Cboe Shuts Down Japanese Equities Arm – A Strategic Retreat or Market Warning?
Cboe pulls the plug on its Tokyo equities desk—was it regulatory fatigue or just bad math?
Another institutional player folds its cards in Japan's high-stakes market. No tears shed—just another line item in the global exchange consolidation playbook.
Here's the kicker: When even derivatives giants can't make equities work, maybe the real trade was short on bureaucracy all along.
Cboe Global Markets, the world’s leading derivatives and securities exchange network, announced its decision to wind down its Japanese equities business, including the operations of its Cboe Japan proprietary trading system and Cboe BIDS Japan block trading platform. Cboe expects to suspend operations for these businesses on August 29, 2025 and formally close the businesses subject to consultation with regulators.
The decision to close this business reflects Cboe’s disciplined strategy to steward resources towards opportunities that deliver the best potential returns for shareholders and was taken in the context of evolving business conditions, which challenged the financial sustainability of maintaining operations of Cboe’s equities business in the country.
“While we have made the strategic decision to exit the Japanese equities business, we remain committed to serving Japan and its financial community by leveraging the strengths of our global derivatives and data capabilities,” said Craig Donohue, CEO at Cboe Global Markets. “As Japanese market participants continue to seek greater access to international markets, Cboe is well-positioned to meet that demand with our high-quality market data and suite of tradable derivatives products. We thank our partners, customers and stakeholders in Japan for their engagement and look forward to delivering value in new ways.”
The company anticipates that the wind down of the Cboe Japan equities operations will have an immaterial impact on Cboe’s organic total net revenue growth and adjusted operating expense guidance in 2025.
The company estimates that adjusted expense savings will be in the range of $2 million to $4 million in 2025, with savings expected to be in the $10 million to $12 million range on a normalized annual basis.
Cboe will provide more details during its forthcoming second-quarter 2025 earnings call on August 1, 2025. A conference call with remarks by the company’s senior management will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET).
A live audio webcast for the conference call and the presentation that will be referenced during the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of Cboe’s website at ir.cboe.com under Events.
Source: Cboe
