Cboe earnings: guidance and next results
MyStockButler's November 2026 analysis: Cboe's next results are expected on February 5, 2027. Watch the CAT hearing and its effect on costs.
What has Cboe guided for 2026?
On October 30, 2026, management guided to high-teens organic total net revenue growth and mid-teens Data Vantage growth for 2026. Adjusted operating expenses are guided to $830 million–$845 million. Capital spending is guided to $98 million–$108 million. Management kept a 3/5 record: it exceeded its initial organic-revenue target in each of four comparable years, but expense and capital-spending estimates were less consistent.
| Period guided | Low | High | Date given | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic total net revenue growth | 2026 | Oct 30, 2026 | ||
| Organic net revenue growth from Data Vantage | 2026 | Oct 30, 2026 | ||
| Adjusted operating expenses | 2026 | 830 | 845 | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Capital expenditures | 2026 | 98 | 108 | Oct 30, 2026 |
What this means. The company gives revenue growth guidance as words such as “high teens” and “mid teens,” not exact percentages, so the actual low and high ends are unknown.
Did Cboe keep its guidance promises?
| What management forecast | Checked | Above | Within | Below |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic total net revenue growth | 4 years | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Adjusted operating expenses | 5 years | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Capital expenditures | 5 years | 2 | 0 | 3 |
What is Cboe's eight-quarter revenue and profit trend?
Net revenue rose 18% year on year. Options led the increase: options net revenue grew 23%, while total options ADV grew 14%. Average options revenue per contract rose 9%, showing that product mix and pricing supported the result. All but Futures grew net revenue.
The preceding two quarters also showed higher year-on-year operating income, and both index and multi-listed options were strong. That supports a broader improvement, although unusually active short-dated trading and favorable mix still helped.
| Sep 2026 | Jun 2026 | Mar 2026 | Dec 2025 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2025 | Mar 2025 | Dec 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,358.8 | 1,442.8 | 1,272.8 | 1,204.0 | 1,141.7 | 1,173.5 | 1,195.0 | 1,107.6 |
| Gross margin | 52.4% | 50.7% | 57.3% | 55.7% | 53.0% | 50.0% | 47.3% | 47.4% |
| Operating margin | 39.3% | 33.0% | 39.7% | 33.5% | 32.4% | 28.9% | 29.6% | 27.0% |
| EPS, diluted | 4.08 | 3.35 | 3.66 | 2.97 | 2.85 | 2.23 | 2.37 | 1.86 |
| Free cash flow | 793.0 | -536.3 | 1,940.8 | 332.1 | 137.9 | 313.4 | 898.2 | -734.2 |
What this means. Free cash flow can be negative even when the company is profitable because it includes changes in customer deposits and restricted cash.
What should Cboe watch in its next results?
A court hearing is scheduled for December 17, 2026. If the revised funding model is overturned without a replacement, Cboe could face additional costs or recover less of its loans. In the third quarter, it added $14.0 million to its allowance for possible CAT-loan losses. An allowance estimates money that may not be collected; it does not mean the entire loan has been lost.
The hearing, the December 23x5 launch, the November 2026 company-metric contracts and the January note repayment will test legal exposure, customer adoption and capital discipline together. They also sit inside Cboe’s broader international growth strategy.