CBOE · Q1 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Cboe Global Markets

Reported May 1, 2026

30-second summary

Cboe printed $728.9M of net revenue in Q1 (+29% YoY) with adjusted operating margin of 72.4%, and management responded by reversing the cautious FY2026 guide it set just one quarter ago — raising FY2026 organic total net revenue growth from "mid single-digit" all the way back to "low double-digit to mid-teens," and cutting the FY adjusted opex range by $26M at both ends to $838–853M. After a Q4 release that read as reset-and-rebuild, the Q1 print and re-raise effectively retract that posture; the operating leverage story is back on. Options drove it again at +33% YoY, but the mix was RPC-led — total Options RPC of $0.343 was up 19% YoY (multi-listed RPC +21% plus an index-options mix shift) on +10% total ADV — not just volume. Data Vantage also got a guide raise to "low double-digit" after growing 19% YoY in Q1, resolving the structural-deceleration worry that dominated the Q4 watch list.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$3.70

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$0.73B

+29.0% YoY

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

69.4%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026

Metric	Q1 FY2026	YoY	Q4 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$0.73B	+29.0%	$0.67B	+8.6%
EPS	$3.70	—	$3.06	+20.9%
Operating margin	69.4%	—	60.2%	+920bps

Guidance

Company significantly raised FY2026 organic revenue growth guidance to 'low double-digit to mid-teens' from 'mid single-digit' following strong Q1 results, while lowering operating expense guidance and reaffirming other metrics.

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Organic total net revenue growth	FY 2026	mid single-digit	low double-digit to mid-teens	Raised from mid single-digit to low double-digit to mid-teens (approximately +4-10 percentage points at midpoint)	Raised
Organic Data Vantage net revenue growth	FY 2026	mid to high single-digit	low double-digit	Raised from mid to high single-digit to low double-digit (approximately +2-5 percentage points)	Raised
Adjusted operating expenses	FY 2026	$864 to $879 million	$838 to $853 million	-$26 to $26 million; midpoint lowered by $23.5 million (~2.7%)	Lowered

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Depreciation and amortization expense ($56 to $60 million), Effective tax rate on adjusted earnings (27.5% to 29.5%), Capital expenditures ($73 to $83 million)

Segment performance

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
Options	$0.468B	+33.0%
North American Equities	$0.111B	+18.0%
Europe and Asia Pacific	$0.085B	+32.0%
Futures	$0.036B	+9.0%
Global FX	$0.029B	+38.0%

Other KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Options ADV	20,076 thousand contracts
Total Options Market Share	29.1%
Index Options ADV Growth	+29% YoY
Multi-listed Options RPC	$0.080
U.S. Equities Exchange Market Share	9.8%
European Equities Market Share	25.5%
Global FX ADNV	$70.4 billion
Adjusted Operating Margin	72.4%

Management tone

Narrative arc: Q2-25 cautious upgrade → Q3-25 confident operating-leverage delivery → Q4-25 reset-and-rebuild → Q1-26 acceleration alongside continued realignment execution.

The Q1 release headline — "Continued Execution of Strategic Realignment" — keeps the realignment frame from Q4, but pairs it with record results and a re-raised guide. CEO Donohue's commentary details the next phase: earlier portfolio actions (winding down non-core initiatives, agreement to sell Cboe Canada and Cboe Australia) combined with today's organizational realignment are expected to reduce the workforce by approximately 20%. The Q1 reconciliation booked $5.1M of business realignment costs (vs. $0.3M in Q1 2025), and the $26M opex guide cut explicitly incorporates $20–25M of expected 2026 savings from these additional actions. The release simultaneously raises the revenue growth guide by 4–10pp at the midpoint AND cuts the opex range, which is functionally the opposite combination from Q4's framing. Either Q4's mid-single-digit guide was deliberately conservative under a new disclosure posture, or business momentum in January–March outran management's own December planning. The +29% Q1 revenue print, 19% Data Vantage growth, and the matching guide raise on Data Vantage argue the second interpretation: this is acceleration management did not see coming one quarter ago, not sandbagging revealed — and the realignment is now the explicit cost-side lever pulled in parallel.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Whether FY2026 organic revenue growth tracks toward the upper or lower end of "mid single-digit" — Q1 came in at +29% YoY and management raised the FY guide from "mid single-digit" to "low double-digit to mid-teens." The Q4 reset is now retracted after one quarter; FY2026 is being guided at the same range FY2025 ultimately delivered (17%).

Resolved positively

Adjusted operating margin into 2026 — whether it compresses below 65% — Q1 adjusted operating margin was 72.4%, well above the 65% threshold. Paired with the $26M opex cut (incorporating $20–25M of realignment savings), the multi-year operating leverage story is intact through at least the first quarter of 2026.

Resolved positively

Data Vantage growth trajectory — whether anything below 7% reopens the structural-deceleration question — Data Vantage grew 19% YoY in Q1 (net revenue $177.8M vs. $149.4M), well above the prior "mid-to-high single-digit" guide and consistent with the raise to "low double-digit" for the full year.

Resolved positively

Options RPC sustainability at $0.317 — Capture did not just hold, it expanded. Total Options RPC reached $0.343 in Q1, up 9% sequentially from $0.317 in Q4 and up roughly 20% from $0.287 in Q1 2025, driven by +21% multi-listed RPC and an index-options mix shift.

Resolved positively

Detail on the "strategic realignment" — The Q1 release confirms realignment is continuing and is the explicit driver of the $26M opex cut: ~20% workforce reduction announced (combining earlier actions with today's organizational changes), Cboe Canada and Cboe Australia under a definitive agreement to be divested, and $5.1M of realignment costs booked in Q1 (vs. $0.3M Q1 2025). 2026 opex guidance incorporates $20–25M of expected savings from the additional actions. Status: Resolved — realignment is a cost-side tailwind to FY2026, not an expansion of spend

What to watch into next quarter

Whether the Q1 revenue +29% pace decelerates into Q2 — FY2026 guide of "low double-digit to mid-teens" implies the back half slows substantially from this print; watch whether Q2 holds above +15% or marks the start of the normalization the guide range implies.

Whether total Options RPC sustains at $0.343 or whether the index/multi-listed mix normalizes — Q1's new high was driven by both a 21% multi-listed RPC step-up and an index-heavier mix; either could revert and pressure capture even if ADV holds.

Data Vantage Q2 net revenue growth — Q1's +19% is well above the new "low double-digit" FY guide, so watch whether Q2 stays comfortably double-digit or whether Q1 reflected timing/comp dynamics that don't repeat.

Adjusted operating margin sustaining above 70% — Q1's 72.4% is a step-function above 2025 levels; whether Q2 holds the 70%+ handle determines whether the multi-year operating leverage thesis has actually re-rated higher or whether Q1 reflects mix and timing.

Total Options market share trajectory — 29.1% in Q1 is down 200bps YoY; whether continued RPC strength can co-exist with further share erosion, or whether share stabilizes as the index mix shift matures, is the key tension under the Options revenue line.

Futures growth durability — return to growth after the H2-2025 declines removes the structural-impairment risk, but the +9% print is worth tracking against any Q2 deceleration below +5%.

Execution of the ~20% workforce reduction and the Canada/Australia divestitures — pace and any incremental realignment charges will determine whether the $20–25M FY2026 savings figure proves conservative.

Sources

Cboe Global Markets Q1 2026 earnings press release (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1), May 1, 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1374310/000162828026029103/cboe-20260501xex991.htm
Cboe Global Markets Q4 2025 earnings press release (prior-quarter FY2026 guidance baseline), February 6, 2026.

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