Does Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) have an economic moat?

MoatScan AI rates Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) 66/100 for moat strength, assessed across five sources of competitive advantage: network effects, switching costs, intangible assets, cost advantages and efficient scale. Cboe Global Markets has a defensible but bounded franchise built around listed options, market data, and a handful of proprietary products, most notably the VIX ecosystem.

What is Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s moat score?

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) has a moat score of 66/100. The score is a weighted average of five pillar ratings: network effects, switching costs, intangible assets, cost advantages, and efficient scale. A higher score means the competitive advantages MoatScan AI identifies are wider and more durable.

How does CBOE's share price compare with its estimated fair value?

MoatScan AI estimates CBOE's intrinsic value with a discounted cash flow (DCF) model and shows how that estimate compares with the market price at the time of analysis. The estimate updates with each new financial analysis and is a research estimate, not a recommendation.

What is Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s fair value estimate?

MoatScan AI derives Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s (CBOE) fair value per share from a discounted cash flow (DCF) model built on the company's reported financials, analyst growth forecasts, and a discount rate reflecting its cost of capital. The Financial Analysis tab shows the estimate alongside every assumption behind it.

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CBOE$281.91

Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Last Updated

Oct 22, 2026about 10 hours ago

Moat & Trend

Management

AI Impact

Competitive Radar

Moat Score

66/100

Executive Summary

Cboe Global Markets has a defensible but bounded franchise built around listed options, market data, and a handful of proprietary products, most notably the VIX ecosystem. The company benefits from entrenched market participation, high-frequency connectivity, and a central role in U.S. options trading, where it remains one of the key venues. That said, the business is not insulated across all segments: equities venues face heavy competition, customers can multi-home, and rival exchanges can compete aggressively on fees and product design. Cboe’s recent strategy has been to focus on core strengths and prune less strategic international assets, which supports discipline but does not materially widen the moat. Overall, this is a durable niche exchange franchise, not a full-scale market-structure monopoly.

Network Effects

Options Liquidity Flywheel

Pillar Strength

7.5/10

Cboe’s strongest network effect comes from liquidity concentration in listed options. The more market makers, brokers, and active traders cluster on its venues, the tighter spreads and better execution become, which then attracts more flow. That feedback loop is real, especially in complex options and volatility-linked products where depth matters. However, it is not an all-or-nothing network: institutional users routinely multi-home across exchanges, and order flow can migrate if pricing or rebates change. The effect is strongest in Cboe’s core U.S. options franchise and much weaker in equities and foreign markets, so the network is meaningful but not unassailable or universal across the platform.

Switching Costs

Embedded Trading Infrastructure

Pillar Strength

7/10

Switching costs are moderate to significant because exchange access is embedded in broker-dealer routing logic, market-maker systems, compliance workflows, and vendor relationships. Once firms calibrate quoting, execution algorithms, risk limits, and data feeds around Cboe’s venues, moving flow elsewhere requires testing, certification, and operational change. Market participants can still dual-route and diversify across venues, so the friction is not absolute lock-in. But for high-volume options participants, even small execution differences, connectivity changes, or message-format adjustments carry real costs. Cboe’s deep integration with professional trading workflows gives it more stickiness than a typical commodity platform, though customers can reallocate flow when economics justify it.

Intangible Assets

VIX And Brand Equity

Pillar Strength

6.5/10

Cboe’s key intangible asset is the VIX brand, which has become the market’s shorthand for equity volatility and is closely associated with the company’s identity. That brand supports product awareness, market data value, and a degree of pricing power around volatility-linked instruments. The company also benefits from a long-standing reputation in options market structure and exchange reliability. Still, these advantages are more execution-based than legally fenced. Competitors can and do launch rival products, and Cboe’s brand does not prevent customers from trading similar instruments elsewhere. The intangible franchise is durable and valuable, but it is not protected by patents or exclusive licenses strong enough to create a dominant, all-encompassing moat.

Cost Advantages

Scale, Not Dominance

Pillar Strength

5.5/10

Cboe has some cost advantages from scale in technology, market data distribution, and operating multiple venues on shared infrastructure. Its acquisitions and platform migrations have likely created meaningful fixed-cost leverage, and the company can spread development, compliance, and connectivity costs across a large transaction base. However, exchanges are not classic low-cost producers in the way utilities or logistics networks can be. Well-capitalized rivals can match technology spend, and the industry often competes by price incentives rather than sheer cost leadership. Cboe’s scale helps profitability, but there is limited evidence that it possesses a structural cost gap that competitors cannot reasonably narrow over time.

Efficient Scale

Oligopoly In Core Venues

Pillar Strength

6.5/10

Cboe operates in markets that exhibit partial efficient-scale characteristics, especially U.S. listed options, where a relatively small number of exchanges handle most of the flow. New entrants face regulatory, technological, and distribution hurdles, and the market structure rewards established venues with liquidity and connectivity. Still, the industry is not a pure natural monopoly. Nasdaq, NYSE-related venues, and other exchanges remain credible alternatives, and the company’s equities businesses face more fragmented competition. The result is an oligopolistic structure with barriers to entry, but not one so concentrated that Cboe can dictate outcomes. Efficient scale supports the moat, yet it is shared with several other large venues.

Moat Type & Trend

Why this company earns its moat rating, and where the moat is heading

Moat Type

Narrow Moat

Trend

Stable

Why This Rating

Cboe has a real franchise in listed options, volatility products, and exchange connectivity, but the advantage is concentrated in a few niches rather than across the whole market-structure stack. Twenty years from now, it is likely to remain an important U.S. options venue and a meaningful data franchise, yet rivals such as Nasdaq, ICE, NYSE, and alternative trading venues should still be able to contest order flow, pricing, and product launches. That makes the business durable, but not the kind of deeply entrenched, all-purpose moat that would justify a Wide Moat assessment.

Why This Trend

The moat looks broadly intact because Cboe still anchors a leading options franchise, owns the VIX brand, and continues to launch products that reinforce its ecosystem. At the same time, recent portfolio moves show discipline more than expansion: it exited or sold several non-core international equities assets and is concentrating on core strengths. To flip the trend positive, Cboe would need evidence of sustained share gains or deeper product lock-in in its core options and index complex. A negative turn would likely require share loss or fee pressure in those core venues.

Management Quality Assessment

Evaluating leadership track record, capital allocation, and governance

Verdict

Strong

Cboe is not founder-led; it is run by professional management under a board with strong independence requirements, which helps discipline decisions. New CEO Craig Donohue started in May 2025, bringing a long derivatives-exchange track record from CME and OCC, but his direct tenure at Cboe is still early. Capital allocation has been shareholder-friendly: Cboe has paired strategic acquisitions like Bats Global Markets and EuroCCP with ongoing buybacks, a rising dividend, and low leverage. The company has repurchased $1.8 billion of stock since 2011 and maintains about 0.7x leverage. Insider ownership appears meaningful but the long-term trend is unclear. Pay disclosures are limited here; no obvious governance red flags stand out.

Key Highlights

Craig Donohue arrived in 2025 after leading CME Group and OCC, bringing deep exchange-industry experience, but his Cboe track record is still limited by tenure.
Cboe has used M&A to strengthen its moat rather than simply chase size, highlighted by Bats Global Markets (2017) and EuroCCP (2020), and by the planned sale of non-core Australia and Canada equities businesses.
Capital returns have been consistent: $1.8 billion of buybacks since 2011, a rising dividend, and a low 0.7x leverage ratio suggest disciplined balance-sheet management.
The board structure is shareholder-friendly, with at least two-thirds independent directors and independent committees; no major board independence issue is apparent from the available disclosures.
Executives and directors hold meaningful direct stakes, but the directional trend in insider ownership over time is not clearly disclosed in the available information.

AI Impact Assessment

Evaluating how AI strengthens or disrupts existing moat pillars

Net Neutral. AI is most relevant to Cboe’s operating efficiency, data monetization, and surveillance workflows, not to the core moats that matter most: liquidity/network effects, the VIX brand, and product ecosystem depth. The company has said it is using an AI Center of Excellence for internal efficiency and customer support, while not putting AI into trading platforms in the near term. That suggests measurable but mostly defensive gains. The main uncertainty is whether Cboe can convert its large market-data footprint into differentiated customer products, or whether AI remains a back-office tool that only protects margins while rivals close operational gaps.

AI Opportunity Highlights

5 / 10

Cboe’s massive message flow and market-data footprint can improve proprietary model training for analytics, surveillance, and customer-service automation.
An internal AI Center of Excellence gives Cboe a repeatable process for automating workflows across trade desks and operations, supporting margin protection.
AI can enhance self-regulatory oversight and compliance tooling across Cboe’s CFTC-regulated venues, strengthening trust in the platform.
Better data monetization from AI-assisted packaging and discovery could deepen the value of Cboe’s market-data products without changing the core exchange model.

AI Threat Highlights

4 / 10

AI lowers the cost for rival exchanges and fintech firms to build comparable analytics, routing, and workflow tools, narrowing operational differentiation.
Customer-facing market-data and volatility analytics can be commoditized if AI-native vendors wrap similar insights around cheaper data feeds.
If competitors deploy AI faster in surveillance, support, and product iteration, Cboe’s relative efficiency edge could compress even if liquidity remains intact.

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Last Updated

Jun 8, 20265 months ago

Target Price

Analyst Consensus

FAIR VALUE

Financial Strength

Financial Score

75/100

Executive Summary

Cboe Global Markets’ standout strength is its durable profitability and cash generation, supported by expanding margins, strong operating leverage, and returns that remain well above typical market-infrastructure peers. Revenue has trended upward overall despite a 2023 dip, while operating and free cash flow have scaled sharply, with FY2025 and TTM cash conversion comfortably covering modest capital spending and shareholder returns. The balance sheet has also strengthened materially: liquidity is ample, net cash is now positive, and leverage has declined. The main tension is the more cautious growth outlook, with FY2026 revenue expected to soften and analyst sentiment remaining mixed. Overall, Cboe presents a solid, resilient financial profile, consistent with its strong ratings across profitability, cash flow, and balance sheet quality.

Income Statement

Revenue · Margins · Profitability

Section Score

8/10

Revenue has shown a clear upward trend, with a brief 2023 dip followed by renewed acceleration in 2024–2025; TTM growth remains healthy above the latest fiscal year. Profitability is also improving, as gross, operating, EBITDA, and profit margins have expanded steadily, indicating strong operating leverage and effective cost control. Net income is volatile in the historical period, mainly due to the 2022 goodwill impairment and other unusual items, but underlying earnings power has since normalized and strengthened. Compared with typical market-infrastructure peers, the company shows attractive margin expansion and strong cash generation. Key risks are dependence on trading and transaction activity, occasional swings in other income and non-recurring charges, and the need to sustain growth without letting expenses re-accelerate.

Financials are in millions USD unless otherwise specified

Metric	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	TTM
Period Ending	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2025	Mar 31, 2026
Revenue	3,495	3,959	3,774	4,095	4,714	4,792
Revenue Growth (YoY)	1.98%	13.27%	-4.67%	8.51%	15.14%	10.61%
Net Income	529	235	761.4	764.9	1,100	1,235
Net Income Growth	12.99%	-55.58%	224.00%	0.46%	43.81%	53.24%
Profit Margin	15.09%	5.91%	20.07%	18.59%	23.22%	25.66%
Revenue as Reported	3,495	3,959	3,774	4,095	4,714	4,792

Data as of Mar 31, 2026

Balance Sheet

Assets · Liabilities · Equity

Section Score

8/10

The balance sheet is solid and has improved meaningfully over the period. Cash and short-term investments rose to $2.2bn in FY2025 versus $379m in FY2021, while total current assets increased to $4.4bn and working capital expanded to $2.1bn, indicating strong liquidity coverage against $2.36bn of current liabilities. Total liabilities remain manageable at $4.17bn versus $9.31bn of assets, and shareholders’ equity grew steadily to $5.14bn. Debt is moderate at $1.59bn, and net cash turned positive to $626m, which is a notable shift from prior net debt. The main watch item is the large goodwill and intangible base, but tangible book also turned positive to $643.5m, supporting overall balance sheet quality.

Financials are in millions USD unless otherwise specified

Metric	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	Current
Period Ending	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2025	Mar 31, 2026
Total Current Assets	1,531	1,556	1,979	2,479	4,421	6,224
Total Assets	6,815	6,999	7,488	7,789	9,305	11,071
Total Current Liabilities	1,169	1,477	1,383	1,395	2,362	4,494
Total Liabilities	3,210	3,534	3,503	3,510	4,167	5,697

Data as of Mar 31, 2026

Cash Flow Statement

Operations · Investing · Financing

Section Score

8/10

Cash generation is strong and has improved meaningfully, with operating cash flow rising from 596.8 in FY2021 to 1,753 in FY2025 and 2,800 TTM. Free cash flow follows the same pattern, reaching 1,682 in FY2025 and 2,724 TTM, well above CapEx of 71 and 75.5 TTM, so reinvestment needs remain modest relative to cash output. The main quality concern is volatility from working capital and other operating assets, which were material in FY2025 and TTM, but they did not prevent strong cash conversion. Capital allocation looks disciplined overall: dividends and buybacks are steady, while debt activity has been limited in recent years. Overall cash flow quality is solid, with a few balance-sheet-related swings to monitor.

Financials are in millions USD unless otherwise specified

Metric	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	TTM
Period Ending	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2025	Mar 31, 2026
Operating Cash Flow	596.8	651.1	1,076	1,101	1,753	2,800
Operating Cash Flow Growth	-59.09%	9.10%	65.20%	2.32%	59.24%	150.44%
Free Cash Flow	545.8	591.3	1,031	1,040	1,682	2,724
Free Cash Flow Growth	-61.33%	8.34%	74.29%	0.88%	61.74%	159.55%
Free Cash Flow Margin	15.62%	14.94%	27.31%	25.39%	35.67%	56.85%

Data as of Mar 31, 2026

Key Ratios

Liquidity · Leverage · Efficiency · Returns

Section Score

7.5/10

Cboe shows a generally solid financial profile with strong profitability and manageable leverage. Returns are consistently healthy, with ROE holding above 18% in most recent years and ROA around 10%–12%, while ROIC and ROCE have also trended higher. Leverage has improved meaningfully: debt-to-equity and net debt ratios have declined over time, and net debt has turned negative, supporting a stronger capital position. Asset turnover is stable, though it dipped in the latest period. Current and quick ratios are less informative for this business model, but the available liquidity measures remain adequate. Overall, the main strengths are durable returns and improving balance-sheet resilience, offset by only moderate efficiency and some variability in liquidity metrics.

Ratios are dimensionless unless otherwise noted

Metric	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	Current
Period Ending	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2025	Jun 5, 2026
Debt / Equity Ratio	0.4	0.45	0.4	0.37	0.3	0.17
Quick Ratio	0.64	0.64	0.73	1.11	1.15	0.6
Current Ratio	1.31	1.05	1.43	1.78	1.87	1.39
ROEReturn on Equity (ROE)	15.21%	6.65%	20.44%	18.51%	23.36%	23.50%
ROAReturn on Assets (ROA)	8.46%	3.85%	10.62%	10.15%	12.05%	11.33%
ROICReturn on Invested Capital (ROIC)	9.28%	4.20%	11.85%	12.04%	15.96%	14.93%
ROCEReturn on Capital Employed (ROCE)	14.86%	8.77%	18.20%	17.58%	22.00%	23.95%

Data as of Jun 5, 2026

Growth

Revenue · EPS · Valuation · Estimates

Section Score

6/10

Historical performance runs from FY2021 to FY2024, with analyst-covered years beginning in FY2025 and extending through FY2027. Revenue was choppy but generally improved overall, rising through 2022, dipping in 2023, then rebounding in 2024 and 2025. The FY2026 forecast shows a sharp revenue drop, followed by only a modest FY2027 recovery, which weakens the growth profile. EPS data is only available for FY2025 onward and rises strongly in 2025-2027, outpacing revenue and implying meaningful margin support. Forward P/E is about 20.5x in FY2026 and 19.2x in FY2027, which is reasonable but not cheap given the uneven top-line outlook. Analyst sentiment is mixed: 17 analysts, a Hold consensus, and a stable but cautious recommendation mix.

Third-party Analyst Price Targets

Low$273-3.16%

Median$335+18.83%

Average$328+16.35%

High$382+35.50%

HoldConsensus rating and price targets published by third-party analysts. Not a MoatScan AI view.

17 analysts

Third-party Analyst Recommendation Trends

Rating	Dec '25	Jan '26	Feb '26	Mar '26	Apr '26	May '26
Strong Buy	1	1	1	1	1	1
Buy	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hold	10	10	9	9	10	10
Sell	1	1	2	2	2	2
Strong Sell	2	2	2	2	2	2
Total	16	16	16	16	17	17

Financial Forecast

Metric	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	FY 2026	FY 2027
Revenue	3.49B	3.96B	3.77B	4.09B	4.71B	2.81B	2.91B
Revenue Growth	+1.98%	+13.27%	-4.67%	+8.51%	+15.14%	-40.49%	+3.56%
EPS	—	—	—	—	10.67	13.75	14.72
EPS Growth	—	—	—	—	+23.93%	+28.85%	+7.05%
Forward P/E	—	—	—	—	—	20.5x	19.1x

Revenue in USD · EPS per share · Price targets in USD

Data as of FY 2025 · Italic columns are analyst estimates

Fair Value Estimation

DCF · Model estimate vs. price +37.0% · Price below model estimate

AI Fair Value Estimate (DCF)

$386.14vs$281.91

Model estimate vs. price+37.0%

Price below model estimate

A discounted cash flow framework suits Cboe because its business is cash-generative, recurring, and anchored in operating leverage rather than heavy reinvestment. The projected cash-flow path implies a steady margin expansion as revenue scales faster than capex, with disciplined capital intensity and a gradual fade from growth-driven acceleration toward a more mature terminal profile.

AI Valuation Commentary

DCF is an appropriate lens for Cboe because the business converts a meaningful share of revenue into free cash flow and can be modeled over a long operating runway. Under a 6.9% discount rate and 3% terminal growth assumption, the valuation reflects a 10-year revenue CAGR of 6.51%, an average EBITDA margin of 36.33%, and capex remaining restrained at 1.43% of revenue. That produces fair value of $386.14 per share versus a current price of $281.91, implying a 36.97% margin of safety and an undervalued verdict. The conclusion is most sensitive to WACC, terminal growth, and whether margin durability holds; stronger execution supports upside, while weaker growth or compression would narrow it.

DCF Assumptions

WACC

6.9%

Weighted avg cost of capital

Revenue Growth (10Y)

6.5%

CAGR assumption

EBITDA Margin

36.3%

Steady-state projection

CapEx / Revenue

1.4%

Capital investment

Terminal Growth

3.0%

Long-run growth rate

Projection Period

10 yrs

Explicit forecast horizon

Projected Cash Flows

Values in millions USD

Year	Revenue	EBITDA	FCF	Discounted FCF
Yr 1	5,021	1,683	1,027	960
Yr 2	5,475	1,886	1,183	1,035
Yr 3	5,854	2,074	1,352	1,107
Yr 4	6,210	2,258	1,439	1,102
Yr 5	6,713	2,499	1,600	1,146
Yr 6	6,847	2,553	1,675	1,122
Yr 7	7,283	2,715	1,747	1,095
Yr 8	7,932	2,954	1,888	1,107
Yr 9	8,471	3,154	2,030	1,114
Yr 10	8,860	3,301	2,139	1,098
Terminal Value (PV)				28,987

Key Valuation Ratios

Current vs 5-year average

PE Ratio

24.08x

5Y avg 32.00x

-24.8% vs avg

Forward PE

20.53x

5Y avg 21.40x

-4.1% vs avg

P/FCF Ratio

10.83x

5Y avg 20.31x

-46.7% vs avg

PS Ratio

6.16x

5Y avg 4.58x

+34.5% vs avg

A multiple below its own multi-year average can indicate the stock is cheaper than its recent history — context, not a standalone signal.

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Frequently asked questions about Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Does Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) have an economic moat?: MoatScan AI rates Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) 66/100 for moat strength, assessed across five sources of competitive advantage: network effects, switching costs, intangible assets, cost advantages and efficient scale. Cboe Global Markets has a defensible but bounded franchise built around listed options, market data, and a handful of proprietary products, most notably the VIX ecosystem.Sign in free to see the Moat Type verdict and the pillar-by-pillar reasoning.
What is Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s moat score?: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) has a moat score of 66/100. The score is a weighted average of five pillar ratings: network effects, switching costs, intangible assets, cost advantages, and efficient scale. A higher score means the competitive advantages MoatScan AI identifies are wider and more durable.Sign in free to see each pillar rating, the Moat Type verdict and the moat trend.
How does CBOE's share price compare with its estimated fair value?: MoatScan AI estimates CBOE's intrinsic value with a discounted cash flow (DCF) model and shows how that estimate compares with the market price at the time of analysis. The estimate updates with each new financial analysis and is a research estimate, not a recommendation.Sign in free to see the fair value estimate and how it compares with the price.
What is Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s fair value estimate?: MoatScan AI derives Cboe Global Markets, Inc.'s (CBOE) fair value per share from a discounted cash flow (DCF) model built on the company's reported financials, analyst growth forecasts, and a discount rate reflecting its cost of capital. The Financial Analysis tab shows the estimate alongside every assumption behind it.Sign in free to see the estimate and the full assumptions behind it.

Disclaimer: The analysis on this page is generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Always conduct your own due diligence and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions. MoatScan AI is an educational research tool. It is not licensed or registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia or any other financial regulator, and it holds no positions in, and receives no compensation from, any company analysed.

CBOE$281.91

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Frequently asked questions about Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

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