As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the financial exchanges & data industry, including CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its peers.

Financial exchanges and data providers operate trading platforms and sell market information. They enjoy relatively stable revenue from trading fees and subscriptions, increasing demand for data analytics, and expansion opportunities in emerging markets. Challenges include regulatory oversight of market structure, competition from alternative trading venues, and substantial technology investments needed to maintain low-latency trading infrastructure and data security.

The 10 financial exchanges & data stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8%.

While some financial exchanges & data stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 2.7% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q4: CME Group (NASDAQ: CME)

Born from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange founded in 1898 as a butter and egg trading venue, CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) operates the world's largest derivatives marketplace where traders can buy and sell futures and options contracts across interest rates, equities, currencies, commodities, and more.

CME Group reported revenues of $1.65 billion, up 8.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

"Last year, CME Group delivered the best year in our history and our fourth consecutive year of record revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share," said Terry Duffy, CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Interestingly, the stock is up 5.3% since reporting and currently trades at $308.54.

Is now the time to buy CME Group? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN)

Founded in 1984 by Joe Mansueto with just $80,000 in personal savings, Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) provides independent investment data, research, and analysis tools that help investors, advisors, and institutions make informed financial decisions.

Morningstar reported revenues of $641.1 million, up 8.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Morningstar pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $159.50.

Is now the time to buy Morningstar? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Tradeweb Markets (NASDAQ: TW)

Founded in 1996 as one of the pioneers in electronic bond trading, Tradeweb Markets (NASDAQ: TW) builds and operates electronic marketplaces that connect financial institutions for trading across rates, credit, equities, and money markets.

Tradeweb Markets reported revenues of $521.2 million, up 12.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a satisfactory quarter as it also posted an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 18.4% since the results and currently trades at $119.42.

Read our full analysis of Tradeweb Markets’s results here.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX)

Pioneering the shift from phone-based to electronic bond trading since 2000, MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) operates electronic trading platforms that enable institutional investors and broker-dealers to efficiently trade fixed-income securities like corporate and government bonds.

MarketAxess reported revenues of $209.4 million, up 3.5% year on year. This number missed analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

MarketAxess had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 11.2% since reporting and currently trades at $181.10.

Read our full, actionable report on MarketAxess here, it’s free.

MSCI (NYSE: MSCI)

Originally known as Morgan Stanley Capital International before becoming independent in 2007, MSCI (NYSE: MSCI) provides critical decision support tools, indexes, and analytics that help global investors understand risk and return factors and build more effective investment portfolios.

MSCI reported revenues of $822.5 million, up 10.6% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a narrow beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but revenue in line with analysts’ estimates.

The stock is down 5.8% since reporting and currently trades at $547.76.

Read our full, actionable report on MSCI here, it’s free.

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