What Miami International (MIAX) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Strong Q3 financial performance: Net revenue rose 20% year over year to $131 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $71 million and the margin expanded to 54%. Adjusted earnings climbed 25% to $50 million, or $0.45 per diluted share.
• Options business gained momentum: Options revenue grew 19% to $113 million, average daily volume reached 11.1 million contracts, and market share increased to 17.4%. However, revenue per contract fell to $0.098, with management viewing roughly $0.10 as a potential reset point.
• Futures expansion remains an investment: MIAX continued rolling out Bloomberg financial futures and agricultural products, with retail distribution expected to broaden in Q4. The company lowered full-year operating-expense guidance but raised capital-expenditure guidance as it accelerates product and technology investments.

Miami International NYSE: MIAX reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $131 million, up 20% from a year earlier, as the exchange operator increased options-market share and expanded profitability while continuing investments in futures products.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas P. Gallagher said the company delivered “a solid third quarter,” citing revenue growth, market-share gains and margin expansion. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $71 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin reached 54%, compared with 44% in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings totaled $50 million, up 25% year over year, and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.45.

Options Revenue and Market Share Rise

The options segment generated $113 million in net revenue, a 19% year-over-year increase. Average daily volume rose 15% to 11.1 million contracts, slightly ahead of industry average daily volume growth, according to Chief Financial Officer Lance Emmons.

MIAX’s options market share reached 17.4% in the third quarter, up from 17.2% a year earlier and 16.5% in the second quarter. Gallagher said the company’s Sapphire trading floor continued to contribute to growth, capturing more than 12% of total industry multi-listed trading-floor volume during the quarter.

Non-transaction revenue in the options segment increased 38%, driven by member connections, fee increases implemented at the start of 2026 and market-data sales. Emmons said the company plans to raise access fees by approximately 10%, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

The company also recorded roughly $2 million in historical-data sales tied to products launched earlier in 2026. Emmons cautioned that the quarterly amount from those sales could vary significantly and should be modeled conservatively.

Options revenue per contract, or RPC, declined to $0.098 from $0.124 in the second quarter and $0.11 in the first quarter. Emmons attributed the decrease from the first quarter to fee changes, the change in the options regulatory fee effective July 1, and business-mix factors. He said the company had not made additional fee changes in October and did not anticipate changes in November, adding that the $0.10 range could be a “reset point,” subject to trading mix and market conditions.

Futures Rollout Advances

Futures segment net revenue was $5 million, up 4% from the prior-year period. Bloomberg Financial Futures products, which launched in May, did not contribute materially to third-quarter results, while segment adjusted EBITDA continued to reflect launch incentives.

Gallagher said NinjaTrader became the first retail broker to distribute MIAX’s Bloomberg Tini B500 and Tini B100 equity-index futures. He said additional brokerage platforms were expected to begin offering the products during the fourth quarter.

Shelly Brown, chief executive officer of MIAX Futures and chief strategy officer of MIH, said two retail firms had completed testing, including NinjaTrader, while a second firm was expected to go live within approximately 30 days. Two additional firms were in the connectivity and testing process, she said.

MIAX said its financial futures strategy is centered on expanding distribution, growing volumes and improving capture rates over time. The products feature smaller notional sizes, no exchange fees for retail traders and free market data, Gallagher said. The company holds a 10-year exclusive Bloomberg license covering certain index futures, options on futures and cash index options in North and South America.

Emmons said financial-futures capture was inverted by about $1.42 per contract during the period because of fee waivers and rebates for market makers. He said the company expects incentives to decline as retail participation rises and capture rates move toward positive levels, potentially in the $0.25-to-$0.30 range depending on the product.

MIAX also launched four physically settled fertilizer futures contracts during the quarter and said it has additional agricultural products in development. The company announced that its futures commission merchant, Dorman Trading, received OCC clearing membership and a $40 million capital increase, bringing adjusted net capital to $67 million.

Expenses, Balance Sheet and Updated Outlook

Adjusted operating expenses were $60 million, compared with $62 million a year earlier. Emmons said MIAX is investing in new products on a largely fixed cost base, although fourth-quarter expenses are expected to include higher marketing costs, including Bloomberg Futures quoting incentives.

The company ended the quarter with $699 million in cash and cash equivalents and less than $2 million of debt, which matures in December. Equity segment net revenue rose to $7 million from $4 million, primarily due to higher transaction fees, while international segment revenue increased 11% to $6 million.

MIAX lowered its full-year 2026 adjusted operating expense guidance to a range of $254 million to $257 million, from prior guidance of $260 million to $270 million. It raised capital-expenditure guidance to $43 million to $46 million from $40 million to $45 million, saying it pulled forward planned 2027 spending to help mitigate anticipated cost increases.

• Share-based compensation is expected to be $30 million to $32 million.
• Depreciation and amortization are expected to be $36 million to $38 million.
• The full-year adjusted effective tax rate is projected at 26% to 28%.

Technology and New Product Plans

Gallagher said MIAX plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list cash-settled binary index options, including options linked to licensed Bloomberg indices, as well as cash-settled binary KPI options. The company is also evaluating opportunities in perpetual futures, tokenization, event contracts and extended trading hours.

Management said it would pursue those opportunities based on customer demand, regulatory clarity and expected economics. Gallagher said the company’s 10% stake in Rothera provides another avenue of exposure to prediction markets.

The company emphasized its internally developed technology platform, which it said supports its options, futures and equities exchanges. Gallagher said MIAX Options has latency of 36 microseconds at the 99.9th percentile, capacity for up to 32 million quotes per second and 99.999% operational uptime since inception.

Looking ahead, Gallagher said the company’s priorities include expanding options functionality and the Sapphire floor, growing Bloomberg Financial Futures distribution, meeting institutional demand in agricultural futures and introducing new products.

About Miami International (NYSE:MIAX)

Miami International Holdings, Inc NYSE: MIAX is a financial exchange operator that owns and manages regulated marketplaces for the trading of options and other securities. Through its exchange platforms, the company provides electronic trading, order matching, market data and related services to brokers, market makers, institutional investors and other market participants.

The company operates the MIAX exchange family, which includes MIAX, MIAX Pearl and MIAX Emerald, as well as related equities and options trading venues.

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