CME Group (CME) Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Down Y/Y

Have you been eager to see how CME Group Inc. CME, one of the largest futures exchanges in the world, performed in Q4 in comparison with the market expectations? Let’s quickly scan through the key facts from this Chicago, IL-based company’s earnings release this morning.

An Earnings Beat

CME Group reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.12, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.10.

CME Group Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

CME Group Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | CME Group Inc. Quote

How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?

You should note that the earnings estimate for CME Group depicted neutral stance prior to the earnings release. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged at $1.10 per share over the last 7 days.

Also, CME Group has a solid earnings surprise history.

Overall, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of nearly 2.15% in the trailing four quarters.

Revenues Came in Higher Than Expected

CME Group’s revenues of $900 million declined 1.4% year over year. However, the reported beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $884 million.

Key Takeaways

Average daily volume (ADV) declined 2.5% year over year to 15.9 million contracts, due to lower volumes across three out of the six product lines.

Total expenses decreased 2.7% year over year at $362.7 million during the reported quarter.

Operating income dipped 0.5% to $537.3 million from the prior-year quarter.

As of Dec 31, 2017, long-term debt of $2.2 billion inched up 0.1% from 2016 the year-end figure.

What Zacks Rank Says

The estimate revisions that we discussed earlier have driven a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for CME Group. However, since the latest earnings performance is yet to be reflected in the estimate revisions, the rank is subject to change. Now it all depends on what sense the just-released report makes to the analysts.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 

Check back later for our full write up on this CME Group earnings report!

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