CME Group Inc. CME reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of $1.39, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3%. The bottom line decreased 8.6% year over year due to lower clearing and transaction fees and market data and information services. Average daily volume decreased in three out of the six products lines.Nonetheless, the company witnessed strong, double-digit, year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter across its Equity Index and Agricultural businesses.Performance in DetailCME Group’s revenues of $1.1 billion decreased 3.5% year over year. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to lower clearing and transaction fees (down 6.4% year over year) and market data and information services (down 3.5% year over year). The top line however beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%.Total expenses increased 3.2% year over year to $583.5 million during the reported quarter, attributable to higher professional fees and outside services and licensing and other fee agreementsOperating income decreased 10.1% from the prior-year quarter to $515 million.Average daily volume decreased 3.8% year over year to 16.2 million contracts in the quarter. Average rate per contract decreased 2.5%.CME Group Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise CME Group Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CME Group Inc. QuoteFull-Year HighlightsAdjusted earnings of $6.72 per share declined 1.2% year over year but topped the consensus estimate of $6.69.Operating revenues of $4.9 billion for 2020 increased 0.3% year over year and marginally beat the consensus estimate.The company achieved record international volume during 2020.Financial UpdateAs of Dec 31, 2020, CME Group had $1.6 billion of cash and marketable securities, up 5.3% from 2019 end. As of Dec 31, 2019, long-term debt of $3.4 billion decreased 8% from 2019 end.As of Dec 31, 2020, the company had total equity worth $26.3 billion, up 0.7% from 2019 end.Capital DeploymentCME Group has returned about $15.3 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 PlayersFourth-quarter earnings of Nasdaq NDAQ, Intercontinental Exchange ICE and MarketAxess Holdings MKTX beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.9% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.See these time-sensitive tickers now >> 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