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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

CME Group vs Jefferies Financial Group: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

CME holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and stability. Jefferies Financial still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across profitability and stability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 29 points in favour of CME Group Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.74
Similar
Peer-set rank: #16
within CME Group Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

Most of the shared profile comes through investment intensity and revenue growth trajectory.

Similarity drivers
investment intensityrevenue growth trajectory
What reduces the match
capital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CME
CME Group Inc.
70
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
JEF
Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
41
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: Russell 1000

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 JEF Profitability 73 9 Stability 77 22 Valuation 68 79 Growth 59 50 CME JEF
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +64
#2 Stability +55
#3 Valuation +11
#4 Growth +9
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CME and JEF Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CMEJEF Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure clearly favours CME Group Inc., even though current pricing leans the other way.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CME Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 23 pct gap JEF Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 98th 74th
Today JEF sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (74th percentile), while CME sits higher in its own history (98th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, JEF 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
Profitability
On profitability, CME Group Inc. ranks near the top of the group; Jefferies Financial Group Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Stability
The same broad pattern appears on stability: CME Group Inc. ranks near the top of the group, while Jefferies Financial Group Inc. stays in the weaker half.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
CME
73
JEF
9
Gap+64in favour of CME

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 56-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Jefferies Financial, with a forward P/E that is 11.2 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and stability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

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Similar profitability-and-stability comparisons

Explore how CME and JEF 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.