Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

CBOE · CBOE · USD

Analysis

Last 4 earnings calls · through Q2 FY2026

Cboe spent a year shedding non-core businesses and about a fifth of its staff to focus on index options and data, and the core delivered: 2026 revenue guidance has been raised twice. The savings now fund event contracts and its own clearing, which earn nothing yet.When will event contracts start showing up in revenue guidance?

  • Growth guidance has been raised twice, and volume is doing the work.

    Organic revenue growth for this year was first guided to mid-single digits; two quarters later it is mid-to-high teens, on index option volume and SPX volumes up about 40%. Growth now tracks how much the market trades, not pricing.How much of the raised outlook depends on retail trading accounts?

  • Event contracts are the first new market Cboe has entered in years.

    Predicts, its binary options on the Mini-S&P 500, launched in June, and in July Cboe filed to list company KPI contracts on 23 US names. Management calls it a stepping stone to basic options strategies, but nothing is in the 2026 outlook.How big would KPI contract volumes need to be to move revenue?

  • The cost savings arrive well behind the spending they pay for.

    The workforce is being cut hard, part of a realignment meant to save about $100m a year, but only a small slice lands in 2026. The pivot is paid for now and earns later, so costs stay put while revenue guidance climbs.

Bullish
  • Index options franchise
    The bull case rests on Cboe's proprietary index options, where retail adoption of same-day contracts keeps volumes compounding faster than the wider options market.
  • Data Vantage subscriptions
    A second leg comes from selling market data and access to brokers worldwide, growth that comes from new customers rather than price increases and repeats each year.
  • Cost reduction program
    Management is cutting headcount and exiting peripheral exchanges, and argues the savings fund investment in derivatives, data and new event contracts.
Bearish
  • Trading volume dependence
    The bear case is that almost all profit comes from trading fees, so revenue rises and falls with volatility and retail activity rather than with management's plans.
  • Multi-list competition
    In multi-list options, where contracts are interchangeable, new exchanges keep entering and cutting prices, so Cboe must spend to defend share it cannot easily grow.
  • Customer concentration
    A small group of market makers and clearing firms supplies most of the revenue, giving them leverage over fees and making results sensitive to any one of them leaving.
See the full bull & bear case
PoliticiansInstitutionsInsiders
PoliticianTransactionAmountTradedFiled
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Purchase≥$1KJun 23Aug 22
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Purchase≥$15KMar 2May 13
John Boozman
Republican · Senate · AR
Sale (Full)≥$1KJul 31Aug 17
Alan Armstrong
Republican · Senate · OK
Purchase≥$1KMar 27Jul 21
Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.
Democratic · House · CA-31
Sale≥$1KDec 19Jan 12

Congressional trading data provided by QuiverQuant

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Product segmentsGeography
FY2025 · USD

How Cboe Global Markets turned $4.7B of revenue into $1.5B of operating income.

Revenue
Transaction And Clearing Fees$3.6B▲ 23.86% YoY
Access And Capacity Fees$408.7M▲ 10.52% YoY
Market Data Fees$326.6M▲ 10.79% YoY
Regulatory Fees$285.4M▼ 33.05% YoY
Other Revenue$95.9M▼ 3.13% YoY
Total revenue$4.7B
Gross profit$2.4B51.5%
Operating income$1.5B31.1%
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