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Side-by-side financial comparison of CME Group (CME) and Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
CME Group is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.9B vs $1.2B, roughly 1.6× Shift4 Payments, Inc.). Shift4 Payments, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 3.4% vs 0.1%, a 3.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Shift4 Payments, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (34.0% vs 14.5%). Over the past eight quarters, Shift4 Payments, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (29.6% CAGR vs 10.8%).
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...
Shift4 Payments, Inc. is an American payment processing company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company, founded in 1999 by the then 16-year-old Jared Isaacman, processes payments for over 200,000 businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure, and restaurant industries. Shift4 specializes in commerce technology such as mobile payment software and hardware. The company was publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020.
CME vs FOUR — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.9B | $1.2B |
| Net Profit | $1.2M | $40.2M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 0.1% | 10.8% |
| Net Margin | 0.1% | 3.4% |
| Revenue YoY | 14.5% | 34.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | 20.7% | -65.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | — | — |
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.
| Q1 26 | $1.9B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.6B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.5B | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.7B | $966.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $848.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.5B | $887.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.6B | $909.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.5B | $827.0M |
| Q1 26 | $1.2M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.2B | $40.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $908.0M | $28.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $34.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $956.2M | $16.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $874.6M | $116.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $912.8M | $53.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $883.2M | $39.2M |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 61.8% | 10.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 63.3% | 9.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 66.7% | 8.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.5% | 3.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 62.1% | 9.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 64.6% | 8.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 65.3% | 7.2% |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 71.7% | 3.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 59.1% | 2.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 60.6% | 3.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 58.2% | 2.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 57.3% | 13.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 57.6% | 5.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 57.6% | 4.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.24 | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.49 | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.81 | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.62 | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.40 | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.50 | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.42 | — |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $2.4B | $964.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $3.4B | $4.5B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | — | $1.4B |
| Total Assets | $202.0B | $8.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 3.15× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $2.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $4.5B | $964.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.1B | $3.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5B | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.0B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $1.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $205.0M |
| Q1 26 | $3.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | $4.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $4.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $3.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $28.7B | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 25 | $28.2B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.7B | $1.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $27.0B | $805.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $26.5B | $806.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $28.2B | $811.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $27.6B | $700.8M |
| Q1 26 | $202.0B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $198.4B | $8.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $187.1B | $9.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $179.9B | $7.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $157.8B | $5.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $137.4B | $5.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $137.8B | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $123.4B | $3.5B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | 3.15× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 2.83× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 2.34× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 3.53× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 3.52× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $223.7M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $222.5M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 18.7% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 0.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 5.56× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $624.0M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $223.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $968.1M | $171.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1B | $141.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $96.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.0B | $145.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $182.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $776.9M | $116.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $222.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $949.7M | $165.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $141.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $95.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $991.7M | $143.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $973.2M | $180.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $758.7M | $113.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 66.8% | 18.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 61.8% | 14.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 61.5% | 14.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.1% | 11.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 65.0% | 16.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 61.4% | 19.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 49.5% | 13.8% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.0% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.2% | 0.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.9% | 0.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.7% | 0.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.9% | 0.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 0.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.96× | 5.56× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.07× | 6.11× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.03× | 4.17× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.17× | 5.78× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.16× | 1.25× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.10× | 3.38× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.88× | 2.96× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CME
Segment breakdown not available.
FOUR
| Payments Based Revenue | $788.8M | 66% |
| Other | $255.0M | 21% |
| Subscription And Other Revenues | $144.8M | 12% |
