Miami International looks undervalued at 9-10x EV/EBITDA on adjusted figures, a discount to Cboe, Nasdaq and ICE. It holds a mid-teens share of options trading. The main competitive concern is MEMX combining with BOX in a deal valued at about $2.3B, the first credible challenger group since Miami International, though MEMX alone holds only 4% and the combined group about 10%. x.com  x.com 

Miami International Holdings has real operating leverage in its Access & Market Data fees, which carry nearly 100% margin. Options transaction fees are 72% of revenue but net only $74M after $223M of liquidity rebates, while Access & Market Data fees of $46M are 36% of net revenue and grew 45%. As MIAX takes options share, those fees rise straight to the bottom line, leaving much margin growth versus other exchanges. The slide from $57 reflects lock-up selling, not fundamentals. x.com 

MIAX keeps adding ways to monetize market activity on a partly shared, fixed cost base, building significant latent operating leverage. The latest is its futures commission merchant Dorman becoming an Options Clearing Corporation clearing member, so MIAX can clear eligible futures directly. That internalizes some clearing economics, improves onboarding and collateral efficiency, and makes Dorman a channel for MIAX Futures products like Bloomberg contracts, at added capital and liquidity risk. … Show more

MIAX's lower contract fees hurt earnings despite solid volume. Q3 revenue per contract is estimated at 9.8 cents, below 10.3-11 cents guidance; 2026 EBITDA falls to a modeled $270M from $285M. The short-term thesis is broken, but the long-term one holds. MEMX's higher rebates may signal a price war, though management has not confirmed this. MIAX is definitely cheap at about 10x 2026 EBITDA, but fair value has fallen. One bad quarter is no reason to sell unless the fee pressure proves lasting. … Show more

Cboe and MIAX stand to benefit long term as wealth passes from risk-averse generations to more risk-seeking ones. Baby boomers hold at least $93 trillion in assets, per Visa, more than Gen X and millennials combined. Barriers to entry remain substantial, since only a few exchange groups run the US listed-options market and few genuinely new operators have entered in 15 years. x.com  x.com 

Cboe Global Markets is the primary winner of the long-term boom in options trading, owning a toll booth that takes a cut of every trade. Once its platform is built, each extra transaction costs almost nothing, giving exceptional margins, and exclusive rights to products like the VIX and S&P 500 options can't be copied. More traders deepen liquidity in a network effect. It also tends to do well when markets panic, making it a good portfolio hedge. CME Group and Nasdaq are strong competitors. … Show more

Citigroup's Q1 shows the trading side of bank income statements is running hot, which bears had not priced in. Equities trading revenue was $2.08B against a $1.73B estimate, and Citi is not historically the strongest desk, which bodes well for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Every tariff scare, Fed headline and geopolitical shock fed trading flow. Credit quality and loan loss reserves remain real concerns, but banks beaten up on macro fear are running stronger underneath. x.com  x.com 

Financial tollbooth businesses are a great place to invest because they are embedded in the system, take a cut whenever money moves or decisions are made, and need little capital. S&P Global and Moody's, tied to credit markets, are hard to replace; FICO is strong but more exposed to pricing backlash; CME gains when volatility lifts volumes; LSEG fits too. MSCI is the favorite, with fees spread across trillions tied to benchmarks for durable pricing power, and insider buying near current prices. … Show more

Cboe Global Markets is an underrated stock. Per @Kalshi_Finance, it jumped 10% premarket after extending its S&P 500 options license through 2051. x.com 

Intercontinental Exchange, one of the highest-moat businesses in financial markets, trades at just 17x forward P/E on competition fears that miss a key nuance. The CFTC approved bitcoin perpetual futures on Kalshi and Polymarket, and investors worry perps could next be allowed for other asset classes. But most of ICE's volume comes from institutional instruments, and ICE invested $2B in Polymarket last year. x.com