vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of CME Group (CME) and LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.9B vs $1.9B, roughly 2.6× CME Group). LPL Financial Holdings Inc. runs the higher net margin — 6.1% vs 0.1%, a 6.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (40.4% vs 14.5%). Over the past eight quarters, LPL Financial Holdings Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (32.0% 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...
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is considered the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States. As of 2021 the company had more than 17,500 financial advisors, over US$1 trillion in advisory and brokerage assets, and generated approximately $10.3 billion in annual revenue for the 2023 fiscal year. LPL Financial has main offices in Boston, Fort Mill, Austin, and San Diego. The company is a member of FINRA and the SIPC.
CME vs LPLA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.9B | $4.9B |
| Net Profit | $1.2M | $300.7M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 0.1% | 8.1% |
| Net Margin | 0.1% | 6.1% |
| Revenue YoY | 14.5% | 40.4% |
| Net Profit YoY | 20.7% | 11.1% |
| EPS (diluted) | — | $3.65 |
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 | $4.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.5B | $4.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.7B | $3.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $3.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.5B | $3.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.6B | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.5B | $2.9B |
| Q1 26 | $1.2M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.2B | $300.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $908.0M | $-29.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $273.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $956.2M | $318.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $874.6M | $270.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $912.8M | $255.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $883.2M | $243.8M |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 61.8% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 63.3% | -0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 66.7% | 9.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.5% | 11.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 62.1% | 9.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 64.6% | 11.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 65.3% | 11.3% |
| Q1 26 | 0.1% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 71.7% | 6.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 59.1% | -0.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 60.6% | 7.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 58.2% | 8.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 57.3% | 7.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 57.6% | 8.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 57.6% | 8.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.24 | $3.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.49 | $-0.37 | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.81 | $3.40 | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.62 | $4.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.40 | $3.58 | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.50 | $3.39 | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.42 | $3.23 |
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 | $1.1B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $3.4B | $7.3B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | — | $5.3B |
| Total Assets | $202.0B | $18.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 1.36× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $2.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $4.5B | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $1.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.1B | $4.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5B | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.0B | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $1.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $1.4B |
| Q1 26 | $3.4B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | $7.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $7.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $7.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $5.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $5.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $4.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $4.4B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $28.7B | $5.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $28.2B | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.7B | $5.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $27.0B | $3.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $26.5B | $2.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | $28.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $27.6B | $2.5B |
| Q1 26 | $202.0B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $198.4B | $18.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $187.1B | $18.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $179.9B | $17.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $157.8B | $14.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $137.4B | $13.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $137.8B | $11.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $123.4B | $11.5B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | 1.36× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.49× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 1.41× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.82× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.87× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.60× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.77× |
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 | — | $785.0M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $613.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 12.4% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 3.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 2.61× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $-981.8M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $785.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $968.1M | $-1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1B | $193.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $339.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.0B | $-178.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $209.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $776.9M | $-178.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $613.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $949.7M | $-1.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $56.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $220.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $991.7M | $-344.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $973.2M | $62.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $758.7M | $-307.8M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 66.8% | 12.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 61.8% | -41.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 61.5% | 1.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 67.1% | 6.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 65.0% | -9.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 61.4% | 2.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 49.5% | -10.5% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.0% | 3.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.2% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.1% | 3.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.9% | 3.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.7% | 4.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.9% | 4.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 4.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.96× | 2.61× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.07× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.03× | 0.71× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.17× | 1.07× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.16× | -0.66× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.10× | 0.82× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.88× | -0.73× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CME
Segment breakdown not available.
LPLA
| Other | $2.6B | 53% |
| Transferred At Point In Time | $721.1M | 15% |
| Annuities | $720.5M | 15% |
| Transferred Over Time | $510.7M | 10% |
| Mutual Fund | $271.1M | 5% |
| Other Investment | $110.2M | 2% |
