CME Group vs MSCI
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put CME Group and MSCI side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- CME Group is the larger business, with $6.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.1B for MSCI, about 2.1 times as much.
- MSCI grew revenue faster (9.8%, against 6.4%).
- CME Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (64.9% operating margin, against 54.7%).
- CME Group turned more of its sales into free cash flow (64.3% FCF margin, against 49.4%).
- MSCI earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (44.5%, against 11.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of MSCI’s earnings: a P/E of 32.7x against 25.3x for CME Group.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
CME Group
CME
4/9
Operating marginNet marginFCF marginNet debt / EBITDA
MSCI
MSCI
4/9
Revenue growth5-year growthReturn on capitalShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CME FY25 | MSCI FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $110.5B | $44.7B |
| Revenue | $6.5B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $4.2B | $1.5B |
| Net income | $4.1B | $1.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 9.8% |
| 5-year growth | 6.0% | 13.1% |
| Share count change | 0.1% | −2.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 64.9% | 54.7% |
| Net margin | 62.5% | 38.4% |
| FCF margin | 64.3% | 49.4% |
| Return on capital | 11.9% | 44.5% |
| Return on equity | 14.8% | — |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$1.1B | $5.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.3x | 3.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.9B | $3.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.3x | 32.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.