When uncertainty rises in the economy and volatility in the markets escalates, it's not the traders who hedged their investments or found profitable speculative angles who make the most money. It's the global financial operators that get a piece of the action each time someone makes a trade.
As investors continue to navigate the ongoing maze of geopolitical tensions, mixed data signals, and concerns of a tech bubble, those financial system operators will continue to profit from the higher trading activity that results from all the uncertainty.
That makes these two companies strong candidates for the best stocks to own in February and beyond, depending on your investing style and goals.
Image source: Getty Images.
No. 1: CME Group
CME Group (CME +2.62%) calls itself the world's largest derivatives marketplace. It handles contract execution on its four major exchanges -- the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange, and the Commodity Exchange -- and the clearing and settlement of those contracts.
Going back to the idea that uncertainty is good for business, CME just reported a fifth consecutive record year in average daily volume (ADV) of contracts traded. Its metals segment was a particularly bright spot in the fourth quarter, with a 114% year-over-year increase in ADV, and it should be able to continue capitalizing on that momentum in 2026.
Going hand in hand with that increased volume was a growing retail customer base. These customers aren't signing up to trade on the CME's exchanges directly. Instead, they're using intermediary platforms like Robinhood to access CME's infrastructure.
In 2025, CME set a record for retail account openings, with its retail customer base growing by 23% and finishing the year above 600,000.
Value seekers will want to consider its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25.7. That's slightly above its levels from the last four quarters, indicating that investors expect stronger earnings growth ahead, and are willing to pay a modest premium for that anticipated performance.
For the more risk-averse investor, CME Group pairs potential stock price upside with a dividend that yields 1.7% at the current share price. Management is targeting a dividend payout equal to between 50% and 60% of the prior year's cash earnings.
NASDAQ: CME
Key Data Points
No. 2: Interactive Broker
From a single Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR 2.15%) account, you can place trades on more than 170 exchanges and other execution venues across 40 countries and 29 currencies. That's pretty impressive already. But in a Feb. 10 presentation at the BofA Securities 2026 Financial Services Conference, Interactive discussed the ways that it's making its platform even more robust.
For eligible clients, it recently expanded trading to Brazilian equities, and now allows access to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market. Clients can also now fund their accounts with stablecoins.
The tendency of its customers to make more trades during times of greater uncertainty has been benefiting Interactive, as higher overall activity translates to higher revenues. From Q4 2020 to Q4 2025, the company's adjusted net revenues grew at a compound annual rate of 23%.
NASDAQ: IBKR
Key Data Points
As an investment, Interactive Brokers may be a better fit for those more accustomed to owning tech stocks. Its forward P/E of 33.1 indicates that investors view it as a higher-growth business, positioning it closer to the tech sector in valuation terms than to traditional brokerages. Its beta of 1.2 also suggests that shareholders should expect more volatility from its performance than the broader market.
While Interactive Brokers does pay a dividend, its $0.08 per share quarterly payout gives it a yield of about 0.4% at the current share price, so it will primarily appeal to investors who are more focused on stock price appreciation than on dividend income.
