Canadian Halal Investor.

NASDAQ Shariah screener · October 2026

Is CME Group Inc. (CME) Halal?

FAIL

CME Group Inc. · NASDAQ: CME · Financials

The short answer

No - CME Group Inc. (CME) fails this Shariah stock screen. CME Group, the world's largest derivatives marketplace operator, earns its revenue from operating futures and options exchanges (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX) and a derivatives clearing house (FY2025 revenues $6,520.6M) - derivatives are widely considered impermissible instruments in Islamic finance, so a strict reading fails the business gate (scholars differ on whether operating the marketplace itself is haram - this judgment call is stated, not hidden). The financial ratios are decisive: investment income of $5,736.5M is about 87.96% of revenue - about 13.84% even net of the $4,833.8M pass-through to clearing members - far above the 5% ceiling. Debt is clean: $3,422.3M is about 3.60% of its ~$95.11B market cap ($265.10/share, October 2026), below the ~33% ceiling. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: FAIL

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), headquartered in Chicago, IL, is the world's largest derivatives marketplace operator. Per its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; Commission File No. 001-31553; CIK 0001156375), it operates four designated contract markets - CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX - plus a derivatives clearing house that 'clears, settles and guarantees futures and options contracts traded through our exchanges, in addition to cleared swaps products.' Product lines: interest-rate, equity-index, foreign-exchange, energy, agricultural-commodity, and metals futures and options on futures. It also owns ~27% of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and the BrokerTec/EBS fixed-income and FX trading platforms. FY2025 revenue mix: clearing and transaction fees $5,281.1M (~81%), market data $803.1M, other $436.4M. Business-screen implication (factual): no alcohol, tobacco, pork, gambling operations, or weapons - but the core business is operating derivatives (futures/options) exchanges. Futures and options contracts are widely considered impermissible instruments in Islamic finance (gharar/speculation); scholars differ on whether operating the marketplace itself is a haram business vs. a permissible service. A strict reading fails the business gate (this is the judgment call, stated not hidden - the gate-3 failure below is decisive regardless). Gate 1 fails on strict reading. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS

Per CME Group's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; $ millions), long-term debt at December 31, 2025 was $3,422.3M (short-term debt $0 - the $750M 3% notes due 2025 were repaid March 10, 2025; $750M of 4.4% notes due March 2030 were issued the same day; shareholders' equity $28,728.2M). Against a market cap of about $95.11B ($265.10 per share, Finnhub, October 2026; sanity check: 358,950,000 Class A shares x $265.10 = about $95.16B - exact), debt / market cap is about 3.60% - below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $4,416.9M plus marketable securities of $125.0M = $4,541.9M, about 4.78% of market cap. Clearing balances ($159,656.1M performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions) are clearing-member collateral held in trust, matched by equal liabilities - correctly excluded from company assets. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: FAIL

Per CME Group's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; $ millions), investment income was $5,736.5M against total revenues of $6,520.6M = about 87.96% of revenue - far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. The 10-K (Item 8) defines investment income as including 'income from short-term investment of clearing firms' cash performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions as well as excess operating cash' plus interest income from marketable securities - interest income in substance, most of which is passed back to clearing members via the ($4,833.8M) 'other non-operating income (expense)' offset. Even net of that pass-through: $902.7M / $6,520.6M = about 13.84% - still far above the ceiling. Methodology difference disclosed: Zoya does NOT classify CME's investment income as interest income (Zoya reports $0) - the strict reading used here follows the 10-K's definition. Gate 3 fails decisively. Facts only.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does CME Group do?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), headquartered at 20 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, is the world's largest derivatives marketplace operator. Per its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; Commission File No. 001-31553; CIK 0001156375), it operates four designated contract markets - CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.), CBOT (Board of Trade of the City of Chicago), NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc.) - plus a derivatives clearing house that 'clears, settles and guarantees futures and options contracts traded through our exchanges, in addition to cleared swaps products.' Product lines: interest-rate, equity-index, foreign-exchange, energy, agricultural-commodity, and metals futures and options on futures. It also owns ~27% of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and the BrokerTec/EBS fixed-income and FX trading platforms. Its Class A common stock trades on the Nasdaq (ticker CME). FY2025 total revenues were $6,520.6M (clearing and transaction fees ~81%).

Why does CME Group fail this Shariah stock screen?

CME Group fails this Shariah stock screen. Gate 1 (business activity): the core business is operating derivatives (futures/options) exchanges - futures and options contracts are widely considered impermissible instruments in Islamic finance (gharar/speculation); scholars differ on whether operating the marketplace itself is a haram business vs. a permissible service - a strict reading fails it (note: no alcohol, tobacco, pork, gambling operations, or weapons). Gate 2 (debt): long-term debt of $3,422.3M is about 3.60% of its ~$95.11B market cap (October 2026) - passes. Gate 3 (non-compliant income): investment income of $5,736.5M is about 87.96% of FY2025 revenues ($6,520.6M); even net of the $4,833.8M pass-through to clearing members ($902.7M) it is about 13.84% - far above the 5% ceiling. The 10-K defines investment income as including interest earned on clearing firms' cash performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions as well as excess operating cash. Result: FAIL - gate 3 fails decisively regardless of the business-gate debate. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is CME Group's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per CME Group's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; $ millions), long-term debt at December 31, 2025 was $3,422.3M (short-term debt $0 - the $750M 3% notes due 2025 were repaid March 10, 2025; $750M of 4.4% notes due March 2030 were issued the same day). Against a market cap of about $95.11B ($265.10 per share, Finnhub, October 2026; sanity check: 358,950,000 Class A shares x $265.10 = about $95.16B - exact), debt / market cap is about 3.60% - below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $4,416.9M plus marketable securities of $125.0M = $4,541.9M, about 4.78% of market cap. Clearing balances ($159,656.1M performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions) are clearing-member collateral held in trust, matched by equal liabilities - correctly excluded from company assets. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

How much interest income does CME Group earn?

Per CME Group's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 26, 2026; $ millions), investment income was $5,736.5M against total revenues of $6,520.6M = about 87.96% of revenue - far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. The 10-K (Item 8) defines investment income as including 'income from short-term investment of clearing firms' cash performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions as well as excess operating cash' plus interest income from marketable securities - interest income in substance, most of which is passed back to clearing members via the ($4,833.8M) 'other non-operating income (expense)' offset. Even net of that pass-through: $902.7M / $6,520.6M = about 13.84% - still far above the ceiling. Gate 3 fails decisively. Facts only.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover CME Group?

Zoya covers CME at zoya.finance/stocks/cme, but its auto-generated FAQ text is garbled/contradictory (renders 'CME is not Shariah-compliant and therefore considered halal to invest in' AND 'not Shariah-compliant and therefore not considered halal' fragments simultaneously) - no clean Zoya rating can be quoted, and none is quoted here. The consistent headline wording across fragments is 'not Shariah-compliant.' Methodology difference disclosed: Zoya's data fields report FY2025 revenue $6,520,600,000 with interest income of $0 (0%) - Zoya does NOT classify CME's 'investment income' as interest income, unlike the strict reading used here (10-K defines it as interest earned on clearing collateral + operating cash). Musaffa: no CME stock page found in web searches - honestly reported as no coverage found, not invented. ShariaPortfolio: no CME stock page found in web searches - honestly reported as no coverage found, not invented.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).