CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, announced that its Board of Directors approved two initiatives to return capital to shareholders.
The Board declared the company's 2024 annual variable dividend, amounting to $5.80 per share. The dividend is payable January 16, 2025, to shareholders of record on December 27, 2024, and totals approximately $2.1 billion.
In addition, the Board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $3 billion of CME Group Class A common stock, subject to market conditions.
"The combination of a flexible share repurchase program with our existing quarterly and annual variable dividend structure allows us to efficiently return capital and addresses the different interests and preferences of our diverse shareholder base," said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Terry Duffy.
Including today's announced variable dividend and the previously announced fourth-quarter 2024 dividend of $1.15 per share to be paid in December, the total yield for CME Group dividends announced during 2024 is 4.9% based on the average closing stock price in 2024 to date, an 8% increase from dividends declared in 2023. The company will have paid a total of more than $28 billion in quarterly and variable dividends since adopting the annual variable dividend structure in the beginning of 2012.
CME Group intends to continue its variable dividend structure. However, beginning in 2026, the declaration and payment of the annual variable dividend will align with the first quarter regular dividend paid in March 2026 rather than at the end of the calendar year.
The timing, prices, and sizes of stock purchases under the share repurchase plan will depend upon stock price, general market conditions, and other considerations. The share repurchase plan does not have an end date and does not obligate CME Group to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of shares of its Class A common stock.
