Cboe Global Markets Reports Results for Fourth Quarter 2024 and Full Year

By PR Newswire 07 Feb, 2025 73 mins read 17 views

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Fourth Quarter and Full Year Highlights*

Diluted EPS for the Quarter of $1.86, Down 6 percent; Diluted EPS for the Full Year of $7.21, Up 1 percent
Adjusted Diluted EPS¹ for the Quarter of $2.10, Up 2 percent; Adjusted Diluted EPS¹ for the Full Year of $8.61, Up 10 percent
Net Revenue for the Quarter of $524.5 million, Up 5 percent; Record Net Revenue for the Full Year of $2.1 billion, Up 8 percent
Establishing 2025 Organic Total Net Revenue Growth Target² of mid single digits and Cboe Data Vantage³ Organic Net Revenue Growth Target² of mid to high single digits
Establishing 2025 Adjusted Operating Expense Guidance² of $837 to $852 million

CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2025 -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024 and full year.

"Cboe reported strong fourth quarter results, capping full year 2024 net revenue growth of 8% to a record $2.1 billion, diluted EPS of $7.21, and record adjusted diluted EPS¹ of $8.61, up 10% year-over-year," said Fredric Tomczyk, Cboe Global Markets Chief Executive Officer. "While the robust options volumes were a standout for 2024, the results were notable in that each category – Derivatives Markets, Data Vantage, and Cash and Spot Markets – contributed to the fourth quarter and full year growth. We enter 2025 on solid footing, with a refined strategic focus and the financial flexibility to execute on our vision. We remain well positioned to benefit from the secular market trends to drive durable growth for shareholders."

"In the fourth quarter, Cboe generated solid net revenues and earnings results to finish a record year," said Jill Griebenow, Cboe Global Markets Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. "Derivatives Markets net revenue was up 8% in 2024, driven by record volumes in our options business. Data Vantage net revenue grew 7% in 2024, and Cash and Spot Markets net revenue increased an impressive 10% for the full year. Following another record year of revenue generation, we anticipate organic total net revenue growth² will be in the mid single digit range in 2025. We anticipate Data Vantage organic net revenue growth² will be in the mid to high single digit range in 2025. Our revenue growth expectations are balanced by our disciplined expense focus, with the introduction of our full year adjusted operating expense guidance² range of $837 to $852 million. 2025 is off to a strong start, and we look forward to delivering on our objectives for shareholders in the year ahead."

^*	All comparisons are fourth quarter 2024 or full year compared to the same period in 2023.
⁽¹⁾	A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP ("Generally Accepted Accounting Principles") results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.
⁽²⁾	Specific quantification of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses guidance are not available. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above.
⁽³⁾	Cboe Data Vantage refers to the company's Cboe Data Vantage business (formerly known as Data and Access Solutions). Cboe Data Vantage is subsequently referred to as Data Vantage throughout this press release.

Consolidated Fourth Quarter Results
The table below presents summary selected unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the company as reported and on an adjusted basis for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Table 1
Consolidated Fourth Quarter Results ($ in millions except per share)	4Q24	4Q23	Change	4Q24 Adjusted¹	4Q23 Adjusted¹	Change
Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues	$ 524.5	$ 499.0	5 %	$ 524.5	$ 499.0	5 %
Total Operating Expenses	$ 226.0	$ 205.0	10 %	$ 204.8	$ 191.7	7 %
Operating Income	$ 298.5	$ 294.0	2 %	$ 319.7	$ 307.3	4 %
Operating Margin %	56.9 %	58.9 %	(2.0)pp	61.0 %	61.6 %	(0.6)pp
Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders	$ 195.6	$ 210.8	(7) %	$ 221.2	$ 218.8	1 %
Diluted Earnings Per Share	$ 1.86	$ 1.98	(6) %	$ 2.10	$ 2.06	2 %
EBITDA¹	$ 316.6	$ 333.8	(5) %	$ 331.6	$ 320.7	3 %
EBITDA Margin %¹	60.4 %	66.9 %	(6.5)pp	63.2 %	64.3 %	(1.1)pp

Total revenues less cost of revenues (referred to as "net revenue"²) of $524.5 million increased 5 percent, compared to $499.0 million in the prior-year period, a result of increases in cash and spot markets, Data Vantage, and derivatives markets net revenue².
Total operating expenses were $226.0 million versus $205.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of $21.0 million. This increase was primarily due to the change in contingent consideration related to prior acquisitions and higher travel and promotional expenses, technology support services, and professional fees and outside services. Adjusted operating expenses¹ of $204.8 million increased 7 percent compared to $191.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. This increase was primarily due to higher travel and promotional expenses, technology support services, and professional fees and outside services.
The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 29.7 percent as compared with 26.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. The higher effective tax rate in 2024 is primarily due to tax benefits arising in 2023 from changes in contingent consideration and valuation allowance releases. The effective tax rate on adjusted earnings¹ was 29.5 percent, up 2.2 percentage points when compared with 27.3 percent in last year's fourth quarter. The change was primarily due to lower non-deductible compensation in 2023 resulting from executive changes.
Diluted EPS for the fourth quarter of 2024 decreased 6 percent to $1.86 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted diluted EPS¹ of $2.10 increased 2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

Business Segment Information

Table 2
Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues by Business Segment (in millions)	4Q24	4Q23	Change
Options	$ 324.3	$ 314.5	3 %
North American Equities	94.9	86.3	10 %
Europe and Asia Pacific	56.2	48.0	17 %
Futures	30.2	32.4	(7) %
Global FX	19.4	18.9	3 %
Digital	(0.5)	(1.1)	* %
Total	$ 524.5	$ 499.0	5 %

⁽¹⁾	A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.
⁽²⁾	See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Revenue by Revenue Caption."
*	Not meaningful

Discussion of Results by Business Segment¹:

Options:

Record Options net revenue of $324.3 million was up $9.8 million, or 3 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2023. Net transaction and clearing fees² increased primarily as a result of an 8 percent increase in multi-listed options trading volumes and multi-listed revenue per contract ("RPC") versus the fourth quarter of 2023. Market data fees increased 13 percent and access and capacity fees were 3 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2023.
Net transaction and clearing fees² increased $2.6 million, or 1 percent, reflecting a 5 percent increase in total options average daily volume ("ADV"), partially offset by a 5 percent decrease in total options RPC compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease in total options RPC was due to a mix shift, with index options representing a lower percentage of total options volume.
Cboe's Options exchanges had total market share of 30.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 33.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, a result of lower multi-listed market share as compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

North American (N.A.) Equities:

N.A. Equities net revenue of $94.9 million increased $8.6 million, or 10 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting higher net transaction and clearing fees² and access and capacity fees, partially offset by a decline in industry market data fees.
Net transaction and clearing fees² increased by $6.4 million, or 28 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The increase was driven by stronger industry volumes as well as improved net capture rates for on-exchange U.S. Equities, partially offset by lower market share in on-exchange U.S. Equities and Canadian Equities as compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
Cboe's U.S. Equities exchanges had market share of 10.8 percent for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 13.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 given higher industry off-exchange market share. Cboe's U.S. Equities off-exchange market share was 17.3 percent, down from 18.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Canadian Equities market share decreased to 14.3 percent as compared to 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC):

Europe and APAC net revenue of $56.2 million increased by 17 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting growth in net transaction and clearing fees² and non-transaction revenues. On a constant currency basis³, net revenues were $56.0 million, up 17 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. European Equities average daily notional value ("ADNV") traded on Cboe European Equities was €10.4 billion, up 15 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 given a 12 percent increase in industry market volumes. Japanese Equities ADNV was 39 percent higher and Australian Equities ADNV was 9 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2023.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, Cboe European Equities had 24.6 percent market share, up from 23.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Cboe European Equities net capture rate increased 12 percent given a mix shift to higher capture products. Cboe Australia had 20.8 percent market share for the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 20.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Cboe Japan grew market share to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Futures:

Futures net revenue of $30.2 million decreased $2.2 million, or 7 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2023 due to a decrease in net transaction and clearing fees².
Net transaction and clearing fees² decreased $2.2 million, reflecting a 12 percent decline in ADV during the quarter.

Global FX:

Global FX net revenue of $19.4 million increased 3 percent due to higher net transaction and clearing fees². Net capture rate per one million dollars traded was $2.72 for the quarter, up 5 percent compared to $2.60 in the fourth quarter of 2023, and ADNV traded on the Cboe FX platform was $45.6 billion for the quarter, down 3 percent compared to last year's fourth quarter.
Cboe FX market share was 19.0 percent for the quarter compared to 21.3 percent in last year's fourth quarter.

⁽¹⁾	The Digital segment is not further discussed as results were not material during the fourth quarter of 2024.
⁽²⁾	See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Transaction and Clearing Fees by Business Segment."
⁽³⁾	A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.
Note, the key performance metrics referenced represent the change in the unrounded metrics figures.

2025 Fiscal Year Financial Guidance

Cboe provided guidance for the 2025 fiscal year as noted below.

Organic total net revenue growth¹ is expected to be in the mid single digit range in 2025.
Organic net revenue growth¹ from Data Vantage is expected to be in the mid to high single digit range in 2025.
Adjusted operating expenses¹ in 2025 are expected to be in the range of $837 to $852 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $70 million; the company adjusts for this amount in its non-GAAP reconciliation.
Depreciation and amortization expense for 2025 is expected to be in the range of $55 to $59 million, excluding the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets.
The effective tax rate on adjusted earnings¹ for the full year 2025 is expected to be in the range of 28.5 to 30.5 percent. Significant changes in trading volume, expenses, tax laws or rates and other items could materially impact this expectation.
Capital expenditures for 2025 are expected to be in the range of $75 to $85 million.

⁽¹⁾

Specific quantification of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic and inorganic growth guidance, adjusted operating expenses guidance, annualized adjusted operating expenses guidance, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings guidance are not available. Acquisitions are considered organic after 12 months of closing. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic growth, adjusted operating expenses, annualized adjusted operating expenses, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above.

Capital Management

At December 31, 2024, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $920.3 million and adjusted cash² of $879.5 million. Total debt as of December 31, 2024 was $1,441.0 million.

The company paid cash dividends of $66.4 million, or $0.63 per share, during the fourth quarter of 2024 and there were no share repurchases in the fourth quarter of 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately $679.8 million of availability remaining under its existing share repurchase authorizations.

Earnings Conference Call

Executives of Cboe Global Markets will host a conference call to review its fourth quarter financial results today, February 7, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. CT. The conference call and any accompanying slides will be publicly available via live webcast from the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.cboe.com under Events & Presentations. Participants may also listen via telephone by dialing (800) 715-9871 (toll-free) or (646) 307-1963 (toll) and using the Conference ID 5196331. Telephone participants should place calls 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The webcast will be archived on the company's website for replay.

⁽²⁾	A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.

About Cboe Global Markets

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to people around the world. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives, and FX, across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Above all, Cboe is committed to building a trusted, inclusive global marketplace that enables people to pursue a sustainable financial future. To learn more about the Exchange for the World Stage, visit www.cboe.com.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security vulnerabilities and breaches; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel, increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; global expansion of operations; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our and other applicable indices; our ability to manage our growth and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit, counterparty investment, and default risks, associated with operating a European clearinghouse; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing potential conflicts between our regulatory responsibilities and our for-profit status; our ability to maintain BIDS Trading as an independently managed and operated trading venue, separate from and not integrated with our registered national securities exchanges; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; the impacts of pandemics; the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; litigation risks and other liabilities; risks relating to digital assets, including winding down the Cboe Digital spot market and transitioning digital asset futures contracts to CFE, operating a digital assets futures clearinghouse, cybercrime, changes in digital asset regulation, and fluctuations in digital asset prices. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.

We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

The condensed consolidated statements of income and balance sheets are unaudited and subject to revision.

Cboe

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