NDAQ vs CME Stock Comparison

Nasdaq and Cme Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.72 +11.9% 1M +18.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.48B
P/E
28.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
1.11%
Exchanges Financial Services
4 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, Nasdaq 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNDAQCMELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $58.48B $110.11B CME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.1x 25.0x CME
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.1x 26.4x NDAQ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.5% +9.0% NDAQ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.8% 63.3% CME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.5% 11.7% CME
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 0.2x CME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.11% 3.25% CME
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.4% +14.3% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.2%/yr +7.3%/yr NDAQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 25.0% CME
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 71/100 CME

Percentile Scorecard

NDAQCME

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

AxisNDAQCME
Valuation 71 #19 of 64 67 #22 of 64
Growth 61 #15 of 37 50 #19 of 37
Profitability 86 #6 of 37 94 #3 of 37
Financial Health 55 #33 of 72 56 #32 of 72
Shareholder Returns 29 #6 of 8 86 #2 of 8
Overall 60 71
  • NDAQ ranked among 78 companies in Capital Markets
  • CME ranked among 78 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNDAQCMESPY
1 month +11.9%+16.5% -0.8%
3 months +11.5%+20.6% +3.5%
6 months +15.8%+9.3% +7.0%
Year to date +7.8%+12.8% +12.2%
1 year +18.4%+14.3% +13.0%
3 years +120.0%+47.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +30.1%+13.8% +23.1%
5 years +55.2%+41.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.2%+7.3% +11.0%
10 years +385.6%+199.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +17.1%+11.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNDAQCMESPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%25.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.0%26.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.57-0.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.650.57 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.4%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-5.6% -1.8%
52-week high $104.72$326.46 $779.14
52-week low $76.85$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.

MultipleNDAQCME
P/E now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 44.3x 25.0xmedian 44.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 4.1x 15.8xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 10.0x 22.9xmedian 10.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 14.1x 25.4xmedian 14.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 1.5x 4.1xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.53median 0.50 1.82median 0.50

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 monthsNDAQCME
Revenue $9.15B $6.97B
Gross profit $5.78B –
Operating income $2.73B $4.58B
Net income $2.08B $4.42B
Free cash flow $2.26B $4.33B
EPS (diluted) $3.70 $12.31
Cash & equivalents $365.00M $2.20B
Total debt $8.74B $13.69B
Shares (diluted) 563.31M 358.64M
Enterprise value $55.92B $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
MetricNDAQCME
P/E 28.1x 25.0x
P/FCF 25.9x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 23.0x 24.9x
P/S 6.4x 15.8x
P/B 4.9x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 19.7x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 24.4x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 7.3x 15.9x
EV/FCF 29.5x 25.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.2x 25.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.53 1.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNDAQCME
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.5% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 9.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.1% 10.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.1% 12.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.2% 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.6% 13.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.8% 19.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 13.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.0% 6.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 9.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 9.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNDAQCME
Gross margin 63.2% –
EBITDA margin 37.0% 69.8%
Operating margin 29.8% 65.7%
Pretax margin 28.5% 82.8%
Net margin 22.8% 63.3%
FCF margin 24.7% 62.1%
Operating cash flow margin 27.8% 63.5%
Return on equity 17.4% 16.6%
Return on assets 7.6% 2.3%
Return on invested capital 10.5% 11.7%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 12.3%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNDAQCME
Debt / assets 31.9% 1.8%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 0.2x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 56.2% 86.2%
Equity / assets 43.8% 13.8%
Interest coverage 7.9x 26.2x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.0x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.49 0.58

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNDAQCME
Dividend yield 1.1% 3.2%
Net buyback yield 2.5% –
Shareholder yield 3.6% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusNDAQCME
Forward P/E 26.1xFY2026 26.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.01FY2026 $11.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.7% +18.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.07BFY2026 $7.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.7%FY2026 +11.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.2% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNDAQCME
Held by institutions 83.8% 88.9%
Institutions holding 1,082 1,691
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +0.4%
Institutions buying 538 822
Institutions selling 397 655
Buyers to sellers 1.36 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.

NDAQCME
NDAQ 1.00 0.36
CME 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NDAQ and CME?

Cme (CME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.48B, Cme (CME) $110.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, NDAQ and CME?

Cme (CME) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.1x, Cme (CME) 25.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nasdaq (NDAQ) is cheapest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 26.1x, 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?

Nasdaq (NDAQ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Cme (CME) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cme (CME) has the highest net margin (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%, Cme (CME) 63.3%). On return on invested capital, Cme (CME) leads (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%, Cme (CME) 11.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Nasdaq (NDAQ) +18.4%, Cme (CME) +14.3%. Over five years, Nasdaq (NDAQ) compounded fastest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) +9.2%/yr, Cme (CME) +7.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cme (CME) has the highest dividend yield: Nasdaq (NDAQ) 1.11%, Cme (CME) 3.25%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cme (CME) has been the steadiest (Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%, Cme (CME) 25.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do NDAQ and CME move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.36, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, NDAQ 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.