Rob Hocking, global head of derivatives at Cboe Global Markets, said the exchange group is excited about the potential of prediction markets, and is focused on financial and economic contracts.

Hocking said on the results call on 6 February 2026 that Cboe is excited about the continued growth in event prediction markets.

“We really view this as a logical extension of Cboe’s existing strengths,” he added. “They provide a clear entry point for new customers and a pathway to broader Cboe product adoption.”

He said Cboe is focused on financial and economic contracts where Cboe has the deepest expertise and can immediately deliver value to end-users. Hocking added: “We are super excited about the space.”

In addition, the chairmen of the U.S. SEC and CFTC are providing regulatory clarity on prediction markets which will increase confidence among individual investors and retail brokers.

“We can leverage our technology, existing product liquidity and our market structure experience while offering customers the regulatory certainty and reliability that comes with trading on our established, regulated exchange,” he said.

Hocking expects the initial event contracts will be securities products and closely align with Cboe’s S&P 500 (SPX) options ecosystem. He argued that Cboe sees more than 200,000 zero days to expiry (0DTE) SPX contracts every day that have the same kind of defined risk and provide “all or nothing” payout profiles that newer investors are looking for.

In the second quarter of this year Cboe intends to launch “all or none” style contracts which intertwine some of the spread trading in SPX, subject to regulatory approval. Cboe will subsequently roll out traditional event type contracts.

Craig Donohue, chief executive officer of Cboe Global Markets, said on the call that he liked the strategy and the emphasis on securities products. He said: “It capitalizes on hundreds of thousands of spread SPX contracts that are trading every day in our market and leverages our strengths.”

Options volumes

Donohue described Cboe’s fourth quarter results as “exceptional” on the call. He added: “They were underpinned by double-digit net revenue growth in every segment and record results in each category at Cboe. Specifically, strong volumes in both our multi-list and proprietary index option products drove the strength in derivatives.”

Net revenue in the derivatives increased 22% year-on-year to a record. Revenue in the multi-list options business, net of transaction and clearing fees, increased by 41% which Donohue said was due to higher industry volumes and positive pricing trends.

“The multi-list option space remains an area where we believe Cboe has a right to win and we will continue to enhance our position to drive greater results over time,” said Donohue.

Cboe recently launched Monday and Wednesday expirations for select multi-list option names, and is educating market participants on zero days to expiry trading.

Hocking said early uptake of the Monday and Wednesday options has been “good”, although they are largely concentrated in two names – Nvidia and Tesla. Monday and Wednesday options range between 10% to 30% of the total number of options that are trading in the nine names that were launched

”I like the introduction of Monday and Wednesday single name options,” said Hocking. “I think it’s good for industry volumes and we don’t see them replacing SPX but adding into the system.”

Revenue for index options, net of transaction and clearing fees, increased 40% as the proprietary SPX options complex set record average daily volumes. 0DTE made up over nearly two thirds, 61%, of SPX volumes compared to 51% a year ago.

Donohue noted that the 10 highest average daily volume months for SPX options occurred in 2025 and 2026. In addition, nine of the 10 highest SPX days on record occurred in the fourth quarter of 2025, or first quarter of 2026. VIX options, Cboe’s proprietary volatility complex, also reached new record trading volumes.

As concerns have risen over concentration risk in U.S. equity markets, there has been renewed interest in small-cap stocks for those looking to diversify their equity exposure away from large-cap tech names, according to Donohue. Volume in Cboe’s Russell 2000 index options jumped 20% in the last quarter to reach their highest level in almost 10 years. The Russell 2000 index options are being added to Cboe’s global trading hours session this month, which Donohue said gives investors the opportunity to trade small-cap stocks around the clock.

“This will capitalize on the strong demand we have seen from international investors to access U.S. markets,” added Donohue. “The total volume in our global trading hours session was up 34% last quarter.”

Financials

Donohue said on the call that Cboe delivered record net revenue and adjusted earnings for the quarter and full-year 2025 powered by continued strength across all its core businesses. Cboe reported net revenue for 2025 of a record $2.4bn, up 17% year-on-year.

“We remain focused on extending this momentum as we execute on our strategic direction we laid out on our last earnings call, reducing our focus in certain areas, while we redirect our time, talent and capital to our core businesses and emerging opportunities,” he added.

He highlighted that Cboe is unlocking incremental revenue opportunities through its securities financing clearing service in Europe. The first trades were executed in March 2025 and Donohue said there have been hundreds of new contracts across 15 active European settlement locations which are cleared every day between borrowers and lenders. Notional outstanding loan values exceeded €1bn in January 2026.

In addition, Donohue noted that each component of the Data Vantage business, which includes market data, access, indices and risk market analytics, all trended higher on a year-over-year basis.

Jill Griebenow, chief financial officer of Cboe, said on the call that there has been “strong” initial interest from potential buyers for Cboe’s Australian and Canadian businesses, which were put up for sale last year.

“Although we have initiated sales processes for Cboe Canada and Cboe Australia, we continue to operate those units as business as usual, and the revenue and expense contribution of each is included in our 2026 guidance,” she added.

Cboe has also ceased operations on its corporate listing businesses and several smaller risk and market analytics businesses. The group has also closed Cboe Europe Derivatives Exchange (CEDX).

“As we assessed the business, it became clear that CEDX was unlikely to meet targeted revenue and profitability metrics given the retail investing landscape and market structure in Europe,” she added. “In January 2026 we made the decision to close CEDX.”