8-K

CME GROUP INC. (CME)

8-K 2020-02-12 For: 2020-02-12
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Added on April 07, 2026

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

_________________________________________________________

FORM 8-K

_________________________________________________________

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) February 12, 2020

_________________________________________________________

CME GROUP INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

_________________________________________________________

Delaware 001-31553 36-4459170
(State or Other Jurisdiction<br><br>of Incorporation) (Commission<br><br>File No.) (IRS Employer<br><br>Identification No.)
20 South Wacker Drive Chicago Illinois 60606
--- --- --- ---
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (312) 930-1000

N/A

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

______________________________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading symbol Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock CME Nasdaq

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | | --- | --- || ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | | --- | --- || ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | | --- | --- || ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | | --- | --- |

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405) of this chapter or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.


Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

The information set forth under “Item 2.02. Results Of Operations and Financial Condition,” including the Exhibit attached hereto, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Attached and incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of a press release of CME Group Inc. dated February 12, 2020, reporting CME Group Inc.’s financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

To supplement CME Group’s financial statements on a GAAP basis, the attached press release includes financial measures that are not in accordance with GAAP, consisting of non-GAAP net income and earnings per share. Management believes that the presentation of non-GAAP net income and earnings per share provide important supplemental information to management and investors about financial and business trends relating to CME Group Inc.’s financial condition and results of operations. Management believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provide a better measure of comparability with the Company’s prior financial reports. Management acknowledges that non-GAAP adjustments may include recurring items. These non-GAAP measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, CME Group Inc. has included a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the press release.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Exhibit<br><br>Number Description
--- ---
99.1 Press Release, dated February 12, 2020
104 The cover page from CME Group Inc.'s Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted in Inline XBRL.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

CME Group Inc.
Registrant
Date: February 12, 2020 By: /s/ Kathleen M. Cronin
Name: Kathleen M. Cronin
Title: Senior Managing Director, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
		Exhibit

Exhibit 99.1

Media contact Investor contact
Anita Liskey, 312.466.4613 John Peschier, 312.930.8491
Chris Grams, 312.930.3435 CME-G
news@cmegroup.com
www.cmegroup.mediaroom.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CME Group Inc. Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Financial Results

CHICAGO, February 12, 2020 - CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019.

The company reported revenue of $1.1 billion and operating income of $573 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. Net income was $469 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.31. On an adjusted basis, net income was $544 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.52. Financial results presented on an adjusted basis for the fourth quarter of 2019 and 2018 exclude certain items, which are detailed in the reconciliation of non-GAAP results.^1^

Total revenue for full-year 2019 was $4.9 billion and operating income was $2.6 billion. Net income was $2.1 billion and diluted earnings per share were $5.91. On an adjusted basis, net income was $2.4 billion, and diluted earnings per share were $6.80.

"During 2019, we delivered significant client value and efficiencies through the continued, successful integration of the NEX business and the introduction of innovative new products,” said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. “At the same time, international clients turned to our markets to manage risk in record numbers, driven by double-digit increases in Asia and Latin America. Year to date, trading volume has increased, especially in commodities, which points to the diversity of our product offering amid rising volatility and uncertainty. Looking ahead, we remain focused on a number of integration milestones, including the launch of BrokerTec fixed income markets alongside our benchmark futures and options on CME Globex in 2020."

Fourth-quarter 2019 average daily volume (ADV) was 16.9 million contracts, down 19% compared with the strong fourth-quarter 2018. Non-U.S. ADV for full-year 2019 reached a record 4.9 million contracts, up 10% compared with full-year 2018, including 7% growth in Europe, 20% growth in Asia and 47% growth in Latin America.

  1. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial results mentioned to the respective GAAP figures can be found within the Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Measures chart at the end of the financial statements and earnings presentation materials.
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Clearing and transaction fees revenue for fourth-quarter 2019 totaled $901 million. The total average rate per contract was $0.717, up 3% compared with third-quarter 2019. Market data revenue totaled $130 million for fourth-quarter 2019.

As of December 31, 2019, the company had approximately $1.7 billion in cash (including $100 million deposited with Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) and included in other current assets) and $3.7 billion of debt. The company declared dividends during 2019 of

$2 billion, including the annual variable dividend of $894 million. The company has returned approximately $13.2 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends since the implementation of the variable dividend policy in early 2012.

CME Group will hold a Q&A conference call to discuss fourth-quarter 2019 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. A live audio webcast of the Q&A call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CME Group’s website at www.cmegroup.com. An archived recording will be available for up to two months after the call.

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data - empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex® platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. With a range of pre- and post-trade products and services underpinning the entire lifecycle of a trade, CME Group also offers optimization and reconciliation services through TriOptima, and trade processing services through Traiana.

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and, E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec, EBS, TriOptima, and Traiana are trademarks of BrokerTec Europe LTD, EBS Group LTD, TriOptima AB, and Traiana, Inc., respectively. Dow Jones, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and S&P are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and S&P/Dow Jones Indices LLC, as the case may be, and have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. We want to caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the factors that might affect our performance are increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities, including increased competition from new entrants into our markets and consolidation of existing entities; our ability to keep pace with rapid technological developments, including our ability to complete the development, implementation and maintenance of the enhanced functionality required by our customers while maintaining reliability and ensuring that such technology is not vulnerable to security risks; our ability to continue introducing competitive new products and services on a timely, cost-effective basis, including through our electronic trading capabilities, and our ability to maintain the competitiveness of our existing products and services, including our ability to provide effective services to the swaps market; our ability to adjust our fixed costs and expenses if our revenues decline; our ability to maintain existing customers at substantially similar trading levels, develop strategic relationships and attract new customers; our ability to expand and globally offer our products and services; changes in regulations, including the impact of any changes in laws or government policy with respect to our products or services or our industry, such as any changes to regulations and policies that require increased financial and operational resources from us or our customers; the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights and our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others; decreases in revenue from our market data as a result of decreased demand or changes to regulations in various jurisdictions; changes in our rate per contract due to shifts in the mix of the products traded, the trading venue and the mix of customers (whether the customer receives member or non-member fees or participates in one of our various incentive programs) and the impact of our tiered pricing structure; the ability of our credit and liquidity risk management practices to adequately protect us from the credit risks of clearing members and other counterparties, and to satisfy the margin and liquidity requirements associated with the BrokerTec matched principal business; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks, including our ability to prevent errors and misconduct and protect our infrastructure against security breaches and misappropriation of our intellectual property assets; our dependence on third-party providers and exposure to risk through third-parties, including risks related to the performance, reliability and security of technology used by our third-party providers; volatility in commodity, equity and fixed income prices, and price volatility of financial benchmarks and instruments such as interest rates, credit spreads, equity indices, fixed income instruments and foreign exchange rates; economic, social, political and market conditions, including the volatility of the capital and credit markets and the impact of economic conditions on the trading activity of our current and potential customers; our ability to accommodate increases in contract volume and order transaction traffic and to implement enhancements without failure or degradation of the performance of our trading and clearing systems; our ability to execute our growth strategy and maintain our growth effectively; our ability to manage the risks, control the costs and achieve the synergies associated with our strategy for acquisitions, investments and alliances, including those associated with the acquisition of NEX; our ability to continue to generate funds and/or manage our indebtedness to allow us to continue to invest in our business; industry and customer consolidation; decreases in trading and clearing activity; the imposition of a transaction tax or user fee on futures and options on futures transactions and/or repeal of the 60/40 tax treatment of such transactions; our ability to maintain our reputation; and the unfavorable resolution of material legal proceedings.  For a detailed discussion of these and other factors that might affect our performance, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent periodic reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.

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CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in millions)

December 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,551.4 $ 1,374.5
Marketable securities 83.2 72.9
Accounts receivable, net of allowance 491.8 553.3
Other current assets (includes $4.3 and $1.5 in restricted cash) 364.4 430.5
Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions 37,077.0 39,455.5
Total current assets 39,567.8 41,886.7
Property, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization 544.0 448.7
Intangible assets—trading products 17,175.3 17,175.3
Intangible assets—other, net 5,117.7 5,500.1
Goodwill 10,742.5 10,805.3
Other assets (includes $0.9 and $1.2 in restricted cash) 2,068.0 1,659.6
Total Assets $ 75,215.3 $ 77,475.7
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 61.9 $ 116.0
Short-term debt 574.2
Other current liabilities 1,384.8 1,126.9
Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions 37,075.8 39,455.5
Total current liabilities 38,522.5 41,272.6
Long-term debt 3,743.2 3,826.8
Deferred income tax liabilities, net 5,635.2 5,665.9
Other liabilities 1,155.1 745.1
Total Liabilities 49,056.0 51,510.4
CME Group Shareholders’ Equity 26,128.9 25,918.5
Non-controlling interests 30.4 46.8
Total Equity 26,159.3 25,965.3
Total Liabilities and Equity $ 75,215.3 $ 77,475.7

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands) Quarter Ended <br>December 31, Year Ended <br>December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Revenues
Clearing and transaction fees $ 901.0 $ 1,034.8 $ 3,946.1 $ 3,667.0
Market data and information services 130.3 130.2 518.5 449.6
Other 107.1 71.6 403.4 192.8
Total Revenues 1,138.4 1,236.6 4,868.0 4,309.4
Expenses
Compensation and benefits 217.6 223.8 898.7 672.2
Technology 53.1 41.8 201.5 117.2
Professional fees and outside services 49.8 60.3 174.1 166.1
Amortization of purchased intangibles 78.1 59.0 314.7 130.0
Depreciation and amortization 38.0 32.9 158.6 118.7
Licensing and other fee agreements 41.3 47.8 172.2 170.6
Other 87.5 121.1 360.4 327.0
Total Expenses 565.4 586.7 2,280.2 1,701.8
Operating Income 573.0 649.9 2,587.8 2,607.6
Non-Operating Income (Expense)
Investment income 147.6 185.3 637.9 745.1
Interest and other borrowing costs (42.0 ) (49.5 ) (178.0 ) (157.7 )
Equity in net earnings (losses) of unconsolidated subsidiaries 44.5 39.2 176.8 152.8
Other non-operating income (expense) (99.0 ) (154.4 ) (534.9 ) (570.0 )
Total Non-Operating Income (Expense) 51.1 20.6 101.8 170.2
Income before Income Taxes 624.1 670.5 2,689.6 2,777.8
Income tax provision 155.1 283.5 573.8 814.1
Net Income 469.0 387.0 2,115.8 1,963.7
Less: net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests 0.5 (1.5 ) 0.7 (1.5 )
Net Income Attributable to CME Group $ 469.5 $ 385.5 $ 2,116.5 $ 1,962.2
Earnings per Common Share Attributable to CME Group:
Basic $ 1.31 $ 1.10 $ 5.93 $ 5.73
Diluted 1.31 1.09 5.91 5.71
Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:
Basic 357,456 350,921 357,155 342,344
Diluted 358,354 352,132 358,239 343,737

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Quarterly Operating Statistics

4Q 2018 1Q 2019 2Q 2019 3Q 2019 4Q 2019
Trading Days 64 61 63 64 64

Quarterly Average Daily Volume (ADV)^(1)^

CME Group ADV (in thousands)

Product Line 4Q 2018 1Q 2019 2Q 2019 3Q 2019 4Q 2019
Interest rates 10,919 10,313 11,593 10,868 8,638
Equity indexes 4,510 3,161 3,480 3,931 3,252
Foreign exchange 942 885 874 850 839
Energy 2,665 2,331 2,498 2,456 2,213
Agricultural commodities 1,248 1,381 1,839 1,320 1,278
Metals 547 561 633 821 652
Total 20,831 18,633 20,918 20,247 16,872
Venue
CME Globex 19,024 16,576 18,505 18,282 15,356
Open outcry 1,128 1,284 1,501 1,177 867
Privately negotiated 680 773 912 788 650
Total 20,831 18,633 20,918 20,247 16,872
1. ADV includes futures and options on futures only.

Quarterly Average Rate Per Contract (RPC)

CME Group RPC

Product Line 4Q 2018 1Q 2019 2Q 2019 3Q 2019 4Q 2019
Interest rates $ 0.475 $ 0.481 $ 0.476 $ 0.500 $ 0.507
Equity indexes 0.715 0.757 0.676 0.612 0.654
Foreign exchange 0.720 0.763 0.713 0.720 0.732
Energy 1.150 1.159 1.139 1.137 1.133
Agricultural commodities 1.261 1.246 1.222 1.234 1.242
Metals 1.428 1.488 1.455 1.414 1.344
Average RPC $ 0.697 $ 0.713 $ 0.693 $ 0.693 $ 0.717

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Measures
(dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)
Quarter Ended <br>December 31, Year Ended <br>December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net Income Attributable to CME Group $ 469.5 $ 385.5 $ 2,116.5 $ 1,962.2
Restructuring and severance 6.4 2.5 20.8 4.4
Amortization of purchased intangibles 78.1 59.0 314.7 130.0
Litigation matters 10.3
Acquisition-related costs^(1)^ 8.6 88.7 31.3 109.7
Foreign exchange transaction (gains) losses^(2)^ 5.5 9.1 7.2 73.6
Acceleration of contractual commitments (2.3 ) (1.3 ) (1.6 )
Unrealized and realized (gains) losses on investments (18.3 ) (11.6 ) 1.8 (97.5 )
Loss on real estate sublease and related costs 0.5 5.9
(Gains) Losses on derivatives (0.2 ) 10.9 17.7 62.3
Realized and unrealized (gains) losses on assets^(3)^ 2.9 3.5 81.7 14.5
Debt costs related to acquisition 5.1 21.9
Income tax effect related to above (6.4 ) (26.2 ) (99.7 ) (58.8 )
Other income tax items (2.2 ) 100.3 (62.2 ) 113.4
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to CME Group $ 544.4 $ 624.5 $ 2,434.4 $ 2,344.4
GAAP Earnings per Common Share Attributable to CME Group:
Basic $ 1.31 $ 1.10 $ 5.93 $ 5.73
Diluted 1.31 1.09 5.91 5.71
Adjusted Earnings per Common Share Attributable to CME Group:
Basic $ 1.52 $ 1.78 $ 6.82 $ 6.85
Diluted 1.52 1.77 6.80 6.82
Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:
Basic 357,456 350,921 357,155 342,344
Diluted 358,354 352,132 358,239 343,737
1. Acquisition-related costs primarily include professional fees related to the NEX transaction.
2. Results include foreign exchange transaction net gains and losses principally related to cash held in British pounds within entities whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar.
3. Results include net gains and losses on intangible assets, fixed assets and assets held for sale.