CME vs MA vs ICE Stock Comparison

Cme, Mastercard and Intercontinental Exchange Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CME Cme Group Inc.
$306.24 +16.4% 1M +15.3% 1Y
Market cap
$109.13B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.97B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
3 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$658.39 +19.2% 1M +19.3% 1Y
Market cap
$588.95B
P/E
34.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 6, Cme 3, Intercontinental Exchange 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMEMAICELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $109.13B $588.95B $98.06B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.7x 34.7x 23.6x ICE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 30.8x 19.7x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +15.3% +12.1% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 63.3% 46.7% 29.6% CME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.7% 56.6% 8.5% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.2x 0.5x 2.9x CME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.3% +19.3% +17.8% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.8%/yr +14.9%/yr +4.7%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.5% 23.1% 26.0% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 51/100 54/100 CME

Percentile Scorecard

CMEMAICE

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCMEMAICE
Valuation 41 #57 of 96 12 #825 of 939 56 #43 of 96
Growth 22 #53 of 68 64 #298 of 814 46 #37 of 68
Profitability 93 #6 of 70 99 #12 of 828 83 #13 of 70
Financial Health 56 #44 of 99 53 #421 of 898 36 #64 of 99
Shareholder Returns 93 #4 of 41 25 #541 of 725 50 #21 of 41
Overall 61 51 54
  • CME ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • ICE ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCMEMAICESPY
1 month +16.4%+19.2%+14.7% -2.3%
3 months +15.1%+15.3%+13.5% -0.7%
6 months +5.5%+30.4%+10.1% +4.8%
Year to date +12.1%+15.3%+6.4% +10.3%
1 year +15.3%+19.3%+17.8% +10.3%
3 years +46.8%+70.5%+59.7% +73.0%
3 years, per year +13.7%+19.5%+16.9% +20.1%
5 years +38.9%+99.9%+25.6% +61.9%
5 years, per year +6.8%+14.9%+4.7% +10.1%
10 years +202.6%+533.1%+224.8% +258.6%
10 years, per year +11.7%+20.3%+12.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCMEMAICESPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.5%23.1%26.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.8%22.7%27.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.400.240.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.830.68 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.1%-28.6%-34.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.2%0.0%-1.6% -3.5%
52-week high $326.46$658.39$175.10 $779.14
52-week low $218.58$471.55$122.91 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCMEMAICE
P/E now vs peer median 24.8xmedian 29.1x 34.2xmedian 13.6x 23.3xmedian 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 2.5x 15.8xmedian 3.3x 6.9xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 13.6x 23.4xmedian 6.0x 16.2xmedian 13.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.3xmedian 16.8x 35.6xmedian 11.0x 18.3xmedian 16.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.2x 84.9xmedian 1.2x 3.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.81median 0.52 1.87median 0.92 1.18median 0.52

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCMEMAICE
Revenue $6.97B $36.29B $14.05B
Operating income $4.58B $21.27B $5.70B
Net income $4.42B $16.96B $4.23B
Free cash flow $4.33B $16.08B $5.28B
EPS (diluted) $12.31 $19.20 $7.35
Cash & equivalents $2.20B $10.15B $936.00M
Total debt $3.43B $23.94B $23.30B
Shares (diluted) 358.64M 883.00M 566.00M
Enterprise value $97.47B $549.04B $90.96B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCMEMAICE
P/E 24.8x 34.2x 23.3x
P/FCF 25.3x 35.6x 18.3x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x 34.0x 16.8x
P/S 15.7x 15.8x 6.9x
P/B 4.1x 84.9x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 546.5x 6.3x
EV/EBITDA 22.7x 23.4x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 24.1x 27.6x 20.7x
EV/Revenue 15.9x 16.2x 8.4x
EV/FCF 25.5x 36.5x 22.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.0x 34.8x 20.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.81 1.87 1.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMEMAICE
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 15.3% 12.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 14.2% 13.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.1% 18.6% 19.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 15.4% 16.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 19.0% 31.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 15.8% 19.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.4% 22.0% 33.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 18.3% 19.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.4% -3.5% 17.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 15.5% 16.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.1% -5.4% 17.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 15.2% 15.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMEMAICE
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 69.8% 69.2% 51.7%
Operating margin 65.7% 58.6% 40.6%
Pretax margin 82.8% 57.6% 39.1%
Net margin 63.3% 46.7% 29.6%
FCF margin 62.1% 44.3% 37.6%
Operating cash flow margin 63.5% 46.5% 41.0%
Return on equity 16.6% 274.4% 14.2%
Return on assets 2.3% 29.3% 2.4%
Return on invested capital 11.7% 56.6% 8.5%
Return on capital employed 12.3% 63.1% 10.5%
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.6x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.8% 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMEMAICE
Debt / assets 1.8% 41.2% 13.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 3.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.2x 0.5x 2.9x
Debt / FCF 0.8x 1.5x 4.4x
Liabilities / assets 86.2% 88.4% 83.1%
Equity / assets 13.8% 11.6% 16.9%
Interest coverage 26.2x 26.2x 6.8x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.0x 0.6x 0.0x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.57 10.83 0.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMEMAICE
Dividend yield 3.3% 0.5% 1.2%
Net buyback yield – 2.7% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 3.2% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 27.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 21.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 7.7%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCMEMAICE
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 30.8xFY2026 19.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.74FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $8.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.8%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +25.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.0% +14.7% -3.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.27BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026 $10.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.0% +0.4% +16.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMEMAICE
Held by institutions 88.9% 87.5% 92.5%
Institutions holding 1,693 3,586 1,655
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +0.6% +1.4%
Institutions buying 823 1,590 736
Institutions selling 656 1,528 695
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.04 1.06

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CMEMAICE
CME 1.00 0.18 0.51
MA 0.18 1.00 0.45
ICE 0.51 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CME, MA and ICE?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cme (CME) $109.13B, Mastercard (MA) $588.95B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $98.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, CME, MA and ICE?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cme (CME) 24.7x, Mastercard (MA) 34.7x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 23.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Cme (CME) 25.9x, Mastercard (MA) 30.8x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 19.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mastercard (MA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cme (CME) +9.0%, Mastercard (MA) +15.3%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +12.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cme (CME) has the highest net margin (Cme (CME) 63.3%, Mastercard (MA) 46.7%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 29.6%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Cme (CME) 11.7%, Mastercard (MA) 56.6%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: Cme (CME) +15.3%, Mastercard (MA) +19.3%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +17.8%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Cme (CME) +6.8%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +14.9%/yr, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cme (CME) 0.00%, Mastercard (MA) 0.00%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 0.01%. Cme (CME) and Mastercard (MA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Cme (CME) 25.5%, Mastercard (MA) 23.1%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 26.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CME, MA and ICE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mastercard (MA) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.