Equity Market Volatility Drives Higher Trading Volume and Revenue for CME in the Second Quarter

Wide-moat-rated CME Group reported strong second-quarter earnings as the company continues to benefit from volatile market conditions, which drove significantly higher trading volume in the firm's equity, interest rate, and foreign exchange futures contracts. CME reported second-quarter revenue of $1.24 billion, which was up 4.9% year over year, or more than 11% when adjusted for the formation of its OSTTRA joint venture with S&P Global. Earnings per share of $1.82 were 28% higher than the prior year's period, as CME benefited from higher revenue and strong cost management. As we incorporate these results, we do not plan to make a material change to our $212 per share fair value estimate for CME.