Total revenues of $376.2 million screened as a Beat against $129.4 million consensus, and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.45 beat the $0.37 consensus; both verdicts carry over from the preliminary. Net revenue, the line management steers by, was $131 million, up 20%.
Guidance tightened in the right direction: FY2026 adjusted operating expenses cut to $254-257 million from $260-270 million, the second cut this year, and the adjusted tax rate lowered to 26%-28% from 27%-29%; capex rises to $43-46 million on pulled-forward 2027 purchases.
Operating leverage is the story: adjusted EBITDA margin reached 54% from 44%, with adjusted operating expenses of $60 million below last year's $62 million while options volume grew 15%.
The call explained the price-for-share trade: options RPC fell to $0.098 from $0.11 in Q1, with about 0.8-0.9 cents from July fee changes and 0.6 cents from the ORF change, and the CFO pointed to about $0.10 as the reset level with no fee changes planned for October or November.
The one thing that matters: margins expanded 1,000 basis points on cost discipline while options revenue per contract fell to $0.098 from $0.11 in Q1, so future growth depends on whether 17.4% share holds at a $0.10 capture rate.
Guidance & KPIs
Item
New guidance
Prior guidance
FY2026 adjusted operating expenses
$254 million and $257 million
$260 million to $270 million
FY2026 adjusted effective tax rate
26%-28%
27%-29%
FY2026 capital expenditures
$43 million and $46 million
$40 million to $45 million
2027 options access fees
increase by approximately 10%
—
Management commentary
CFO: the RPC bridge from $0.11 in Q1 to $0.098 in Q3 was about 0.6 cents from ORF, about 0.8-0.9 cents from July fee changes and plus 0.3 cents of mix; "that $0.10 mark, I think might be a good reset point".
CFO: Q4 operating expenses will include a planned increase in marketing and Bloomberg quoting incentives, plus some headcount; 2027 guidance comes with Q4 results in February.
Futures CEO: market share and pricing are usually negatively correlated, and she is not concerned about lower capture alongside modest share gains; low volatility in Q3 favored stabilization volume across exchanges.
CEO: MIAX will file with the SEC to list cash-settled binary index options and binary KPI options; perpetual futures would need clear demand, a regulatory path and justified economics.
Futures CEO: new exchange entrants compete on the fringes, and the Sapphire trading floor, at over 12% of multi-listed floor volume, is not even halfway built out.
Quality of earnings
Earnings growth is operational. Adjusted earnings rose 25% to $50 million on 20% net revenue growth with adjusted operating expenses down to $60 million from $62 million, so the margin gain comes from leverage on a fixed cost base, not a one-off.
A small, repeating but unpredictable item sits in revenue. About $2 million of historical data sales was included in Q3, as in Q1 and Q2, and management asked analysts to model it conservatively.
Part of the Q3 expense beat is timing. Marketing for the Bloomberg futures launch dipped over the summer and is picking up in Q4, alongside some headcount additions, so the $60 million Q3 cost run rate is not the Q4 base.
Gotchas & watch items
Capture is weaker than share gains suggest: options RPC of $0.098 fell from $0.124 in Q2 and $0.11 in Q1, while market share rose only to 17.4% from 17.2% a year ago.
Futures still costs money per trade: Bloomberg financial futures run an inverted capture of about $1.42 per contract plus $0.5-1 million a quarter of quoting incentives booked in operating expenses.
Pricing power in non-transaction fees: non-transaction fee revenue grew 38% and access fees rise about 10% on January 1, 2027.
Retail distribution is starting small: NinjaTrader is the only live retail broker for the Bloomberg futures, with a second expected within about 30 days and two more in the pipeline.
Last quarter's watch items: what happened
No watch items on file from a prior quarter - this is the first tracked quarter for this company.
Next quarter: the 2-3 things that matter
Options RPC stabilizes near the $0.10 reset level Baseline: Q3 options RPC $0.098 versus $0.11 in Q1; no fee changes planned for October or November Confirms: Q4 RPC at or above about $0.10 with market share at or above 17.4% Breaks: RPC below $0.095 or new fee cuts without share gains Check in: Q4 2026. Source: CFO prepared remarks and Q&A on RPC bridge
Retail distribution of Bloomberg futures broadens Baseline: One live retail broker (NinjaTrader), one more completed testing, two in the pipeline; inverted capture about $1.42 per contract Confirms: At least three retail brokers live and futures segment revenue growth above the 4% Q3 rate Breaks: No additional broker live by the Q4 call Check in: Q4 2026. Source: Futures CEO answer on retail pipeline
Cost discipline holds as Q4 marketing steps up Baseline: FY2026 adjusted operating expense guide $254-257 million; Q3 adjusted operating expenses $60 million Confirms: FY2026 adjusted operating expenses land within $254-257 million Breaks: FY2026 adjusted operating expenses above $257 million Check in: Q4 2026. Source: CFO guidance remarks