By JUAN CARLOS ARANCIBIA

CME Group (CME) stock held in a buy zone Wednesday after the options and futures exchange beat fourth-quarter expectations thanks to record trading activity.

The company reported revenue of $1.6 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8% that narrowly surpassed the average analyst estimate. Adjusted earnings excluding certain items rose 10% to $2.77 per share. The consensus estimate was $2.75.

Trading levels in "a risk-always-on environment" generated record average daily volume of 28.1 million contracts in 2025, said Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy.

Average daily volume was an all-time high for any fourth quarter in company history, with 27.4 million contracts. That's a 7% increase from the year-ago period. Clearing and transaction fees totaled $1.3 billion in Q4.

CME Group's New Prediction Markets

CME Group said it was focusing on strategies such as cryptocurrency trading and prediction markets. In December, CME Group launched prediction markets in a partnership with Flutter Entertainment's (FLUT) FanDuel. CME also operates exchanges for currency, indexes and other financial instruments.

CME stock rose 1% in afternoon trading after erasing earlier losses. Shares climbed above the 287.74 buy point of a cup-with-handle base on Jan. 29 and remain in a buy zone to 302.13.

The stock has a 76 Composite Rating. Although the Relative Strength Rating is a mediocre 61, MarketSurge charts show the relative strength line is at the highest point since August.

CME stock has a moderate 21-day average true range (ATR) of 2.43%. The average true range, available on IBD MarketSurge, gauges the characteristic breadth of a stock's behavior. Stocks with a high ATR tend to make large price moves that can trigger sell rules. Stocks with lower ATRs tend to make more incremental moves.

Cboe Reports Friday

Rival exchange Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) will announce results Friday before the market opens.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings of $2.94 a share, which would be an increase of 40% year over year. Revenue is expected to climb 25.7% to $659.5 million.

Cboe Global Markets is in talks with brokerages to revive all-or-nothing options contracts, its version of prediction markets, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Cboe launched binary call options on the S&P 500 and Cboe Volatility Index in 2008, but ended them due to a lack of interest.

The stock has a Composite Rating of 89 and last month cleared a flat-base buy point at 262.98, and remain in a buy zone to 276.13. Keep in mind that it's risky to buy stocks right before their earnings reports.

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This article first appeared on Investor's Business Daily