If you’ve been watching the markets lately, one thing is clear: chaos is paying off. And not just for hedge funds or day traders, but for the actual stock exchanges themselves.
Amid escalating tariffs, Middle East tensions, and general macroeconomic uncertainty, U.S. stock exchanges like the CME Group, Nasdaq, Cboe Global Markets, and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are quietly pulling in record profits.
How? It’s all thanks to good old-fashioned volatility.
Market volatility is the financial world’s version of a caffeine rush. It jolts trading volumes sky-high. When investors scramble to hedge their bets, reposition their portfolios, or chase “buy the dip” moments, the number of transactions surges, and every single trade means revenue for the exchanges.
In Q2 2025, that’s exactly what happened. According to Reuters, the CME Group hit a record average daily volume (ADV) of 30.2 million contracts, a 16% jump. Over at ICE, that figure surged 26% to 10 million contracts. Cboe’s S&P 500 index options alone clocked a record 3.7 million contracts traded daily. Nasdaq also posted impressive gains in equity and options trading.
This isn’t just noise. These numbers translate into real money, transaction and clearing fees, to be specific. The more contracts traded, the more revenue these platforms make.
You’d expect retail investors to tap out amid economic uncertainty. Not this time. Brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley noted that retail participation remained strong, with individual investors still eager to “buy the dip.”
This resiliency speaks volumes. Even with headlines filled with trade wars and rate cut predictions, everyday investors are staying active, a bullish sign for the exchanges.
And let’s not forget the crypto angle.
Exchanges are also getting a slice of the digital pie. CME saw cryptocurrency ADV jump 136% in Q2, fueled by record growth in ether futures. As crypto becomes increasingly mainstream and integrates into traditional portfolios, regulated platforms like CME benefit enormously.
Crypto trading volumes are often driven by emotion and momentum, which are two things the market has had in abundance lately.
While trading volumes grabbed the spotlight, the IPO scene made a surprise comeback in late Q2. After a rocky start to the year, progress in trade talks helped revive capital markets.
High-profile debuts like digital bank Chime and stablecoin issuer Circle re-energized the IPO pipeline. Nasdaq reported nearly $13.2 billion in IPO deal value, almost triple from the previous year. The number of listings nearly doubled.
Exchanges charge listing fees and benefit from IPO trading buzz. So a rebound here means yet another revenue stream heating up.
Exchange stocks are outperforming the S&P 500.
In the first half of 2025, ICE rose 23%, CME and Cboe gained nearly 19%, Nasdaq was up 16%, meanwhile, the S&P 500 crawled up just 5.5%.
For context, these are infrastructure companies in the financial system, not flashy, not speculative. Yet they’re delivering returns like high-growth tech stocks.
Earnings season will reveal more. CME kicks things off, with an expected Q2 EPS of $2.91. ICE is forecasted at $1.77, Cboe at $2.42, and Nasdaq at $0.81.
But what happens when volatility eases?
Analysts suggest trading volumes could normalize as macroeconomic uncertainty cools. Still, there’s optimism. Even if tariffs get dialed down, interest rate expectations remain a wildcard. That alone could keep the rates market busy.
Plus, digital assets, IPOs, and a sticky base of retail traders mean the growth story for these exchanges isn’t just about panic-driven trades.
In investing, there’s a timeless rule: don’t just look at who’s digging for gold, look at who’s selling the shovels. Right now, U.S. exchanges are selling every trader the tools they need to play this volatile market. And they’re cashing in.
