CME Group Inc. operates a derivatives marketplace that supports trading and clearing in futures, options, cash and OTC markets. Its exchanges list benchmark products tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals, with trading conducted through CME Globex, fixed income markets through BrokerTec, foreign exchange through EBS and central counterparty services through CME Clearing.
Company news commonly covers quarterly results, clearing and transaction fee revenue, market data revenue, dividends, new futures and options contracts, benchmark administration and regulatory approvals affecting clearing or margin services. Recurring updates also include cryptocurrency and equity index product expansion, U.S. repo and Term SOFR reference-rate activity, and the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) reported its highest third-quarter revenue on record, reaching $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026. Revenue totaled $1,737.3 million versus $1,537.6 million a year earlier. Net income rose to $1,036.9 million from $908.0 million, while diluted earnings per share increased to $2.89 from $2.49. Operating income reached $1,141.4 million versus $972.6 million.
Average daily volume reached a third-quarter record of 29.4 million contracts, with double-digit growth across all six asset classes. Market data revenue reached a record $243 million, up 20%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $3.02. CME returned $465 million through regular quarterly dividends and $524 million through share repurchases. At September 30, cash, including $225 million deposited with Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, totaled $2.4 billion, against $3.4 billion of debt.
CME Group (CME) announced that FalconX and GSR executed the first block trade in its new Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures.
The contracts are listed on and subject to CME rules, extending its single-asset cryptocurrency futures range. Year-to-date 2026 cryptocurrency futures and options average daily volume exceeded 242,000 contracts, representing $7.9 billion in notional value, or the value represented by the contracts. Average daily open interest, the number of outstanding contracts, was almost 240,000 contracts, representing $14.3 billion in notional value. The 2026 expansion into Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche and Sui futures generated nearly $2 billion in year-to-date notional value growth.
CME Group (CME) plans to launch European dairy futures and options before the end of 2026, pending all regulatory reviews. The contracts will cover European Skimmed Milk Powder, European Butter, European Whey Powder and European Liquid Milk, marking a first step toward regional expansion following an agreement with the European Energy Exchange earlier this year.
The launch plans follow record dairy open interest, or outstanding contracts: September monthly open interest averaged 420,922 contracts a day, up 42% year over year. Daily open interest reached an all-time record of 461,493 contracts on September 29.
CME Group (CME) plans to launch tungsten futures, with trading scheduled to start by early Q1 2027 pending regulatory reviews. The contract will be financially settled using the Fastmarkets assessment for tungsten APT (ammonium paratungstate), duty unpaid, on a cost, insurance and freight basis for Rotterdam and Baltimore. It will be listed by and subject to the rules of COMEX.
CME Group's metals business recorded 1.2 million contracts traded daily in the first nine months of 2026, up 41% year over year and a record for the business. Tungsten currently has an active spot market but no futures market.
CME Group (CME) set a daily Corn futures volume record of 1,206,376 contracts on October 9, 2026. That surpassed the previous record of 1,128,597 contracts on March 29, 2019. The company linked the trading activity to a USDA report showing ending stocks, yields and production above market expectations.
Agriculture average daily volume reached 2,022,488 contracts in the third quarter, up 18.1% year over year. September average daily volume was 1,936,761 contracts, up 28.8%. Third-quarter Corn futures average daily volume rose 35.2% year over year to 502,004 contracts, while Corn options averaged 179,674 contracts daily, up 31.4% year over year.
CME Group (CME) has completed initial performance testing for CME Globex in the cloud as its market migration advances. Testing delivered faster trading round-trip times. Construction of the Aurora Cloud Region and co-location facility, which will host Google Cloud's specialized trading platform, is ahead of schedule.
Aurora is targeted to be available for client testing in mid-2027; the Dallas disaster recovery facility has been open for testing since June 2026. Livestock markets will migrate from the new Aurora Cloud Region in late 2027, eliminating the need for an interim Dallas relocation. CME Group plans client access to Google Cloud-managed services and co-location capabilities in Aurora in late 2027.
CME Group (CME) plans to launch Baseball futures on October 12, 2026, subject to regulatory review of the new contracts.
The contracts will track CME FutureSports Performance Indexes, which use Official League Data and include statistics on 30 professional baseball teams. Trading will begin with the 2026 Postseason and the four clubs in the League Championship Series. Standard-sized contracts will be valued at 10x the underlying indexes, while micro-sized contracts will be 1/10 their value. The indexes use rules-based statistical methods that add points for positive actions and subtract points for negative plays or setbacks.
CME Group (CME) achieved international average daily trading volume of 9 million contracts in the third quarter of 2026. This measure, covering trading reported outside the United States, rose 22% year over year. International Energy product volume increased 40%, Agricultural products rose 28%, and Equity Index products grew 24%.
Europe, Middle East and Africa averaged 6.5 million contracts daily, up 20%. Asia Pacific averaged 2.1 million, up 28%; Canada reached 194,000, up 21%; and Latin America reached 188,000, up 24%. Energy led the disclosed product growth rates in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Canada, while Agricultural products led in Latin America.
Global average daily volume reached 29.4 million contracts, up 16% from Q3 2025. Global Equity Index product volume increased 23%, while Foreign Exchange products rose 19%.
CME Group (CME) and Purdue University's September Ag Economy Barometer survey showed farmer sentiment falling to 123 points amid input-cost concerns. The survey covered 400 farmers nationwide from Sept. 14-18, 2026. Sentiment was down from 135 in August, while a record 52% named higher input costs as their top concern.
The Index of Current Conditions dropped 18 points and the Index of Future Expectations fell 9 points. Looking one year ahead, 35% expected their operation to be financially worse off, versus 22% expecting improvement. The Farm Financial Performance Index fell from 103 to 90, and the Farm Capital Investment Index declined 6 points to 39.
Farmland expectations diverged: the short-term index fell 1 point to 126, while the long-term index rose 5 points to a record 168. Among corn and soybean producers, 73% expected unchanged cash rents in 2027, and 37% expected U.S. soybean exports to increase over the next five years.
CME Group (CME) is suspending plans to launch a new 10-Barrel Crude Oil futures contract designed for around-the-clock trading.
The company said discussions with industry participants identified concerns that introducing 24/7 energy trading without further due diligence could create unintended consequences and additional market risk. CME Group is withdrawing its filing to launch the product at this time. The planned contract was intended to operate within U.S. jurisdiction and CFTC oversight.