US options trading slowed in the third quarter of 2026 after reaching record levels in the previous quarter, although zero-day options, FLEX contracts and overnight trading continued to set new highs, according to a report from Cboe Global Markets.
The State of the Options Industry – Q3 Update, prepared by Henry Schwartz, Vice President, Market Intelligence at Cboe, found that market-wide average daily options volume reached 70.6 million contracts, down 4% from the second quarter.
Cboe said macroeconomic factors, including “higher interest rates and energy costs,” affected equities during the period.
Single-stock options recorded the largest decline, with average daily volume falling 8% to 32.7 million contracts. Index options volume declined 3% to 6.1 million contracts, while ETF options volume increased 1% to 28.3 million contracts.
Despite the quarterly decline, options trading remained above levels recorded in previous years. Cboe’s data shows that market-wide average daily volume was 60.8 million contracts in 2025, compared with 48.1 million in 2024.
One of the report’s main findings was the continued growth of zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) options. Market-wide 0DTE volume reached a record average of 24.2 million contracts per day in the third quarter, accounting for approximately 36% of overall options volume.
Index 0DTE options averaged 3.4 million contracts daily, representing 56% of total index options activity. Across ETF and single-stock options, 0DTE trading reached nearly 20.8 million contracts per day, accounting for 34% of volume in those products.
The report also provides a breakdown of activity across individual options products. SPX remained the largest index options product, with average daily volume of approximately 4.93 million contracts. VIX followed at 866,700 contracts, while XSP recorded approximately 201,800 contracts daily.
Among ETF options, SPY accounted for 41% of trading volume, followed by QQQ at 27%. Together, the two products represented more than two-thirds of ETF options activity during the quarter.
In single-stock options, Nvidia accounted for 10% of volume, followed by Tesla at 7% and Apple at 5%. The ten most actively traded single-stock options represented approximately 39% of the category’s volume.
Trading outside regular US market hours was another area where Cboe reported record activity. Overnight trading in SPX, XSP, VIX and Russell 2000 Index (RUT) options reached nearly 288,000 contracts per day in September, representing close to 3% of index options activity.
Cboe’s Global Trading Hours session runs from 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time, covering trading periods in Asia and Europe. The report shows differences in trading activity and bid-ask spreads across the sessions. During the Asian session, which runs until 3 a.m. Eastern Time, average daily volume was approximately 62,000 contracts, with bid-ask spreads around three times those recorded during regular trading hours. The European session, from 3 a.m. to 9:25 a.m., recorded approximately 195,000 contracts daily, with spreads around twice those seen during regular hours.
Cboe also outlined plans to introduce pre-market options trading in 27 highly liquid stocks and ETFs from October 19, 2026. The session was scheduled to run from 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time.
According to the report, the underlying securities included in the expansion collectively accounted for 53.4% of market-wide options volume.
FLEX options also recorded increased activity during the quarter. Average daily FLEX options volume rose 6% to a record 2.33 million contracts, while total open interest finished above 71 million contracts, representing nearly 11% of the overall options market.
The report also examined the growth of US option-strategy ETFs. Data from Trackinsight showed that these products had approximately $349.7 billion in assets under management at the end of September. Among the largest funds were the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI), with $45.6 billion in assets, and the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ), with $44.7 billion. The NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (QQQI) followed with $15.2 billion.
Retail options activity also increased toward the end of the quarter, following a slower period during July and August. Cboe reported that retail order flow “rebounded in September to all-time highs” after an increase in June that the report associated with the removal of the Pattern Day Trading (PDT) rule.
The report’s breakdown of estimated retail activity showed that Nvidia accounted for 10% of opening single-stock options volume during the quarter, followed by Tesla at 9% and Apple at 5%.
Long single-leg calls represented the largest share of estimated retail non-index strategy activity at 36%, followed by long single-leg puts at 21%. Short single-leg calls accounted for 8%, while short single-leg puts represented 6%.
Cboe also reported changes in the number of US options trading venues. Two new exchanges launched near the end of the third quarter, bringing the industry total to 20 exchanges operated by six groups.
The report’s market structure data showed Cboe Global Markets holding the largest share of options trading by operator at 29.9%, followed by Nasdaq at 26.7% and ICE at 19%.
Overall, the third-quarter figures showed lower trading volumes than the previous quarter, alongside record activity in 0DTE options, FLEX contracts and overnight sessions. Retail order flow also reached new highs in September, while the number of US options exchanges continued to increase.
