CME Group (CME) Q2 2026: Trading Fees Slip 2.6%, Market Data Hits Record $238M

The volatility trade that powered CME Group's first quarter cooled in the second, and the exchange's core fee engine went into reverse. Clearing and transaction fees fell to $1,352.5 million from $1,388.0 million a year earlier, a 2.6% decline, as aggregate average daily volume slipped 1% to 29.8 million contracts and the average fee earned per contract dropped to $0.678 from $0.690 — and that rate decline would have been worse without a clearing and transaction fee increase that took effect on April 1, 2026. The swing from the first quarter is stark: those same fees had risen 15.4% year over year in the first three months of 2026, to $1,542.6 million from $1,337.3 million. Total revenue still edged up 0.8% to $1,706.2 million, because market data and information services jumped 20.2% to a record $238.1 million and other revenue added $9.7 million — together more than covering the $35.5 million fee shortfall. Net income rose 1.6% to $1,041.8 million, but that increase came entirely from below the tax line: pre-tax income actually slipped 0.2% to $1,327.7 million. The quarter is best read as a live test of whether CME's non-transaction revenue can hold the line when trading activity normalizes, and the answer for now is a qualified yes.

All figures are taken from CME Group's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 and the company's July 22, 2026 earnings release unless otherwise noted.

1. Consolidated Balance Sheet

1-1. Principal asset items

One structural point comes first. CME's balance sheet is dominated by $158,110.7 million of performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions — collateral that clearing members post to secure their positions. It appears as both an asset and an identical liability, so it inflates the balance sheet without belonging to shareholders. Stripping it out, total assets were $36,565.9 million at June 30, 2026, down 5.7% from $38,768.1 million at December 31, 2025.