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AFRM vs. CME: Affirm vs. CME Stock Comparison

How do Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but AFRM is classified in Financial Services while CME is classified in Capital Markets.

CME (CME) has more than two decades of public-market history since December 6, 2002, whereas Affirm (AFRM) listed on January 13, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
Profile ItemAFRMCME
NameAffirm Holdings, Inc.CME Group Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryFinancial ServicesCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryTransaction & Payment Processing ServicesFinancial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization23.09 billion USD109.49 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNasdaq
Listing DateJanuary 13, 2021December 6, 2002
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AFRM
CME
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Total Return (1Y)-6.89%14.24%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)40.23%16.88%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)-15.36%11.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AFRM
CME
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Affirm (AFRM) has a highly aggressive beta of 3.70, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while CME (CME) is defensive at 0.16 and tends to be less market-sensitive — a wide gap in beta profiles.

Risk profile metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)58.20%24.87%
Beta (5Y)3.700.16
Max Drawdown (5Y)-94.35%-31.74%
Avg. Volume (3M)4.46M1.91M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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AFRM and CME are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.190.40
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.280.56

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 44.49% sits in the top ROE quartile, while CME (CME) at 16.13% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for AFRM.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

44.49%

Max
44.78%
AFRM
44.49%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

CME

Financial Services industry group

16.13%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
CME
16.13%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

CME (CME) at 63.48% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Affirm (AFRM) at 43.86% also retains a top-quartile share.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

43.86%

Max
62.84%
AFRM
43.86%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

CME

Financial Services industry group

63.48%

CME
63.48%
Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

CME (CME) at 65.85% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Affirm (AFRM) at 14.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

14.82%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
AFRM
14.82%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

CME

Financial Services industry group

65.85%

Max
107.33%
CME
65.85%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
ROE (TTM)44.49%16.13%
ROA (TTM)2.42%1.52%
Net Margin (TTM)43.86%63.48%
Operating Margin (TTM)14.82%65.85%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 32.15% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while CME (CME) at 6.37% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AFRM.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 3,586.67% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than CME (CME) at 15.41%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Revenue Growth (YoY)32.15%6.37%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)38.96%9.11%
EPS Growth (YoY)3,586.67%15.41%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--14.68%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and CME (CME) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and CME (CME) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile CME (CME) reports a yield of 1.68%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

CME

Financial Services industry group

1.68%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
CME
1.68%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile CME (CME) reports a payout of 92.62%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

CME

Financial Services industry group

92.62%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
CME
92.62%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.68%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%92.62%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 11.80 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while CME (CME) at 25.07 sits in the richer quartile — CME needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

11.80

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
AFRM
11.80
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

CME

Financial Services industry group

25.07

Max
45.85
CME
25.07
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Affirm (AFRM) at 5.03 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and CME (CME) at 15.74 prices even higher, above its industry range.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

5.03

Max
9.23
AFRM
5.03
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

CME

Financial Services industry group

15.74

CME
15.74
Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Affirm (AFRM) at 4.01 and CME (CME) at 4.12 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

4.01

Max
7.79
AFRM
4.01
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

CME

Financial Services industry group

4.12

Max
7.79
CME
4.12
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. CME (CME): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and CME (CME)
MetricAFRMCME
P/E Ratio (TTM)11.8025.07
P/S Ratio (TTM)5.0315.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.014.12
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----