MIAX is an options share-taker with proof needed
- Options are the core business, with MIAX market share rising to 17.3% in Q1 2026.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 51.4% in Q1 2026, showing strong operating leverage.
- Equities improved because capture turned positive to $0.005 per 100 shares after pricing changes.
- Bloomberg index products are the next big test, starting with the B100 contract launch on May 17, 2026.
- The bear case is simple: non-options revenue is still small, and new product growth needs regulatory approval and real trading volume.
Options strength, futures question
MIAX is winning share in U.S. options. Its four options exchanges, including MIAX Sapphire, give traders more places to send orders. The company says its edge is fast, predictable exchange technology. In Q1 2026, options market share rose to 17.3% from 16.0% a year earlier.
The business has started to show real operating leverage. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 51.4% in Q1 2026, up from 43.4% a year earlier. That means more of each dollar of net revenue is turning into profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and certain adjustments.
The next catalyst is proprietary Bloomberg index products. MIAX has a 10-year exclusive license for products tied to the Bloomberg 500 Index, Bloomberg US Large Cap Volatility Index, and Bloomberg US 100 Price Return Index. Management said the first retail-sized Bloomberg 100 Equity Index futures product would launch on the evening of May 17, 2026, with more products to follow.
The bear case is that MIAX is still mostly an options company. Equities, futures, and international listings help, but they are much smaller today. Future growth also depends on approvals for new products, including 0DTE and short-dated single stock options, and on whether futures products can pull enough volume away from bigger rivals.
Fees on trading activity
MIAX makes money by running regulated markets. The largest source is transaction and clearing fees, which are paid when trades happen on its exchanges. Volume, market share, and revenue per contract decide how much it earns.
It also earns non-transaction fees. These include access fees for firms that connect to MIAX systems, market data fees for price and trading data, and listing fees from international exchanges. These can be steadier than trading fees, but they still depend on the value of MIAX’s markets to traders and issuers.
The company often pays rebates, called liquidity payments, to attract orders and market makers. That can help MIAX gain volume, but it can also hurt profit if the payments are too high. In equities, capture, which means net transaction revenue per 100 shares after rebates and fees, turned positive to $0.005 in Q1 2026 after pricing changes.
The balance sheet is cleaner than before the IPO. MIAX used IPO proceeds to repay a $140.0 million term loan principal balance in August 2025. It also sold 90% of MIAXdx in January 2026, kept a 10% Rothera stake, and recorded a $50.5 million gain, but management said investors should not model that stake as run-rate revenue.
What MIAX operates
Options exchanges
This is the main business. MIAX runs MIAX Options, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald, and MIAX Sapphire for multi-listed equity and ETF options.
MIAX Sapphire trading floor
Sapphire adds a physical trading floor to the electronic network. The bull case is that it helps MIAX win more order flow and deepen customer ties.
MIAX Pearl Equities
This exchange trades U.S. stocks and exchange-traded products. It is still small, but pricing changes helped capture turn positive in Q1 2026.
MIAX Futures and clearing
This segment includes futures trading, clearing, and Dorman Trading. It is the main place MIAX can diversify beyond options, but agricultural futures volume fell in Q1 2026.
International listings
BSX and TISE list securities such as debt, funds, insurance-linked securities, and private equity debt. TISE added scale after the June 2025 acquisition.
Bloomberg index products
MIAX has a 10-year exclusive license to list futures, options on futures, and cash-settled index options on selected Bloomberg indexes. These products are important because they could create a more differentiated revenue stream.
Rothera stake
MIAX sold 90% of MIAXdx to a Robinhood and Susquehanna joint venture and kept 10% of the renamed Rothera. Management says this is long-term optionality and possible dividend income, not revenue to count on today.
Options dominate the mix
The mix uses Q1 2026 total revenue by reported segment from the Form 10-Q. Options supplied the large majority of revenue, so diversification is still more promise than fact.
What could break the thesis
Regulatory approval delays
High impact · Medium oddsNew products can require approval before they trade. MIAX’s upside from 0DTE and short-dated single stock options depends on regulators allowing those products. A delay would not break the current options business, but it could slow the next leg of growth.
Order flow walks away
High impact · Medium oddsMIAX has used Equity Rights Programs, or ERPs, to link some participants to the exchange. The 10-Q says the periods to earn warrants under all ERPs expired as of June 30, 2024. After the IPO, participants may have less reason to keep sending the same volume.
Futures fail to scale
Medium impact · High oddsFutures are the main path to diversify beyond options. In Q1 2026, agricultural products average daily volume fell 39.9%, which management tied to lower volatility and migration timing to MIAX Futures Onyx. If Bloomberg futures do not gain volume, the company stays highly dependent on options.
Rebates eat the economics
Medium impact · Medium oddsExchange operators often pay liquidity providers to attract trading. If MIAX must pay too much to keep volume, market share can rise while profit per trade falls. The equities improvement in Q1 2026 is encouraging, but it came from pricing changes that need to hold.
Customer concentration
Medium impact · Medium oddsThe Q1 2026 10-Q shows the top three customers represented 17%, 16%, and 12% of total revenue. No customer is required to keep using MIAX. Losing or repricing one large relationship could move results.
In one breath
What does MIAX actually do?
MIAX runs regulated financial exchanges. Traders use its markets to trade listed options, U.S. equities, futures, and some international listed securities.
Why is the options business so important?
Options are the largest segment and the main source of growth. In Q1 2026, MIAX options market share reached 17.3%, and options supplied most of the company’s revenue.
What are the Bloomberg index products?
MIAX has a 10-year exclusive license to list certain products tied to Bloomberg indexes. The key question is whether traders use those contracts enough to create a real new profit stream.
Should investors count the Rothera stake as revenue?
Management said no. MIAX kept a 10% stake in Rothera after selling 90% of MIAXdx, but it should be viewed as long-term optionality and possible dividend income.