CBOE · Q2 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Cboe Global Markets

Reported July 31, 2026

30-second summary

Cboe printed $731.6M of net revenue in Q2 (+25% YoY) with adjusted operating margin of 70.4%, and management responded by raising the FY2026 organic total net revenue growth guide a second consecutive time — from "low double-digit to mid-teens" to "mid to high teens" — while lifting Data Vantage growth to "low teens." The offset that will get less attention: FY2026 CapEx guidance jumped from $73–83M to $98–108M, a ~$25M (+32%) midpoint step-up that management frames as accelerated investment. Revenue beat consensus by 4.1% and adjusted EPS of $3.56 beat the $3.41 estimate by 4.4%, reinforcing the operating-leverage story.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$3.56

-4.4% vs est.

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$0.73B

+25.0% YoY

+4.1% vs est.

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

65.1%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$0.73B	$0.59B	+24.6%	$0.73B	+0.4%
EPS	$3.56	$2.46	+44.7%	$3.70	-3.8%
Operating margin	65.1%	57.7%	+740bps	69.4%	-430bps

Guidance

Cboe raises FY26 organic revenue growth outlook to 'mid to high teens' from 'low double-digit to mid-teens,' lifts Data Vantage growth to 'low teens,' and materially increases CapEx guidance by ~$25M to fund acceleration, while maintaining OpEx and tax rate guidance.

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	low double-digit to mid-teens	mid to high teens	Raised from 'low double-digit to mid-teens' to 'mid to high teens'; implies floor raised by ~3-5 percentage points	Raised
Data Vantage Organic Net Revenue Growth	FY 2026	low double-digit	low teens	Raised from 'low double-digit' to 'low teens'; implies mid-point raised by ~2-3 percentage points	Raised
Depreciation and Amortization Expense	FY 2026	$56 to $60 million	$54 to $58 million	Narrowed and lowered by ~$1–2M at midpoint	Lowered
Capital Expenditures	FY 2026	$73 to $83 million	$98 to $108 million	Raised by ~$25M at midpoint (from $78M midpoint to $103M midpoint); +32% increase	Raised

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Adjusted Operating Expenses ($838 to $853 million), Effective Tax Rate on Adjusted Earnings (27.5% to 29.5%)

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Options	$0.474B	$0.365B	+29.9%
North American Equities	$0.115B	$0.098B	+16.6%
Europe and Asia Pacific	$0.085B	—	+20.0%
Futures	$0.031B	$0.03B	+1.7%
Global FX	$0.028B	$0.024B	+16.9%
Data Vantage	$0.182B	$0.158B	+14.7%
Cash and Spot Markets	$0.58B	$0.116B	+402.0%
Derivatives Markets	$0.681B	—	+29.0%

Other KPIs

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Total Options ADV	21,862 thousand contracts	—	—
Index Options ADV	6,208 thousand contracts	—	—
Options Market Share	30.0%	30.2%	—
Options Revenue Per Contract	$0.317	—	—
U.S. Equities Exchange Market Share	9.4%	10.5%	—
U.S. Equities Off-Exchange Market Share	18.8%	—	—
Adjusted Operating Margin	70.4%	63.7%	—
Global FX ADNV	$60.6 billion	$55.9 billion	—

Management tone

No earnings call transcript was available for this quarter; tone analysis is deferred until the transcript is processed. The press release language and guidance actions themselves communicate a clear posture shift: the qualitative statements — "investing in opportunities that will define Cboe's future," "executing with speed and discipline to create durable growth and value" — pair with the $25M CapEx guide raise to signal an aggressive-growth posture. Where Q1's release framed the story as revenue acceleration + cost discipline (opex cut, unchanged CapEx), Q2 frames it as revenue acceleration + investment step-up. Management is not reinvesting the revenue upside into higher opex — the opex guide is reaffirmed — but is materially stepping up capitalized investment in technology and infrastructure. That is a specific choice: near-term operating margin is protected, medium-term D&A rises, and management is signaling that the growth acceleration warrants funding the next capacity build-out now.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Whether the Q1 revenue +29% pace decelerates into Q2 — watch whether Q2 holds above +15% — Q2 came in at +25% YoY, well above the +15% threshold and only modestly below Q1. Management's response was to raise the FY guide again to "mid to high teens" rather than let the range absorb the outperformance.

Resolved positively

Whether total Options RPC sustains at $0.343 or the index/multi-listed mix normalizes — RPC did not sustain: Q2 RPC was $0.317, down from Q1's $0.343 and back to the Q4 2025 level. Options revenue still grew +30% because ADV picked up the slack (+9% QoQ), but the Q1 RPC high looks like a one-quarter mix spike rather than a new run rate. Status: Resolved negatively (RPC reverted)

Data Vantage Q2 net revenue growth — whether Q2 stays comfortably double-digit — Q2 came in at +15%, comfortably double-digit but decelerating from Q1's +19%. Management raised the FY Data Vantage guide from "low double-digit" to "low teens," implying they expect the +15% pace to hold rather than continue decelerating.

Resolved positively

Adjusted operating margin sustaining above 70% — Q2 adjusted operating margin was 70.4%, holding the 70% handle but stepping down 200bps from Q1's 72.4%. The threshold held but the direction is worth tracking.

Resolved positively

Total Options market share trajectory — whether continued RPC strength can co-exist with further share erosion — Options market share recovered to 30.0% in Q2 from 29.1% in Q1, a 90bps sequential improvement even as RPC gave back. On a YoY basis share is down 20bps from 30.2%, so the level has broadly stabilized rather than continuing to erode.

Resolved positively

Futures growth durability — watch against any Q2 deceleration below +5% — Futures grew only +2% YoY in Q2, decelerating below the +5% threshold from Q1's +9%. Structural-impairment risk is not back on the table given growth is still positive, but the segment has not built momentum.

Resolved negatively

Execution of the ~20% workforce reduction and the Canada/Australia divestitures — Press release does not provide specific update on realignment execution pace or incremental charges. Reaffirmed opex guide of $838–853M suggests the $20–25M savings assumption remains intact but the disclosure is thin.

Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Whether the FY2026 organic revenue growth pace stays in "mid to high teens" territory — Q3 print above +15% YoY keeps the new guide credible; anything below +12% raises questions about whether Q1–Q2 pulled forward growth. Base case (using Q3-25 baseline of $605.5M and applying "mid to high teens" YoY): Q3 net revenue in a $696–726M range.

Options RPC direction — Q2's revert to $0.317 from $0.343 confirmed Q1 was a peak; watch whether Q3 stabilizes here or continues to drift toward the low-$0.30s as index mix normalizes.

Futures growth — two consecutive quarters of deceleration (+9% Q1 → +2% Q2) raises the risk of a return to negative growth in H2; a Q3 print below +2% starts to look like the H2-2025 pattern re-emerging.

CapEx pacing — the $25M FY guide raise is significant; watch Q3 CapEx run-rate to determine whether the spend is front- or back-half weighted, and any disclosure on what specifically is being funded (data center, matching engine, Data Vantage infrastructure).

Adjusted operating margin trajectory — Q1's 72.4% and Q2's 70.4% both cleared the 70% threshold but the direction is down; whether Q3 holds above 68% or slides toward the 65% level of 2025 determines whether the operating leverage step-function is durable.

Data Vantage sequential trajectory — +19% Q1 → +15% Q2 is a 400bp deceleration; watch whether Q3 holds around +13–15% (the new guide midpoint) or continues to slide toward high single-digits.

Any additional disclosure on realignment execution and the Canada/Australia divestitures — the Q1 release was specific about ~20% workforce reduction; the Q2 release is silent, which means the Q3 call is the next natural checkpoint.

Sources

Cboe Global Markets Q2 2026 earnings press release (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1), July 31, 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1374310/000162828026051217/cboe-20260731xex991.htm
Cboe Global Markets Q1 2026 earnings press release (prior-quarter FY2026 guidance baseline), May 1, 2026.

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