MIAX Q3 2026 Earnings: Options Growth Lifts Adjusted EBITDA Margin

Miami International Holdings (NYSE: MIAX) reported Q3 2026 net revenue of $131.0 million, up 20% year over year, while GAAP diluted EPS improved to $0.47 from a loss of $1.46 in Q3 2025. Adjusted EBITDA rose 47% to $70.8 million and the adjusted EBITDA margin reached 54%, as options activity and non-transaction fees grew while adjusted operating expenses declined 2%.

Core Financial Results

For the quarter ended September 30, net revenue increased primarily because of the options business, where higher industry volume and market share supported transaction fees and additional member connections and 2026 fee increases lifted non-transaction revenue. Total operating expenses fell by approximately 24%, largely because the prior-year quarter included IPO-related expenses; adjusted operating expenses declined a more modest 2% to $60.3 million.

The swing in GAAP profit was also affected by non-operating and one-time items. Q3 2025 included a $107.7 million loss on debt extinguishment, while Q3 2026 included a $9.8 million unrealized gain on derivative and digital assets. On an adjusted basis, earnings rose 25% to $50.1 million.

Business and Segment Performance

Options generated about 86% of consolidated net revenue and remained the principal source of earnings. Equities recorded the fastest revenue growth and moved to positive adjusted EBITDA, while futures remained loss-making despite a smaller deficit.

Equities net revenue increased because of improved transaction capture even though MIAX equities average daily volume fell 41% and market share declined to 0.7% from 1.1%. The segment’s operating loss narrowed to $2.9 million from $4.9 million.

Futures net revenue changed little. Agricultural futures contracts increased 42.5%, but negative financial futures revenue offset that benefit. The segment’s operating loss narrowed to $12.2 million from $18.5 million, primarily because the prior-year period included accelerated share-based compensation.

International revenue benefited from growth in securities listed by The International Stock Exchange. Total listed securities increased 4.9% to 6,092, helping operating income rise to $1.3 million from $0.8 million.

Higher Options Volume Offset Lower Revenue per Contract

MIAX options average daily volume increased 15.2% to 11.1 million contracts, while market share edged up to 17.4% from 17.2%. These volume gains helped offset a 4.9% decline in options revenue per contract to $0.098.

Non-transaction revenue provided another source of growth, supported by additional member connections and 2026 fee increases. At the same time, options operating expenses declined 10.3% to $38.7 million, helping the segment’s adjusted EBITDA margin expand to 76.8% from 73.1%. The quarter therefore combined higher activity with lower unit monetization but still produced higher revenue and profitability.

Profitability, Cash, and Balance Sheet

The decline in GAAP operating expenses was much larger than the 2% reduction in adjusted operating expenses because Q3 2025 contained IPO-related costs and accelerated share-based compensation. Compensation and benefits fell to $40.3 million from $68.8 million, although professional fees and outside services increased to $15.4 million from $10.8 million.

Adjusted earnings grew faster than adjusted diluted EPS because of a higher share count. Diluted weighted-average shares used for adjusted EPS rose to 110.8 million from 96.1 million, limiting adjusted EPS growth to 7% despite the 25% increase in adjusted earnings.

MIAX ended the quarter with $698.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, up from $433.6 million at December 31, 2025. Total debt was only $1.5 million, leaving cash substantially above outstanding debt.

FY 2026 Guidance

MIAX lowered and narrowed its full-year adjusted operating expense range, indicating a lower expected expense base than previously projected. The company also raised its capital expenditure range, narrowed depreciation and amortization guidance, and reduced the expected adjusted effective tax rate.

The adjusted expense guidance excludes share-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, litigation-related costs, and provisions for notes receivable. MIAX did not provide a GAAP reconciliation for the non-GAAP guidance because certain non-recurring items could not be projected without unreasonable effort.

Management View

Chairman and CEO Thomas P. Gallagher attributed the margin expansion to revenue growth and MIAX’s operating model, highlighting the increase in options market share and lower adjusted expenses. Management also pointed to Bloomberg index futures becoming available on NinjaTrader and the launch of four fertilizer futures contracts as part of the company’s next phase of product development.

Those initiatives expand MIAX’s futures offering, although the segment continued to report operating and adjusted EBITDA losses during the quarter.

Recent Insider Transactions

According to the supplied Yahoo Finance summary, insiders reported purchases of 1,690,522 shares across 66 transactions and sales of 1,352,394 shares across 49 transactions during the previous six months. That produced net purchases of 338,128 shares, equal to 3.70% of reported insider holdings; the page listed total insider holdings at 9.59 million shares.

The latest 10 reported transactions included six derivative-security conversions and four sales. These disclosures are presented without drawing conclusions about insiders’ views of the company.

The supplied insider-transaction extract did not identify the currency for its price and value fields.

Risks Investors Need to Watch

• Dependence on options activity: Options represented about 86% of quarterly net revenue. Changes in industry trading volume or MIAX market share could therefore have a material effect on consolidated results.
• Pressure on transaction economics: Options revenue per contract declined 4.9%. Continued unit-pricing pressure could offset benefits from higher volume and non-transaction fees.
• Losses in futures: The futures segment reported a $12.2 million operating loss and an $8.4 million adjusted EBITDA loss. Continued losses could weigh on consolidated profitability as MIAX expands its product lineup.
• Share-count dilution: The adjusted diluted share count increased from 96.1 million to 110.8 million, causing adjusted EPS growth to trail adjusted earnings growth.
• GAAP earnings volatility: Q3 results included a $9.8 million unrealized gain on derivative and digital assets, while the prior-year comparison included a large debt-extinguishment loss. These items can produce substantial differences between GAAP and adjusted performance.

Summary

MIAX’s Q3 2026 results were led by higher options volume, growing non-transaction revenue, and a lower expense base, which drove adjusted EBITDA growth and margin expansion. Equities improved and international revenue advanced, but futures remained loss-making and options revenue per contract declined. The main items to monitor are transaction economics, the progress of new futures products, share-count dilution, and execution against the lower adjusted expense guidance and higher capital spending plan.