contracts across six major asset classes (Agriculture, Energy, Equity Index, FX, Interest Rates, and Metals) through its four Designated Contract Markets: CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX. The company provides electronic trading via the CME Direct platform, central counterparty clearing services, market data distribution, OTC swap clearing through CME ClearPort, and specialized trading platforms BrokerTec (fixed income) and EBS (FX).

Product overview

CME Group operates as a unified derivatives marketplace platform offering futures and options trading across six major asset classes (Agriculture, Energy, Equity Index, FX, Interest Rates, and Metals). The core exchange is supplemented by specialized sub-brands including the Micro Futures Suite for smaller contract sizes, 24/7 Crypto Trading for round-the-clock cryptocurrency access, BrokerTec for fixed income, EBS for FX spot trading, and OTC Clearing for swap derivatives. The CME Direct platform provides the primary electronic trading interface, while the CME Institute and Market Data Services offer educational and analytical add-on capabilities. The company operates four Designated Contract Markets: CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CME Group Futures and Options Exchange The world's largest derivatives marketplace offering futures and options contracts across six major asset classes: Agriculture, Energy, Equity Index, FX, Interest Rates, and Metals, serving institutional and retail traders globally.
• CME Direct Electronic trading platform providing access to CME Group's full range of futures and options products for professional traders and institutions with near 24-hour trading access six days a week.
• Micro Futures Suite Smaller-sized futures contracts including Micro E-mini S&P 500, Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100, Micro E-mini Dow Jones, Micro Gold, Micro Silver, Micro Copper, Micro WTI Crude Oil, Micro Henry Hub Natural Gas, Micro Bitcoin, Micro Ether, Micro Solana, and Micro EUR/USD, designed to lower barriers to entry for retail traders.
• 24/7 Crypto Futures and Options Trading Round-the-clock cryptocurrency futures and options trading platform offering Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana contracts outside traditional market hours, enabling trading on personal schedule and terms.
• Bitcoin Futures CFTC-regulated Bitcoin futures contracts providing institutional investors access to regulated crypto derivatives markets under CFTC oversight.
• Stellar (XLM) Futures Regulated Stellar (XLM) futures contracts with unit size of 250,000 Lumens, offering institutional investors a CFTC-regulated venue to manage risk and gain exposure to the cryptocurrency.
• New E-mini Equity Index Futures Four new E-mini equity index futures contracts covering more than 90% of investable U.S. market capitalization, expanding CME's equity index product suite.
• Micro E-mini Options Financially settled Micro E-mini S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 options, one-tenth the size of traditional E-mini options with short-dated weekly expirations, targeting retail and smaller institutional participants.
• 10-Barrel WTI Crude Oil Futures 10-Barrel WTI Crude Oil futures contract, one-tenth the size of existing Micro WTI futures, cash-settled, designed to expand retail and smaller institutional access to crude oil hedging and trading.
• 24/7 Gold Futures Trading 1-Ounce Gold futures extended to 24/7 trading, enabling round-the-clock precious metals derivatives access for global participants.
• BrokerTec Electronic trading platform for U.S. Treasury securities and European government bonds, contributing to the European fixed income market infrastructure with average daily notional value of $925.4 billion.
• EBS Electronic trading platform for foreign exchange (FX) spot metals, providing institutional FX market access with $68.1 billion in average daily notional value.
• OTC Clearing (CME ClearPort) Over-the-counter clearing services for swaps and other derivatives, supporting multilateral compression cycles with $158.4 billion in notional value, providing risk management services for bilateral derivatives trades through central counterparty clearing.
• Market Data Services Comprehensive market data offerings including real-time and delayed market data, daily volume and open interest data, settlement prices, and economic research distributed through data vendors, trading platforms, and information services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record Q1 2026 revenue of $1.9 billion, up 14% year-over-year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Google CloudcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2021Google invested $1 billion in CME Group and entered a 10-year partnership to migrate CME's technology infrastructure to Google Cloud, starting in 2022. The agreement enhances Google's presence in financial services and positions it competitively against Amazon and Microsoft for large cloud computing contracts. CME leverages Google Cloud for data, analytics, and new product development to transform derivatives markets.
• Partner ExchangesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCME Group maintains relationships with international partner exchanges for global market access and liquidity sharing across different regions.
• Silicon DataflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilicon Data partnered with CME Group to launch what could become the world's first futures contracts tied to AI computational power (GPU rental prices), allowing AI companies to hedge against volatile compute costs. Asset managers ProShares and Rex Shares filed proposals for ETFs tied to these contracts.
• WedbushcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWedbush has cumulatively cleared over 1 billion prediction market contracts as of May 2026, supporting prediction market products launched by CME in mid-December. Wedbush provides the technology, operational support, risk management, and clearing infrastructure for these products.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Regional players

• Japan Exchange Group (JPX): JPX operates Tokyo Commodity Exchange and Osaka Exchange, offering derivatives on commodities, securities, and indexes. Comparable exchange business model serving the Japanese market.
• Singapore Exchange (SGX): SGX operates Asia-Pacific derivatives exchanges covering equity index, FX, and commodity derivatives. Comparable derivatives exchange model with regional focus.
• Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX): HKEX operates Asia's leading derivatives exchange for equity index, FX, and commodity futures. Comparable in business model (exchange operator with clearing), primarily serving Asia-Pacific rather than directly competing with CME in the U.S.

Direct peers

• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): ICE operates competing global derivatives exchanges (ICE Futures Europe, ICE Futures U.S.) for energy, agricultural, and financial derivatives, plus clearing and market data. Direct competitor in listed derivatives and OTC clearing, overlapping on energy and interest rate products.
• Deutsche Börse (Eurex): Deutsche Börse operates Eurex, Europe's largest derivatives exchange for fixed income, equity index, and commodity derivatives. Direct global competitor in listed derivatives with overlapping product categories (interest rate, equity index).
• CBOE Global Markets: CBOE operates the Cboe Futures Exchange and is a leading derivatives marketplace for equity index options (VIX, S&P 500 options) and futures. Direct competitor in U.S. listed derivatives with overlapping equity index exposure.
• London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG): LSEG operates global derivatives venues and post-trade infrastructure (including via Refinitiv/FXall). Direct competitor in derivatives, FX, and fixed income trading, with overlapping institutional client base.
• Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq operates a U.S. equity derivatives exchange (Nasdaq Futures) and provides clearing and market infrastructure services. Direct competitor in U.S. equity index derivatives and exchange services.

Emerging players

• Coinbase Global: Coinbase operates a major U.S.-regulated crypto derivatives platform (including CFTC-approved perpetual futures) and competes directly with CME's crypto franchise. Emerging competitor in the high-growth crypto derivatives segment.
• Kraken (Payward, Inc.): Kraken operates a crypto spot and derivatives exchange with growing futures and perpetual contracts offerings. Emerging competitor in regulated crypto derivatives competing for institutional flow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CMEGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cmegroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/CMEGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cme-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/cmegroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CME Group