Cboe Extends Exclusive S&P 500 Options License Through 2051

Cboe Global Markets (C67.DE ) and S&P Dow Jones Indices on 29 Σεπτεμβρίου 2026, announced a 25-year extension of their exclusive licensing agreement, extending Cboe’s exclusive rights to offer trading in its flagship S&P 500 Index (SPX) options through 2051.

Under the extended agreement, Cboe will continue to hold the exclusive rights to offer trading in SPX options, according to the companies’ joint announcement. The exchange operator and the index provider may also collaborate to pursue innovation beyond traditional index derivatives, including new products such as tokenized options contracts.

Craig Donohue, chief executive officer of Cboe Global Markets, said the extension allows the company to further grow its SPX and VIX franchises while providing “the certainty and continuity that our customers have come to expect in these products.” Donohue said the agreement gives Cboe significant runway to pursue the next frontier of innovation and to stay ahead of evolving investor needs and emerging technologies. He described the partnership as one of the industry’s great success stories, combining S&P DJI’s index expertise with Cboe’s ability to build and operate highly liquid derivatives markets.

Catherine Clay, chief executive officer of S&P DJI, called the S&P 500 “the definitive barometer of U.S. equity market performance and the most widely tracked index in the world.” Clay said investor demand for exposure to U.S. equities continues to accelerate, and described a future in which every investor can access the benchmark in the format that best suits their needs. She said Cboe brings deep expertise in developing, listing and operating liquid derivatives markets that complements S&P DJI’s index expertise, and that the agreement allows the companies to keep innovating for the next generation of investors.

According to the announcement, SPX options set a record annual volume of 970.6 million contracts in 2025, with average daily volume of 3.9 million contracts, a 25% increase over the prior year and the fourth consecutive year of record trading activity. The companies characterize SPX options as one of the world’s most liquid and actively traded index options, citing growing global demand for exposure to U.S. equity markets.

Cboe said it has continued to grow the SPX options suite, alongside its closely connected VIX options and futures franchise, through new products, structures and expirations, expanding the range of tools available and access for retail and institutional investors globally.

The extension builds on a collaboration that began in 1983 with the launch of SPX options, which the companies describe as a breakthrough that became the global standard for how investors worldwide gain and manage U.S. equity market exposure. Donohue noted the two organizations first came together 43 years ago.

2013 Amendment Extended License Through 2033

The license term previously in force was set on 13 Μαρτίου 2013, when CBOE Holdings and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced a finalized amendment extending the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s exclusive rights to list security options contracts based on certain S&P DJI indices through 2032, with non-exclusive rights through 2033, according to a copy of that release filed with the SEC. The 2013 filing states that, before the amendment, the license agreement had been set to expire in 2022, and that financial terms of the license were not public.

Under the 2013 agreement, CBOE held exclusive rights to use the S&P 500 and the S&P 100 to create exchange-traded standardized options on those indexes and on other derivative indexes. At that time, CBOE listed options on indexes related to the S&P 500, along with benchmark and strategy indexes such as the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index, the CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index and the CBOE S&P 500 SKEW Index. CBOE granted S&P DJI the exclusive rights, and shared revenues with the index provider, to license third parties to use CBOE’s indexes, proprietary index methodologies, related marks and data, including in connection with structured products based on the CBOE Volatility Index (the VIX Index). CBOE paid S&P DJI royalties on S&P 500 options and on VIX options and futures, based on contracts traded.

The 2013 release states that SPX was the most-active U.S. index option at the time and averaged nearly 700,000 contracts traded daily in 2012. Edward T. Tilly, then CBOE Holdings president and chief operating officer, said in that release that S&P index options products and the VIX complex, which uses S&P 500 options for index calculation, contributed substantially to the company’s revenues.