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CME Group vs Intercontinental Exchange: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The structural profiles are close, with CME carrying a narrow edge on growth. Intercontinental Exchange still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — CME holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — CME's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

Growth points more clearly toward Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., even if the broader score still leans toward CME Group Inc..

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. CME and ICE share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how CME and Intercontinental Exchange each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
CME
CME Group Inc.
72
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
70
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: CME vs ICE Profitability 78 65 Stability 78 52 Valuation 67 73 Growth 64 91 CME ICE
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +27
#2 Stability +26
#3 Profitability +13
#4 Valuation +6
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CME and ICE Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CMEICE Relative valuation Structural strength

The structural gap is limited here, but current pricing still leans against CME Group Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CME and ICE each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CME Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 25 pct gap ICE Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 98th 73rd
Today ICE sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (73rd percentile), while CME sits higher in its own history (98th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, ICE is at a historically more favourable entry position than CME. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both rank well on growth, but Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. still holds a clear edge.
Stability
On stability, the edge still sits with CME Group Inc., even though both profiles look solid.
Growth — Dominant Gap
CME
64
ICE
91
Gap+27in favour of ICE

The clearest distance comes from a stronger growth profile.

What else supports the lead

Stability also supports the lead, so the result is broader than one isolated gap.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver of the lead, with stability adding further support — though growth still provides a real counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CME vs ICE comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how CME and ICE each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.