CBOE · Q3 2025 Earnings

Bullish

Cboe Global Markets

Reported October 31, 2025

30-second summary

Cboe printed $605.5M of net revenue (+14% YoY) with adjusted operating margin of 65.3%, driven by Options +19% and Europe/APAC +24%. Management raised the FY2025 organic net revenue growth guide to "low double-digit to mid-teens" — the second consecutive quarterly raise after lifting it to high single-digits last quarter — and trimmed the FY adjusted opex range by another $5M at both ends to $827–842M. Data Vantage growth guidance was also lifted, but Futures revenue fell another 22% YoY, confirming the worry flagged in last quarter's watch list.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q3 FY2025

$2.67

Revenue

Q3 FY2025

$0.61B

+14.0% YoY

Operating margin

Q3 FY2025

61.2%

Key financials

Q3 FY2025

Metric	Q3 FY2025	YoY	Q2 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$0.61B	+14.0%	$0.59B	+3.1%
EPS	$2.67	—	$2.46	+8.5%
Operating margin	61.2%	—	57.7%	+350bps

Guidance

Company raised FY2025 organic revenue growth guidance to low double-digit to mid-teens (from high single-digits) and Data Vantage guidance, while modestly lowering operating expenses and capex, reflecting strong Q3 momentum with 14% YoY revenue growth and operating margins of 65.3%.

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 2025	high single digits	low double-digit to mid-teens	Raised from high single-digit range to low double-digit to mid-teens (expansion of ~5-8 percentage points at lower end)	Raised
Data Vantage organic net revenue growth	FY 2025	mid to high single digits	high single-digit to low double-digit	Raised from mid-to-high single digits to high single-digit to low double-digit range	Raised
Adjusted operating expenses	FY 2025	$832 to $847 million	$827 to $842 million	-$5M reduction at both low and high end	Lowered
Depreciation and amortization expense	FY 2025	$53 to $57 million	$50 to $54 million	-$3M reduction at both low and high end	Lowered
Capital expenditures	FY 2025	$75 to $85 million	$73 to $83 million	-$2M reduction at both low and high end	Lowered

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Effective tax rate on adjusted earnings (28.5% to 30.5%)

Segment performance

Q3 FY2025

Segment	Q3 FY2025	YoY
Options	$0.381B	+19.0%
North American Equities	$0.104B	+6.0%
Europe and Asia Pacific	$0.069B	+24.0%
Futures	$0.03B	-22.0%
Global FX	$0.023B	+13.0%

Capital & returns

Q3 FY2025

Segment	Q3 FY2025
Dividend Per Share	$0.72

Other KPIs

Q3 FY2025

Segment	Q3 FY2025
Total Options ADV	18,775 thousand contracts
Total Options Market Share	30.9%
Options ADV Growth	+26% YoY
Total Options Revenue Per Contract	$0.281
U.S. Equities Market Share	9.8%
Adjusted Operating Margin	65.3%
Adjusted Operating EBITDA Margin	67.5%

Management tone

No earnings call transcript was available for this quarter; tone analysis is deferred until the transcript is processed. The press release language itself shows clear escalation: where Q2's release framed the FY revenue raise as a step from "mid-to-high single digits" to "high single digits," Q3 jumps two full tiers to "low double-digit to mid-teens." Paired with a third consecutive trim to the FY opex range, the disclosure tone has shifted from cautious upgrade to confident operating-leverage delivery.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Options ADV above 17M and RPC at/above $0.300 — ADV expanded to 18.78M (+26% YoY), comfortably above the threshold, but RPC fell to $0.281 from $0.300 in Q2. Volume growth swamped the capture decline — Options revenue still grew 19% — but the RPC erosion is worth tracking.

Resolved positively

Futures trajectory after Q2's -14% — Futures revenue was $29.6M, -22% YoY, worse than Q2. Two consecutive double-digit declines now make this look structural rather than a comp issue.

Resolved negatively

Data Vantage growth vs. mid-to-high single digit FY target — Not only did Data Vantage hold the line, management raised the FY guide to high single-digit to low double-digit, the opposite of the deceleration risk flagged last quarter.

Resolved positively

Europe/APAC sustainability at +30% — Decelerated to +24% but still the second-fastest growing segment after Options. The Japan wind-down drag is now embedded in the run rate and the geography continues to deliver well above corporate average.

Resolved positively

Whether the lowered opex guide ($832–847M) holds through Q3 — Not only held but cut again, to $827–842M. Management is delivering operating leverage rather than spending revenue beats.

Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Options RPC trajectory — the slip from $0.300 to $0.281 is the first crack in the Options story; watch whether it stabilizes here or continues to bleed toward $0.27.

Futures revenue — a third consecutive double-digit decline would force a re-rating of the segment from "cyclically soft" to "structurally impaired"; watch whether Q4 stays below -15%.

Whether FY organic revenue growth lands in the upper or lower half of the "low double-digit to mid-teens" range — with three quarters reported, Q4 implies roughly the same growth pace to hit the midpoint.

Adjusted operating margin sustaining above 65% — Q3's 65.3% is the highest of the year; whether Q4 holds it determines whether the operating leverage narrative carries into 2026 guidance.

Data Vantage net revenue growth — last quarter ran ~11%; with the FY guide now "high single-digit to low double-digit," watch whether Q4 confirms the acceleration or reveals the raise was timing-driven.

Sources

Cboe Global Markets Q3 2025 earnings press release (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1), October 31, 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1374310/000162828025047668/cboe-20251031xex991.htm
Cboe Global Markets Q2 2025 earnings press release (prior-quarter guidance baseline), August 1, 2025.

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