Will the CME Group outperform analyst predictions?

In the upcoming Q1 earnings report, scheduled for May 2, CME Group is expected to face a challenging landscape. Analysts predict an 8.8% decrease in the company's EPS compared to the prior-year quarter, with the average estimated EPS for Q1 standing at $0.73. Similarly, a 8.0% decrease in revenues is projected, with the average estimated revenue for Q1 at $712.3 million.

However, the operating margin for the preceding quarter was 56.8%, which was 380 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. This improvement could potentially offset the revenue and EPS projections. The gross margin for the same quarter was 97.1%, albeit 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

CME Group's stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 757 members rating it as outperform, and 50 as underperform. Among 199 CAPS All-Star picks, 187 give CME Group a green thumbs-up, and 12 give it a red thumbs-down. The Motley Fool itself owns shares of CME Group.

Last quarter, CME Group reported revenue of $660.9 million, which was 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $736.5 million. The GAAP EPS last quarter was $0.50, which was 78% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.25 per share. However, the non-GAAP EPS was $0.63.

It's worth noting that there is no evidence from available search results that CME Group received any award for corporate reports in the first quarter of any year related to the trading of its stock from any national or international institution.

Among Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on CME Group is outperform, with an average price target of $57.26.

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Disclosure: Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned in the article at the time of publication.