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Side-by-side financial comparison of CME Group (CME) and ICON PLC (ICLR). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
ICON PLC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($2.0B vs $1.9B, roughly 1.1× CME Group). ICON PLC runs the higher net margin — 0.1% vs 0.1%, a 0.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CME Group posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.5% vs 0.6%). Over the past eight quarters, CME Group's revenue compounded faster (10.8% CAGR vs 0.6%).
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...
ICON plc is an Irish headquartered multinational healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation. As of February 2025 had approximately 41,900 employees in 55 countries.
CME vs ICLR — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.9B | $2.0B |
| Net Profit | $1.2M | $2.4M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 0.1% | 4.2% |
| Net Margin | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Revenue YoY | 14.5% | 0.6% |
| Net Profit YoY | 20.7% | -98.8% |
| EPS (diluted) | — | $0.03 |
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 | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.5B | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.7B | $2.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $2.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.5B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.6B | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.5B | $2.1B |
| Q1 26 | $1.2M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.2B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $908.0M | $2.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $183.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $956.2M | $154.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $874.6M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $912.8M | $197.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $883.2M | $146.9M |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 61.8% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 63.3% | 4.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 66.7% | 10.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.5% | 11.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 62.1% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 64.6% | 14.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 65.3% | 10.8% |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 71.7% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 59.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 60.6% | 9.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 58.2% | 7.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 57.3% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 57.6% | 9.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 57.6% | 6.9% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.24 | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.49 | $0.03 | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.81 | $2.30 | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.62 | $1.90 | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.40 | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.50 | $2.36 | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.42 | $1.76 |
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 | $468.9M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $3.4B | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | — | $9.3B |
| Total Assets | $202.0B | $16.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $2.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $4.5B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $468.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.1B | $390.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5B | $526.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.0B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $695.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $506.6M |
| Q1 26 | $3.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $28.7B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $28.2B | $9.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.7B | $9.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $27.0B | $9.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $26.5B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $28.2B | $9.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $27.6B | $9.6B |
| Q1 26 | $202.0B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $198.4B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $187.1B | $16.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $179.9B | $16.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $157.8B | $16.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $137.4B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $137.8B | $17.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $123.4B | $17.0B |
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 | — | $387.6M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $333.9M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 16.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 2.6% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 164.59× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $1.0B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $968.1M | $387.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1B | $146.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $268.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.0B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $402.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $776.9M | $218.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $949.7M | $333.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $113.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $239.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $991.7M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $973.2M | $359.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $758.7M | $182.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 66.8% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 61.8% | 16.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 61.5% | 5.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.1% | 12.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 65.0% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 61.4% | 17.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 49.5% | 8.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.2% | 2.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.1% | 1.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.9% | 1.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.7% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.9% | 2.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 1.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.96× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.07× | 164.59× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.03× | 0.80× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.17× | 1.74× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.16× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.10× | 2.04× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.88× | 1.49× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CME
Segment breakdown not available.
ICLR
| Other Customers | $681.3M | 33% |
| Clients1125 | $549.4M | 27% |
| Clients15 | $503.3M | 25% |
| Clients610 | $308.8M | 15% |
