CME Group Inc. CME reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.79, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.75. The bottom line decreased 23.2% year over year due to lower clearing and transaction fees and market data and information services. Average daily volume decreased in all the six products lines.First-quarter average daily volume marked the third-highest quarterly figure.CME Group Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise CME Group Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CME Group Inc. QuotePerformance in DetailCME Group’s revenues of $1.3 billion decreased 17.7% year over year. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to lower clearing and transaction fees (down 21.3% year over year) and market data and information services (down 9.7% year over year). The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%.Total expenses decreased 6% year over year to $528.2 million during the reported quarter, attributable to lower professional fees and outside services and licensing and other fee agreements.Operating income decreased 24.5% from the prior-year quarter to $725.1 million.Average daily volume decreased 19.2% year over year to 21.8 million contracts in the quarter. Average rate per contract decreased 2.7%.Financial UpdateAs of Mar 31, 2021, CME Group had $1.041.6 billion of cash and marketable securities, down 39.9% from 2020 end. As of Mar 31, 2021, long-term debt of $3.4 billion remained flat with 2020 end.As of Mar 31, 2021, the company had total equity worth $26.6 billion, up 0.8% from 2020 end.Capital DeploymentThe company paid out dividends of $1.2 billion in the first quarter, including the annual variable dividend for 2020 of $895 million. CME Group has returned more than $15.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends since the implementation of the variable dividend policy in early 2012.Zacks RankCME Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other Securities Exchange Industry PlayersFirst-quarter earnings of Nasdaq NDAQ beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate while that of MarketAxess Holdings MKTX missed the same.Upcoming ReleaseIntercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings on Apr 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is pegged at $1.30.Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE): Free Stock Analysis Report CME Group Inc. (CME): Free Stock Analysis Report Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ): Free Stock Analysis Report MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research