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Side-by-side financial comparison of Crown Castle (CCI) and CME Group (CME). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

CME Group is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.9B vs $1.0B, roughly 1.9× Crown Castle). CME Group runs the higher net margin — 0.1% vs -45.9%, a 46.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CME Group posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.5% vs -4.8%). Over the past eight quarters, CME Group's revenue compounded faster (10.8% CAGR vs -4.5%).

Crown Castle Inc. is a real estate investment trust and provider of shared communications infrastructure in the United States headquartered in Houston, Texas. Operating with 100 offices worldwide, its network includes over 40,000 cell towers and approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber systems.

CME Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in Chicago, Illinois. It operates financial derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), and the Commodity Exchange (COMEX). The company owns 27% of S&P Dow Jones Indices. It is the world's largest operator of financial derivatives exchanges. Its exchanges are platforms for trading in agricultural products, currencies, energy, i...

CCI vs CME — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CME
CME
1.9× larger
CME
$1.9B
$1.0B
CCI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CME
CME
+19.3% gap
CME
14.5%
-4.8%
CCI
Higher net margin
CME
CME
46.0% more per $
CME
0.1%
-45.9%
CCI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CME
CME
Annualised
CME
10.8%
-4.5%
CCI

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Revenue
$1.0B
$1.9B
Net Profit
$-464.0M
$1.2M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
46.0%
0.1%
Net Margin
-45.9%
0.1%
Revenue YoY
-4.8%
14.5%
Net Profit YoY
20.7%
EPS (diluted)
$1.48

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$1.0B
$1.9B
Q4 25
$1.1B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$1.1B
$1.7B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.6B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q3 24
$1.1B
$1.6B
Q2 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Net Profit
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$-464.0M
$1.2M
Q4 25
$294.0M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$323.0M
$908.0M
Q2 25
$291.0M
$1.0B
Q1 25
$-464.0M
$956.2M
Q4 24
$874.6M
Q3 24
$303.0M
$912.8M
Q2 24
$251.0M
$883.2M
Gross Margin
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
Q4 25
97.4%
Q3 25
97.2%
Q2 25
97.5%
Q1 25
97.4%
Q4 24
97.7%
Q3 24
97.6%
Q2 24
97.7%
Operating Margin
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
46.0%
0.1%
Q4 25
48.8%
61.8%
Q3 25
49.0%
63.3%
Q2 25
47.7%
66.7%
Q1 25
49.1%
67.5%
Q4 24
51.0%
62.1%
Q3 24
47.5%
64.6%
Q2 24
44.7%
65.3%
Net Margin
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
-45.9%
0.1%
Q4 25
27.5%
71.7%
Q3 25
30.1%
59.1%
Q2 25
27.5%
60.6%
Q1 25
-43.7%
58.2%
Q4 24
57.3%
Q3 24
27.1%
57.6%
Q2 24
22.7%
57.6%
EPS (diluted)
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$1.48
Q4 25
$0.67
$3.24
Q3 25
$0.74
$2.49
Q2 25
$0.67
$2.81
Q1 25
$-1.07
$2.62
Q4 24
$2.40
Q3 24
$0.70
$2.50
Q2 24
$0.58
$2.42

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$55.0M
$2.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$3.4B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
Total Assets
$31.4B
$202.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$55.0M
$2.4B
Q4 25
$99.0M
$4.5B
Q3 25
$57.0M
$2.6B
Q2 25
$94.0M
$2.1B
Q1 25
$60.0M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$100.0M
$3.0B
Q3 24
$194.0M
$2.4B
Q2 24
$155.0M
$1.9B
Total Debt
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$3.4B
Q4 25
$21.6B
Q3 25
$21.6B
Q2 25
$22.0B
Q1 25
$22.9B
Q4 24
$23.5B
Q3 24
$23.5B
Q2 24
$22.9B
Stockholders' Equity
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-1.6B
$28.7B
Q3 25
$-1.5B
$28.2B
Q2 25
$-1.4B
$27.7B
Q1 25
$-1.3B
$27.0B
Q4 24
$-133.0M
$26.5B
Q3 24
$5.3B
$28.2B
Q2 24
$5.7B
$27.6B
Total Assets
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$31.4B
$202.0B
Q4 25
$31.5B
$198.4B
Q3 25
$31.5B
$187.1B
Q2 25
$31.6B
$179.9B
Q1 25
$31.8B
$157.8B
Q4 24
$32.7B
$137.4B
Q3 24
$38.0B
$137.8B
Q2 24
$38.2B
$123.4B
Debt / Equity
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
4.43×
Q2 24
4.04×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-43.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-4.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$4.3B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
Q4 25
$3.1B
$1.1B
Q3 25
$714.0M
$968.1M
Q2 25
$832.0M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$641.0M
$1.1B
Q4 24
$2.9B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$699.0M
$1.0B
Q2 24
$768.0M
$776.9M
Free Cash Flow
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
$-43.0M
Q4 25
$2.9B
$1.1B
Q3 25
$671.0M
$949.7M
Q2 25
$792.0M
$1.0B
Q1 25
$601.0M
$1.1B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$991.7M
Q3 24
$661.0M
$973.2M
Q2 24
$729.0M
$758.7M
FCF Margin
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
-4.3%
Q4 25
268.4%
66.8%
Q3 25
62.6%
61.8%
Q2 25
74.7%
61.5%
Q1 25
56.6%
67.1%
Q4 24
247.3%
65.0%
Q3 24
59.0%
61.4%
Q2 24
65.9%
49.5%
Capex Intensity
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
1.0%
Q4 25
17.0%
2.0%
Q3 25
4.0%
1.2%
Q2 25
3.8%
1.1%
Q1 25
3.8%
0.9%
Q4 24
15.7%
1.7%
Q3 24
3.4%
1.9%
Q2 24
3.5%
1.2%
Cash Conversion
CCI
CCI
CME
CME
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.40×
0.96×
Q3 25
2.21×
1.07×
Q2 25
2.86×
1.03×
Q1 25
1.17×
Q4 24
1.16×
Q3 24
2.31×
1.10×
Q2 24
3.06×
0.88×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CCI
CCI

Site rental$961.0M95%
Services and other$49.0M5%

CME
CME

Segment breakdown not available.

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