Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Statement |
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| But if we look back over the years, increasing capital savings and delivering capital efficiencies to clients has been a strong tailwind for our business in terms of increasing the ability of our clients to manage risk at CME by unlocking those capital efficiencies |
| So this is a very exciting opportunity for us and more importantly, our client base |
| So it's a very strong growth story here at CME |
| Options average daily volume across all asset classes also set a record with ADV of 5.1 million contracts, up 23% versus last year |
| So, all these products in our broader WTI portfolio reinforce WTI as the main benchmark globally, and it contributes strongly to the overall energy franchise growth we've seen into 2024, with overall energy up 21% and our options growth particularly up 87% |
| So when you look at kind of the growth of the commodities portfolio, and Julie touched on this a little bit earlier, overall, the portfolio grew very strongly last year, metals up 15%, ags up 17% |
| So, I think we've been excited about the prospects there |
| So we think that's a very much a net positive for us |
| So we are really excited about our equity franchise |
| And that's a benefit to the largest clients in the world that can use that money to be deployed elsewhere |
| So that's the benefit of having a single platform, where we have been able to put up record volumes in participation in our commodities portfolio as a whole |
| Julie also referenced earlier the strong participation we've seen from buy-side and commercial customers across ags, energy and metals |
| And then internationally, I think, particularly in Europe, on the short-term interest rate side, we saw some really strong performance and also interest across our commodities and FX suite |
| And 2024 has started extremely strong with almost 300,000 contracts so far a day, and nat gas options up over 100% |
| We have seen this reflected in our strong start to 2024, where we delivered our highest January average daily volume in our history of 25.2 million, which is up 16% relative to last year |
| In addition to the volume records Terry discussed, we delivered record financial results in 2023 |
| 2023 was the best year in CME Group's history with a record average daily volume of 24.4 million contracts, up 5% from 2022 |
| Our adjusted operating margins for the year expanded to 66.9%, up over 200 basis points from 2022 |
| So we're happy with the uptake of the program that we've seen so far, although it is early days and we continue engaging with those clearing members to increase the onboarding and the efficiencies that they're able to achieve through their portfolio savings |
| We have the liquidity, futures and options, leading technology, best-in-class capital efficiencies across these asset classes |
| We saw the record open interest in our treasury complex across the curve, which is very encouraging for us |
| Our adjusted EPS was $2.37, up 23% from the fourth quarter last year, and represented our tenth consecutive quarter of double digits earnings growth |
| We're excited by the quarter |
| In summary, we are very proud of the results we were able to deliver as a firm this year, driving 11% revenue growth and 17% adjusted earnings growth from our previous record year of 2022 |
| So, from our standpoint, owning a cash platform and owning the largest listed business in the world, this is very exciting for us |
| So I think the ecosystem is good as it continues to grow |
| And it's certainly a interesting and positive development for the ecosystem more broadly |
| And so when we look at that, we saw really strong ADV from asset managers, again, double-digit, the [semi-buy] (ph) side clients that really are looking at our products because of the regulatory environment, the liquidity, and also the capital efficiencies that we offer |
| So it's something that we've also seen strong growth both on open interest and in volume of our complex in response to the run-up that's also remained here into February |
| So I think that's what's really exciting for us as we look at the new clients coming into our marketplace |
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| In aggregate, our adjusted operating expenses were $9 million below our annual guidance |
| I think other venues have attempted to launch credit index futures in the past, and it historically has proven difficult for those products to gain sufficient adoption |
| Also, there are ongoing geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions continuing in certain parts of the world |
| Following the very strong performance of our business in 2022 and 2023, we have seen the speculation that our interest rate business could face headwinds based on the expectation that the Fed will start to lower interest rates this year |
| As Terry said, it's very difficult, almost impossible to forecast the impact on trading volumes going forward |
| So that doesn't surprise us |
| We experienced continued inflation, rising cost of capital, increasing geopolitical tensions and shifting perceptions around the Fed's interest rate policy |
| The uncertainty of those elections and the policies that could come from that are basically unknown to all, which only leads to market participants continue to manage risk |
| So, those are things I'm not surprised by in this low-vol environment |
| And that uncertainty extended throughout the year |
| But I think what's interesting is, Alex, on that point we've seen some really massive fluctuations in that cash balances that go up and down in a very short period of time |
| So you never know and again, these are not big lifts for CME |
| So we're curious to why you didn't touch rates |
| Certainly we've seen finally the long awaited approval of the spot based ETFs on Bitcoin |
| But I think it's something that will continue |
| I think we have a little bit extra time |
| As a reminder, we do expect to have incremental migration expenses this year and next year before we get to cash breakeven and ultimately cash flow positive |
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