Exchanges and Information Services: CME NDR; FDS Preview; PAYX and SNX Results

Research evidence excerpt

Exchanges and Information Services: CME NDR; FDS Preview; PAYX and SNX Results

her March

2027 appointment as CEO. She emphasized CME's secular growth drivers—volume tailwinds across

rates and energy, international expansion, new products, and pricing power—alongside operational

efficiency gains. The Google partnership delivers GenAI capabilities and cloud migration benefits.

Operating leverage and opportunistic buybacks should sustain robust EPS growth. Combined with a

strong dividend yield, this should position CME for solid total shareholder returns. See note for details.

FDS 3Q26 Preview: Expecting ASV Beat and Raise; Reiterate Margins: We expect an ASV beat driven

by international pricing increases, robust demand, and a strong pipeline across regions and firm types.

Underpinning this growth are expanded managed services offerings, competitive product positioning,

and structural changes to the sales compensation model. FactSet noted it continues to gain market

share from Refinitiv in wealth management and displaced Alladin in the middle office and Bloomberg

in the front office in 2Q26. We believe FactSet could raise the midpoint of its FY26 ASV guidance range

but likely maintain FY26 margin guidance. See note for details.

PAYX 4Q26 Results - Solid PEO Momentum; Management Solutions in Focus as PYCR Fully

Anniversaries in 1Q27. Strong double-digit PEO growth should drive robust combined PEO and

Insurance segment revenue growth in 1H27, despite softer Insurance agency performance. However,

Management Solutions revenue is the key investor concern as the segment missed consensus due

to weaker-than-expected PYCR acquisition revenues. PYCR contributed ~8% to Management Solutions

growth, implying near-flat PYCR revenue growth (~$84m each for 1.5-month periods in 4Q25 and