Agreement extends Cboe’s exclusive licensing rights for S&P 500 Index options through 2051 and creates new opportunities for innovation across next-generation markets and technologies

Cboe Global Markets, Inc., a leading global markets operator and pioneer in equity and index derivatives, and S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s leading index provider, announced a 25-year extension of their exclusive licensing agreement that will continue their longstanding collaboration through 2051.

Under the extended agreement, Cboe will continue to have the exclusive rights to offer trading in its flagship S&P 500® Index (SPX) options. Cboe and S&P DJI may also collaborate to pursue innovation beyond traditional index derivatives, including new products like tokenized options contracts.

The agreement builds on more than 40 years of collaboration between Cboe and S&P DJI that began in 1983 with the launch of SPX options – a breakthrough innovation that has since become the global standard for how investors worldwide gain and manage U.S. equity market exposure.

“Cboe and S&P DJI have created one of the industry’s great success stories. By combining S&P DJI’s index expertise with Cboe’s unmatched ability to build and operate highly liquid derivatives markets, we have built one of the world’s most liquid products and a relationship that has delivered lasting value across the global financial marketplace,” said Craig Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets. “This extension allows us to further grow our SPX and VIX franchises, while providing the certainty and continuity that our customers have come to expect in these products. It also gives us significant runway to pursue the next frontier of innovation and stay ahead of evolving investor needs and emerging technologies. The opportunities ahead are as compelling as those that first brought our organizations together 43 years ago, and we look forward to what we can achieve together in the decades ahead.”

“The S&P 500 is the definitive barometer of U.S. equity market performance and the most widely tracked index in the world,” said Catherine Clay, Chief Executive Officer of S&P DJI. “Investor demand for exposure to U.S. equities continues to accelerate, and we see a future where every investor, everywhere, can access this benchmark in the format that best suits their needs. Cboe brings deep expertise in developing, listing, and operating liquid derivatives markets that complements our index expertise, and this agreement allows us to keep innovating for the next generation of investors.”

SPX options are one of the world’s most liquid and actively traded index options. Reflecting growing global demand for exposure to U.S. equity markets, SPX options set a record annual volume of 970.6 million contracts in 2025, with average daily volume of 3.9 million contracts – a 25% increase over the prior year and the 4^th consecutive year of record trading activity.

In recent years, Cboe has continued to grow the SPX options suite, alongside its closely connected VIX options and futures franchise, through new products, structures and expirations, expanding the range of tools available and access for retail and institutional investors globally.

Source: Cboe Global Markets