Cboe Global Markets is a Chicago-based leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products across multiple asset classes, delivering cutting-edge trading, clearing, and investment solutions to market participants worldwide through the Options, North American Equities, Europe and Asia Pacific, Futures, and Global Data Services segments, and the company is in the middle of a fiscal second quarter that demonstrates the kind of record-volume pivot the derivatives exchange operator cohort has been waiting for. Q2 2026 net revenue of $731.6 million was a record, up 25 percent year over year, the Q2 2026 diluted EPS of $3.35 was 50 percent above the prior-year quarter, and the Q2 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $3.56 was 45 percent above the prior-year quarter. The combination of the record Q2 2026 net revenue, the 30 percent Derivatives segment net revenue growth, the 22 percent Cash and Spot Markets segment net revenue growth, the 15 percent Data Vantage segment net revenue growth, the raised 2026 organic total net revenue growth target to mid to high teens from low double-digit to mid teens, and the reaffirmed 2026 adjusted operating expense guidance of $838 million to $853 million is the cleanest single-sentence read on what the derivatives exchange operator business model is producing, and the combination is the source of the operating-leverage spread the equity offers the buy-side.
The numbers tell the story with the kind of operational detail the derivatives exchange operator equity has been waiting for. The Q2 2026 Derivatives segment net revenue growth of 30 percent year over year was driven by another record quarter of index options volumes, with the index options volumes the cleanest single read on the derivatives platform growth the company is producing. The Q2 2026 Cash and Spot Markets segment net revenue growth of 22 percent year over year was driven by the cash equities volumes and the broader cash and spot markets dynamics. The Q2 2026 Data Vantage segment net revenue growth of 15 percent year over year was driven by the data and access solutions dynamics.
The Q2 2026 diluted EPS of $3.35 was 50 percent above the prior-year quarter, with the per share growth reflecting the net revenue growth, the operating leverage, and the share count management. The Q2 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $3.56 was 45 percent above the prior-year quarter, with the adjusted per share growth reflecting the net revenue growth and the operating leverage on the adjusted basis.
The Q2 2026 strategic initiatives include the event contracts expansion, the Cboe Clear U.S. growth, and the around-the-clock access to the markets. The event contracts expansion is the cleanest single read on the growth strategy the company is producing, and the event contracts expansion is the source of the forward operating profile the company is positioning for.
The Cboe Canada business-as-usual financial contribution was included in the 2026 guidance, with the company having announced divestiture plans for Cboe Canada in October 2025. The Cboe Australia divestiture is expected to complete in Q3 2026, with the 2026 adjusted operating expenses guidance being reduced by $11 million to reflect the divestiture.
The question the next four quarters resolve is whether the company can sustain the record Derivatives segment net revenue growth and the record Q2 2026 net revenue, and whether the event contracts expansion, the Cboe Clear U.S. growth, and the around-the-clock access can continue to drive the operating profile through the second half of fiscal 2026. A Q3 2026 print that continues the Derivatives segment net revenue growth and the record net revenue would confirm the operating profile is sustainable. A Q3 2026 print that shows Derivatives segment net revenue growth decelerating or record net revenue not sustaining would force the market to reprice the equity for a more modest terminal value.