Thesis

Street consensus, scenarios, merits, risks, and invalidation triggers

AI-assisted
Thesis Summary

Cboe entered the second half of 2026 with exceptional operating momentum: second-quarter net revenue increased 25%, adjusted diluted EPS increased 45%, management raised its organic net-revenue outlook, and July index-options volume remained 34% above the prior year. The proprietary index-options franchise, Data Vantage, clearing expansion and new prediction-market products provide multiple growth vectors. Offsetting these merits are concentration in transaction-sensitive derivatives activity, modest erosion in selected market-share measures, execution risk around the Canada and Australia divestitures. The evidence supports a high-quality operating outlook but not a valuation-dependent Buy recommendation.

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This section is the 12-month view: analyst targets and the probability-weighted scenarios built from them. The intrinsic value at the top of this page answers a different question: what the business is worth today.
Street view · analyst 12-month targets14 analysts · as of 18 Aug 2026
Low · most bearish analyst$258.00
Mean target$317.71
High · most bullish analyst$380.00
Our research · scenarios, merits, risks, and invalidation triggersResearch as of 2 Sep 2026
Scenarios · 12-month scenario targetsAnchored at research date
Bear CaseDownside scenario
$258.0018%

Lower volatility or trading activity reduces index-options volume and unfavorable product mix weakens revenue capture, while market-share pressure and costs associated with portfolio realignment reduce operating leverage. Failure to complete or smoothly transition the Canada and Australia divestitures would add execution risk.

Base CaseCentral scenario
$317.7158%
Matches the consensus mean

Organic net-revenue growth moderates from the unusually strong first half but remains within management's mid-to-high-teens 2026 target, while adjusted operating expenses remain within the USD 838 million to USD 853 million range. Index options remain the principal earnings driver, with Data Vantage and clearing contributing diversification.

Bull CaseUpside scenario
$380.0024%

Sustained index-options adoption, continued 0DTE and global-hours activity, successful commercialization of Cboe Predicts, and expansion of centrally cleared securities financing could keep organic growth near the upper end of management's raised outlook while preserving strong operating leverage.

Scenarios are anchored to street consensus at the research date, with our probabilities and rationale.

Key Investment Merits
  • Second-quarter 2026 net revenue reached a record USD 731.6 million, increasing 25% year over year, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 45%.
  • Index-options average daily volume increased 34% year over year in July 2026, and 0DTE contracts represented a record 66.2% of SPX options volume.
  • Cboe is extending its growth platform through Cboe Predicts and through fixed-income securities-financing clearing at Cboe Clear Europe.
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Key Investment Risks
  • Results remain sensitive to trading and clearing volumes, product mix, market-data demand, regulation, technology resilience and continued rights to list important proprietary index products.
  • Second-quarter total options market share declined to 30.0% from 30.2%, while on-exchange U.S. equities market share declined to 9.4% from 10.5%.
  • The planned USD 300 million sale of the Canadian and Australian equities exchanges remains exposed to closing, regulatory-approval and transition execution risks.
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All scenarios are estimates and subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

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AI-assisted, source-linked narrative; figures from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market data. Dates shown per section. Not investment advice. Terms of Use.