CME Group vs Morningstar
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put CME Group and Morningstar 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 $2.4B for Morningstar, about 2.7 times as much.
- Morningstar grew revenue faster (7.5%, against 6.4%).
- CME Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (64.9% operating margin, against 21.5%).
- CME Group turned more of its sales into free cash flow (64.3% FCF margin, against 18.1%).
- Morningstar earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (22.5%, against 11.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of CME Group’s earnings: a P/E of 25.3x against 21.4x for Morningstar.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
CME Group
CME
5/10
Operating marginNet marginFCF marginPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Morningstar
MORN
5/10
Revenue growth5-year growthReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CME FY25 | MORN FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $110.5B | $8.6B |
| Revenue | $6.5B | $2.4B |
| Free cash flow | $4.2B | $443M |
| Net income | $4.1B | $374M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 7.5% |
| 5-year growth | 6.0% | 12.0% |
| Share count change | 0.1% | −2.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 61.0% |
| Operating margin | 64.9% | 21.5% |
| Net margin | 62.5% | 15.3% |
| FCF margin | 64.3% | 18.1% |
| Return on capital | 11.9% | 22.5% |
| Return on equity | 14.8% | 26.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$1.1B | $544M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.3x | 0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.9B | $864M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.3x | 21.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
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.