Cboe's fourth-quarter profit rises on options trading boom

Cboe's Financial Performance

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Cboe Global Markets posted a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, as elevated market volatility helped boost options trading volumes at the exchange operator. 

Market Volatility and Trading Volume

Markets have seen a surge in volatility in recent months, fueled by uncertain trade policies and heightened geopolitical tensions, leading traders to take more bets and hedge their positions.

Focus on High-Growth Areas

Exchanges across Wall Street, including CME Group, Nasdaq and NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange, have reported strong quarterly results, buoyed by the higher volumes.

Financial Highlights

Cboe provides trading platforms for equities and derivatives, including products linked to its flagship VIX volatility index, often referred to as the market's "fear gauge."

Net revenue from its options trading arm jumped 34% to $433 million in the quarter as total average daily volume in options rose 24%.

The exchange is streamlining its businesses to focus on high-growth areas like prediction markets and crypto amid increasing competition for market share.

Reuters reported earlier this week that Cboe is in the early stages of exploring a product that would use an options structure to offer all-or-none payouts, a move that would position it to compete with fast-growing prediction market platforms.

The exchange is also narrowing its focus on core offerings with the recent exit of its businesses in Australia and Canada, a move that followed its decision to wind down the Japanese equities business last year.

It reported a net income allocated to common stockholders of $312 million, or $2.97 per share, compared with about $196 million, or $1.86 per share, a year earlier.  

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)