By Pritam Biswas and Laura Matthews

(Reuters) -Cboe Global Markets reported better than expected third-quarter profit on Friday, helped by strong options trading as investors actively hedged against geopolitical and economic uncertainties.

A robust equities market, shifts in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s key policy rates and the potential economic fallout from the Middle East conflict have investors and portfolio managers on edge, prompting them to hedge their positions.

Cboe’s options trading business revenue grew 10% compared with last year, while futures revenue climbed 17%.

Average daily volumes in total company options increased to 14.88 million contracts in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 14.59 million a year earlier.

Volumes in S&P 500 index options were also higher, with third-quarter ADV increasing to 4.23 million contracts from 3.74 million contracts. Meanwhile, options linked to the VIX volatility index, increased 33% year-over-year.

“Given the secular and cyclical tailwinds in place, we believe we’re well positioned as investors continue to utilize options in their portfolios and trading strategies,” Chief Executive Fredric Tomczyk told an analysts’ call.

Tomczyk was appointed CEO after Edward Tilly resigned over failures to disclose personal relationships with colleagues. Among his priorities were effective capital allocation and talent and succession management.

Over the past year, Tomczyk has been more deliberate about how the exchange allocates capital and resources to support its growth strategy, cutting back on mergers and acquisitions and focusing resources on Cboe’s core strengths in areas like derivatives.

“As we move forward, we have set forth a strategic framework that we believe will ensure we are well positioned to drive growth and capitalize on opportunities we see in the market, and we are well aligned to the secular trends occurring in the market today,” said Tomczyk.

Cboe’s shares were down 4% following the call.

Owen Lau, senior analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said “the weakness seems to be centered around increased investments, which could limit future margin expansion opportunity, or even margin contraction from here.”

Demand for options contracts opened on the same day they expire, or 0DTE (zero-days-to-expiry), grew 7% compared to last year and comprised 48% of S&P 500 volumes in the reported quarter.

Cboe’s third-quarter total revenue, less cost, rose 11% to $532 million from a year earlier, beating an estimate of $530.76 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company now expects 2024 total net revenue growth in the range of 7 to 9 percentage points, compared to an earlier guidance of a rise of 6 to 8 percentage points.

The exchange operator’s net income allocated to common shareholders on an adjusted basis was $232.9 million, or $2.22 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $218.9 million, or $2.06 apiece in the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting a profit of $2.19 per share.

Cboe’s shares have gained 19.6% so far in 2024, outperforming peer CME Group, but below the Nasdaq and NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru and Laura Matthews in New York; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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