Miami International Holdings (MIAX) Q1 2026 earnings review
Options Engine Prints Cash, But Legacy Futures Stumble
MIAX delivered an incredibly profitable quarter with total net revenue up 40% YoY to $128.6M and adjusted EBITDA margins accelerating to a record 51%. The core options franchise continues to feast on elevated market volatility and demand for short-dated products. However, the headline GAAP net income of $170.2M is heavily inflated by a $70.2M tax benefit and a $50.5M gain from the MIAXdx sale to Robinhood. Under the hood, the company faces near-term execution risks: options market share reversed sequentially from its Q4 peak, and the legacy Futures segment continues to hemorrhage revenue just ahead of a critical new product launch.
🐂 Bull Case
Adjusted EBITDA grew 66% to $66.1M, pushing margins to 51% (up 800 bps YoY). Management's technology investments are proving highly scalable, allowing volume growth to drop directly to the bottom line.
Options ADV grew 26.6% YoY to 10.9 million contracts. The aggressive January rollout of Monday and Wednesday short-term expirations for nine active names is driving immediate volume.
🐻 Bear Case
Despite management's Q4 hype regarding the MIAX Futures Onyx platform, Futures segment revenue decelerated further, dropping 21% YoY to $4.6M. The segment is bleeding heading into the vital Q2 Bloomberg Index launch.
After hitting a record 18.2% market share in Q4, MIAX options market share slipped sequentially to 17.3% in Q1. If this trend continues, MIAX will lose leverage in a highly competitive market.
⚖️ Verdict: ⚪
Cautiously Bullish. The core options business is a highly profitable cash machine generating massive operating leverage. However, the legacy futures decline and sequential options share loss require monitoring, particularly as OpEx is elevated to support new launches.
Key Themes
Short-Dated Options Innovation Drives Growth
Options net revenue surged 37% to $111.3M. MIAX capitalized on the secular shift toward daily options trading by listing new Monday and Wednesday short-term option expirations for nine actively traded names in January 2026. This technology-driven execution expands their footprint in the most lucrative corner of the derivatives market.
Futures Segment Hemorrhaging Ahead of Critical Launch
The Futures segment remains the glaring weak spot. Net revenue contracted 21% YoY to $4.6M, while operating losses widened to $12.4M. Management previously blamed Q3/Q4 struggles on 'timing of participant migrations' to the Onyx platform and lower commodity volatility, but the sustained deceleration directly contradicts the positive narrative surrounding their technology stack. The platform must stabilize before the delayed Q2 launch of Bloomberg Index Futures.
Sequential Reversal in Options Market Share
While up YoY (17.3% vs 16.0%), options market share reversed sequentially from the record 18.2% achieved in 25Q4. In prior calls, management brushed off short-term market share fluctuations, claiming they prioritize revenue capture over raw volume. However, losing nearly 100 basis points of share sequentially in a period of elevated market volatility is a red flag that warrants scrutiny.
Equities Pricing Power Returns
The Equities segment turned a corner. Net revenue skyrocketed 82% to $6.7M. The core driver was an acceleration in pricing power: Equities capture flipped from inverted (-$0.020 per 100 shares in 25Q1) to positive ($0.005 per 100 shares in 26Q1). This proves MIAX can successfully adjust pricing without cratering market volume.
Earnings Quality Distorted by One-Offs
GAAP net income of $170.2M dramatically overstates operational success. This figure includes a $50.5M gain from selling 90% of MIAXdx to Robinhood, and a massive $70.2M income tax benefit tied to releasing a deferred tax asset valuation allowance. Adjusted earnings of $45.3M (+51% YoY) provides a much more accurate representation of the underlying business growth.
Macro Tailwinds Support Volatility Products
Management continues to successfully monetize elevated market volatility. Non-transaction fees also increased due to new market data products, January fee hikes, and the end of fee waivers for the MIAX Sapphire exchange, diversifying revenue away from purely volume-dependent transaction fees.
Other KPIs
Accelerating dramatically. Rose 66% YoY, easily outpacing the 40% growth in net revenue. This operating leverage proves the scalability of MIAX's proprietary trading technology, allowing the company to process 10.9 million daily options contracts with minimal marginal cost.
Up 583% YoY. This surge is entirely driven by the inorganic addition of The International Stock Exchange Group Limited (TISE), acquired in June 2025. It transforms a previously negligible segment into a meaningful contributor, though organic growth rates remain obscured.
Decelerating relative to revenue growth, up 18.7% YoY compared to 40% top-line growth. The increase was driven by planned tech/headcount investments and legal expenses (Nasdaq litigation), offset by lower regulatory costs.
Guidance
Stable. Management reaffirmed full-year expense guidance. This range implies a 13% to 18% YoY increase from FY25 levels, heavily weighted toward funding headcount and IT investments required to support the delayed Bloomberg Index Futures launch.
Stable. Reaffirmed guidance, primarily targeting the capitalization of internally developed software.
Key Questions
Market Share Concession
Options market share fell nearly 100 basis points sequentially from Q4. How much of this decline was a deliberate strategy to increase revenue capture versus competitive pressure from incumbent exchanges?
Futures Segment Viability
With legacy futures revenue declining 21% YoY and operating losses widening, what specific customer adoption metrics must the new Bloomberg Index Futures hit in Q2 to justify the ongoing OpEx investments in the Onyx platform?
Retail Adoption for New Futures
The success of the upcoming B100 and B500 futures relies entirely on retail broker adoption. Can you confirm which major retail platforms have technically integrated and committed to routing order flow on day one of the Q2 launch?
Capital Allocation Post-MIAXdx
After the $50.5M windfall from the MIAXdx sale and with $550M in cash on the balance sheet, what is the prioritization between organic technology investments, further international M&A, and shareholder capital returns?