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. The company provides clearing house services, including clearing, settling, and …
Full CME analysis →
Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Premium Fee MarginsFee margin quality is strong (score 1.00).
Lean Compensation StructureCompensation discipline is strong (cost efficiency score 1.00).
The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks
against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.
Upgrade to unlock the signals and evidence behind each defense.
Premium access
Unlock full defense analysis
Get key signals, strengths, and risks for every moat dimension.
Where CME ranks in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
CME Group Inc. ranks #1 of 15
scored companies in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges by moat score — the top 7%.
That makes it the widest moat in the group.
Moat scores for companies ranked near CME in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
How CME scores on the Asset Management Specialized defenses
Fee Revenue Quality
Score 81
· 20% of the moat score
Fee revenue quality is the ability to charge above the industry's falling average and keep charging it.
Client Retention & Revenue Stickiness
Score 78
· 18% of the moat score
Assets under management leave far more easily than they arrive, and the fee leaves with them.
Compensation Discipline
Score 81
· 18% of the moat score
Compensation is the largest expense in asset management and the one that decides whether a good year ever reaches shareholders.
Capital Efficiency
Score 73
· 20% of the moat score
Asset managers are asset-light: with little capital employed, a healthy business should earn a very high return on equity, and a merely average one is a real warning.
Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion
Score 95
· 14% of the moat score
Reported profits here can be flattered by performance fees, seed-capital gains and consolidated fund accounting, none of which recur reliably.
Balance Sheet Strength
Score 88
· 10% of the moat score
Because the business needs so little capital, an asset manager carrying meaningful debt has usually borrowed to buy another manager or to fund distributions.
CME Group Inc. (CME) scores 82 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as strong. It ranks #1 of 15 scored companies in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges, the top 7%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 14 companies in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. Its strongest defense is Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion (95/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (73/100).
How does CME Group Inc. compare with other Financial Data & Stock Exchanges companies?
CME Group Inc. ranks #1 of 15 scored companies in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges by moat score. That is the widest moat in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. The companies ranked closest are FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) at 69 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Asset Management Specialized in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 14 companies in Financial Data & Stock Exchanges. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is CME Group Inc. scored with the Asset Management Specialized template?
An asset manager owns almost nothing. It charges a fee on someone else's money, pays much of that fee out in compensation, and keeps the remainder — so its economics turn on the fee rate it can defend, whether client money stays, and how much revenue survives the bonus pool. The Asset Management template scores those questions rather than the balance sheet, which in this industry is largely beside the point.
Which competitive defenses are measured for CME Group Inc.?
The Asset Management Specialized template measures 6 defenses, and CME scores: Fee Revenue Quality (81), Client Retention & Revenue Stickiness (78), Compensation Discipline (81), Capital Efficiency (73), Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion (95), Balance Sheet Strength (88). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.
We value your privacy
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site traffic, and personalize content. By clicking 'Accept All', you consent to our use of cookies.
Read our cookie policy
Cookie Preferences
Manage your cookie preferences. Essential cookies are always enabled.