ICE vs MCO vs CME Stock Comparison

Intercontinental Exchange, Moodys and Cme Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$484.68 +3.4% 1M -1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$83.56B
P/E
29.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.83%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
2 wins
CME Cme Group Inc.
$308.06 +16.5% 1M +14.3% 1Y
Market cap
$110.11B
P/E
25.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.97B
Div. yield
3.25%
Exchanges Financial Services
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cme leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Cme 8, Intercontinental Exchange 2, Moodys 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICEMCOCMELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $89.78B $83.56B $110.11B CME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.4x 29.1x 25.0x ICE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x 26.9x 26.4x ICE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +9.0% +9.0% MCO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% 35.3% 63.3% CME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.5% 27.9% 11.7% MCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.3x 0.2x CME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.27% 0.83% 3.25% CME
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.5% -1.3% +14.3% CME
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.8%/yr +4.3%/yr +7.3%/yr CME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.7% 28.4% 25.0% CME
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 60/100 62/100 CME

Percentile Scorecard

ICEMCOCME

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

AxisICEMCOCME
Valuation 59 #40 of 97 19 #768 of 947 42 #57 of 97
Growth 52 #33 of 68 73 #189 of 691 27 #50 of 68
Profitability 83 #12 of 67 96 #27 of 673 92 #6 of 67
Financial Health 35 #63 of 97 53 #352 of 754 55 #44 of 97
Shareholder Returns 49 #21 of 40 60 #288 of 713 92 #4 of 40
Overall 56 60 62
  • ICE ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • MCO ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • CME ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICEMCOCMESPY
1 month +3.7%+3.4%+16.5% -0.8%
3 months +7.7%-0.3%+20.6% +3.5%
6 months +2.0%+5.2%+9.3% +7.0%
Year to date -1.2%-5.1%+12.8% +12.2%
1 year +1.5%-1.3%+14.3% +13.0%
3 years +52.8%+60.5%+47.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +15.2%+17.1%+13.8% +23.1%
5 years +20.4%+23.4%+41.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.8%+4.3%+7.3% +11.0%
10 years +200.5%+374.6%+199.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.6%+16.9%+11.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureICEMCOCMESPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.7%28.4%25.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.3%30.2%26.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.170.49-0.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.06-0.040.57 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-42.2%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.6%-10.2%-5.6% -1.8%
52-week high $175.10$539.61$326.46 $779.14
52-week low $122.91$412.23$218.58 $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.

MultipleICEMCOCME
P/E now vs peer median 22.4xmedian 29.4x 29.1xmedian 13.1x 25.0xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.9x 10.2xmedian 3.2x 15.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 13.7x 21.5xmedian 6.9x 22.9xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 16.0x 28.1xmedian 10.9x 25.4xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 2.3x 24.5xmedian 1.2x 4.1xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.67median 0.52 1.10median 0.88 1.82median 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 monthsICEMCOCME
Revenue $13.43B $8.18B $6.97B
Gross profit – $6.10B –
Operating income $5.47B $3.64B $4.58B
Net income $4.10B $2.89B $4.42B
Free cash flow $5.08B $2.98B $4.33B
EPS (diluted) $7.13 $16.64 $12.31
Cash & equivalents $1.07B $1.51B $2.20B
Total debt $19.85B $6.91B $13.69B
Shares (diluted) 566.00M 173.30M 358.64M
Enterprise value $83.59B $76.63B $98.45B

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
MetricICEMCOCME
P/E 22.4x 29.1x 25.0x
P/FCF 17.7x 28.1x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.3x 25.1x 24.9x
P/S 6.7x 10.2x 15.8x
P/B 3.0x 24.5x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 48.6x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 15.3x 21.5x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 19.7x 24.4x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 10.9x 15.9x
EV/FCF 21.2x 29.8x 25.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.5x 26.7x 25.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.67 1.10 1.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICEMCOCME
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 9.0% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 12.6% 9.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.4% 16.0% 10.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 23.3% 12.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.1% 28.5% 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 24.0% 13.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.6% 33.1% 19.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 26.5% 13.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.1% 22.5% 6.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 17.5% 9.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% 24.1% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 18.8% 9.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICEMCOCME
Gross margin – 74.6% –
EBITDA margin 52.3% 50.6% 69.8%
Operating margin 40.7% 44.6% 65.7%
Pretax margin 39.7% 45.2% 82.8%
Net margin 30.1% 35.3% 63.3%
FCF margin 37.8% 36.4% 62.1%
Operating cash flow margin 41.1% 40.7% 63.5%
Return on equity 13.9% 87.8% 16.6%
Return on assets 2.3% 19.6% 2.3%
Return on invested capital 8.5% 27.9% 11.7%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 31.8% 12.3%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.6x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 2.8% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICEMCOCME
Debt / assets 11.4% 46.6% 1.8%
Debt / equity 0.7x 2.0x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.3x 0.2x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 2.3x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 77.0% 86.2%
Equity / assets 17.0% 23.0% 13.8%
Interest coverage 6.8x – 26.2x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.0x 1.3x 0.0x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.5x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.74 7.68 0.58

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICEMCOCME
Dividend yield 1.3% 0.8% 3.2%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 3.5% –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 4.4% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 27.8% 24.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 22.5% 23.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.1% 3.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 8.8% –

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.

ConsensusICEMCOCME
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 26.9xFY2026 26.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.69FY2026 $18.03FY2026 $11.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +25.0%FY2026 +20.7%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.2% -1.2% +18.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.54BFY2026 $8.73BFY2026 $7.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +13.0%FY2026 +11.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.0% -1.8% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICEMCOCME
Held by institutions 92.5% 90.8% 88.9%
Institutions holding 1,651 1,404 1,691
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% -1.6% +0.4%
Institutions buying 734 644 822
Institutions selling 694 522 655
Buyers to sellers 1.06 1.23 1.25

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.

ICEMCOCME
ICE 1.00 0.56 0.50
MCO 0.56 1.00 0.15
CME 0.50 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICE, MCO and CME?

Cme (CME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $89.78B, Moodys (MCO) $83.56B, Cme (CME) $110.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICE, MCO and CME?

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 22.4x, Moodys (MCO) 29.1x, Cme (CME) 25.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is cheapest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.4x, Moodys (MCO) 26.9x, Cme (CME) 26.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Moodys (MCO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +6.9%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, Cme (CME) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cme (CME) has the highest net margin (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 30.1%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, Cme (CME) 63.3%). On return on invested capital, Moodys (MCO) leads (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 8.5%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%, Cme (CME) 11.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cme (CME) returned the most: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +1.5%, Moodys (MCO) -1.3%, Cme (CME) +14.3%. Over five years, Cme (CME) compounded fastest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.8%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +4.3%/yr, Cme (CME) +7.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cme (CME) has the highest dividend yield: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 1.27%, Moodys (MCO) 0.83%, Cme (CME) 3.25%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cme (CME) has been the steadiest (Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.7%, Moodys (MCO) 28.4%, Cme (CME) 25.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cme (CME) leads on 8. 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.