Free cash flow
CME Group Free cash flow increased by 12.4% to $1.24B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 12.3%, from $1.10B to $1.24B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 16.5% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $460.10M | $599.90M | $641.00M | $775.70M | $599.70M | $633.80M | $957.10M | $887.20M | $629.90M | $836.80M | $1.02B | $872.90M | $758.70M | $973.20M | $991.70M | $1.10B | $1.04B | $949.70M | $1.10B | $1.24B |
| QoQ Change | — | +30.4% | +6.9% | +21.0% | -22.7% | +5.7% | +51.0% | -7.3% | -29.0% | +32.8% | +22.3% | -14.7% | -13.1% | +28.3% | +1.9% | +11.2% | -5.7% | -8.7% | +16.0% | +12.4% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +30.3% | +5.7% | +49.3% | +14.4% | +5.0% | +32.0% | +6.9% | -1.6% | +20.4% | +16.3% | -3.1% | +26.3% | +37.1% | -2.4% | +11.1% | +12.3% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CME Group's free cash flow?
- CME Group (CME) reported free cash flow of $1.24B in Q1 2026.
- How has CME Group's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- CME Group's free cash flow increased by 12.3% year-over-year, from $1.10B to $1.24B.
- What is the long-term trend for CME Group's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), CME Group's free cash flow has grown at a 16.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.28B to $4.19B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.