CME (NASDAQ: CME) tops record Q3 revenue as ADV and market data rise

What happened

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.7 billion and operating income of $1.1 billion. Net income was $1.0 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per common share were $3.02. The company said this was its highest Q3 revenue on record.

Clearing and transaction fees revenue was $1.4 billion, and market data revenue hit a record $243 million, up 20%. Average daily volume rose to 29.4 million contracts, also a third-quarter record. Non-U.S. average daily volume reached 9 million contracts. CME said it returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $465 million in dividends and $524 million in repurchases. As of September 30, 2026, it had $2.4 billion in cash and $3.4 billion of debt.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Total revenue	$1.74 billion	from $1.54 billion, +$199.7 million	SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1
Operating income	$1.14 billion	from $972.6 million, +$168.8 million	SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1
Clearing and transaction fees revenue	$1.38 billion	from $1.23 billion, +$150.2 million	SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1
Market data revenue	$243.1 million	from $202.5 million, +$40.6 million	SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1
Average daily volume	29.4 million contracts	from 25.3 million contracts, +4.1 million contracts	SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1

Read more: CME Group (CME) stock analysis and investment case

Why it matters

OptimistFi's case is that CME's value depends on its liquidity network staying the default place to transfer risk, not just on volatile markets. This filing supports that view because revenue, operating income, average daily volume, market data revenue and adjusted earnings all rose from a year ago.

Quarterly total revenue rose to $1.74 billion from $1.54 billion. That was a gain of $199.7 million, or about 13.0%. Adjusted operating income was $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier, and adjusted net income was $1.1 billion.

The release also says clients turned to CME in record numbers as uncertainty intensified in Q3, so the quarter still reflects a volatile backdrop. Management said average daily capital efficiencies reached a new high of $100 billion and that cloud migration progress gave clients a choice of co-location and cloud-managed services.

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What's next

CME will hold a Q&A conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today, and an archived recording will be available for up to two months. A call that reinforces the Q3 gains in volume, market data and capital efficiencies would support the investment case. If management instead frames the quarter mainly around intensified uncertainty, the results stay tied to a volatile trading backdrop.

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