Listed options trading continued at record levels through the first half of 2026. Average Daily Volume (ADV) in the second quarter of 2026 reached 72.8 million contracts, up more than 19% from a year earlier, according to the Q2 2026 State of the Options Industry report. The gains were led by index and ETF options, while a rebound in retail activity, faster growth in contracts with same-day expirations and a rise in FLEX options all pointed to a broadening options market heading into the second half of the year.
A Broad-Based Climb in Volume
The second quarter extended a decade-long expansion of industry volume. Total annual options volume has grown from roughly 4 billion contracts a decade ago to an estimated pace well above 18 billion contracts in 2026, a run built on new market entrants, electronic trading and a wave of index- and ETF-linked strategies.
Annual Options Volume
Source: Options Clearing Corp and Cboe LiveVol
Within that trend, growth was uneven by product type. Index options volume rose 25% and ETF options volume climbed 27% in the year-to-date period through the second quarter, while single-stock options grew a more modest 6%. Cboe’s data shows FLEX options volume was up nearly 47% year over year, by far the fastest-growing segment of the market.
Average Daily Options Volume
Cboe LiveVol
Concentration at the Top
Volume remained heavily concentrated in a handful of underlying assets. S&P 500 Index options (SPX) accounted for 81% of all index options trading in the second quarter, while SPY represented 42% of ETF options volume. Among single-stock names, Nvidia and Tesla topped the leaderboard, each capturing 9% of single-stock volume, followed by Apple at 3%.
Top 10 Options Volume Leaders in Q2
Cboe LiveVol
Retail Activity Rebounds
Retail options activity staged a strong rebound after a moderate pullback at the end of the first quarter, when equities struggled to hold on to their year-to-date gains. The repeal of the Pattern Day Trader rule may have been a contributing factor, as activity among smaller retail accounts holding less than $25,000 in capital increased in Q2 2026. Estimated retail broker option volume, based on Rule 606 disclosures, shows Charles Schwab, Robinhood and Interactive Brokers among the highest-volume venues for retail options flow.
Estimated Retail Broker Options Volume
Source: Cboe LiveVol
Institutional Flow and FLEX Options Set Highs
Institutional activity remained robust alongside the retail rebound, with nearly 10 million contracts a day trading in block transactions of more than 1,000 contracts. FLEX options grew even faster: FLEX volume is 46% above 2025 levels and open interest is up more than 40%, with FLEX activity now making up nearly 2.8 million contracts, or 3.8% of daily market volume.
FLEX Options Activity
Same-Day Expirations Keep Climbing
Zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) options contract extended their multiyear expansion, with volume up 46.2% year-to-date to more than 20 million contracts a day. SPX 0DTE volume has nearly tripled since the start of 2024, even as average trade size has continued to shrink, a sign that adoption is broadening beyond large institutional flow. Growth was also driven by a widening slate of short-dated Monday and Wednesday expirations in single stocks such as Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, IBIT, Amazon, Meta, Broadcom, Alphabet and Microsoft, which together now approach 6 million contracts a day in combined volume. Cboe expects additional single-stock symbols to list short-dated expirations in the third quarter.
SPX 0DTE
New Products, New Venues
Cboe also expanded its options offering during the quarter, launching Cboe Predicts and its first binary financial event contract on the Mini-SPX Index (XSP). Starting with XSP binary options, Cboe’s binary options are tied to useful economic data and market events — products that may be additive to the ever-expanding range of financial tools that investors need to manage risks, optimize portfolio performance, and achieve investment objectives. Currently, the contracts are available to trade on Interactive Brokers, with more retail brokers expected to list the contracts soon.
The Q2 Takeaway
Options volume continues to grow, even as the industry continues evolving with new products — especially aimed at retail traders. Cboe will continue to develop options products and education to support traders as the market environment changes.
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