Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange opened its doors in 1973 as the first organized options marketplace in the United States. Fifty years later, that entity, now called Cboe Global Markets, has become a global trading powerhouse. In the U.S., it captures roughly 30% of all options trading, more than any other exchange. Its BZX, BYX, EDGX, and EDGA platforms together make it the third-largest equities exchange operator in the country, with about 10% of the market. Across the Atlantic, Cboe runs Europe's largest stock exchange, holding a 25% share. The company still keeps its headquarters in Chicago, where an open outcry trading floor remains in use, a rare sight in an industry that has mostly gone electronic.

Cboe is best known for the VIX Index, often called the fear index, which measures implied volatility in the S&P 500. Futures and options on the VIX are among its signature products. The company's revenue streams paint a clear picture of its business: options trading on indexes and individual stocks generated 52% of 2025 revenues. North American equities contributed 35%, while European and Asia Pacific equities added 8%. Futures on the VIX brought in 3%, and foreign exchange trading accounted for the remaining 2%. In 2024, total revenues reached about $3.8 billion.

Cboe has expanded aggressively through acquisitions and new ventures. In 2024 it bought Turquoise, a European trading platform, from the London Stock Exchange Group. A year later it launched Cboe Digital, a regulated exchange for digital asset spot and derivatives trading. In 2026 the company announced a partnership with major banks to enable 24-hour trading of U.S. Treasury securities. Competitors include the Intercontinental Exchange (parent of NYSE), Nasdaq Inc., and Euronext. The company trades on the NYSE under the ticker CBOE and had a market capitalization of roughly $22-24 billion in mid-2026.[edit]