Successful options trading is no simple feat. Options traders who thrive regardless of market conditions are those who get an edge everywhere, including staying on top of the latest trends.
Knowing what the options trading landscape looks like—and what you’re up against—is a must.
To give you an edge, we’ve compiled a thorough report of 327 options trading statistics detailing everything you need to stay on top of your game.
Let’s take a closer look.
The first listed stock options were introduced by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) on April 26, 1973. The CBOE listed call options on 16 underlying stocks, which included major companies like IBM, Xerox, and American Airlines.
Russell Sage, a well known American financier born in New York, was the first to create call and put options for trading in the US back in 1872.
| Matched Volume | Market* | Today (as of Q1 2023) | 5 Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cboe (C,W,E,Z) | $11,933,601,185 | 56.12% | 48.56% |
| NASDAQ (Q,T,X,H,I,J) | $4,708,092,988 | 22.14% | 25.96% |
| NYSE (A,N) | $2,030,973,661 | 9.55% | 10.95% |
| MIAX (M,P,D) | $1,496,142,202 | 7.04% | 7.54% |
| BOX Options | $1,094,368,666 | 5.15% | 6.98% |
| Total | $21,263,178,702 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
*You can find updated statistics on a daily basis.
the third consecutive record-breaking year
| Average daily option volume | Annual Volume | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 40,388,770 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Options total contracts ADV (in millions) | 13.6 | 12.1 | 10.1 |
| U.S. Equities total touched shares ADV (in billions) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Canadian Equities total touched shares ADV (in millions) (1) | 91.8 | 49.4 | 43.1 |
| Futures ADV (in thousands) | 218.2 | 230.4 | 200.6 |
| European Equities matched and touched ADNV (€ in billions) | 10.8 | 7.7 | 6.9 |
| European trades cleaned (in millions) (2) | 1,493.3 | 1,244.2 | 545.5 |
| Global FX ADNV ($ in billions) | 40.9 | 33.9 | 34.7 |
The following chart lists average daily transaction volume in number of shares/contracts, notional value transacted or trades cleared for Options (Cboe Options, C2 Options, BZX Options, and EDGX Options); Futures (CFE); U.S. Equities (BZX Equities, BYX Equities, EDGA Equities, and EDGX Equities); Canadian Equities (MATCHNow); European Equities (Cboe Europe Equities); European Clearing (EuroCCP); and Global FX (Cboe FX and Cboe SEF) for the periods indicated
Options trading volumes topped 10 billion in 2022, after soaring 32.2% to a record 9.87 billion contracts in 2021. That was double 2019’s total, which was also a record.
For the first quarter of 2023, 1.8 billion contracts have traded, putting options on course for another strong year.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
is usually the most actively traded symbol in the entire market.
| Company | Avg Options Volume | Business |
|---|---|---|
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) | 9 million | Tracks the S&P 500 |
| Tesla (TSLA) | 3 million | Electric cars |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) | 3 million | Tracks the Nasdaq-100 |
| Apple (APPL) | 1.1 million | iPhones, computers |
| Amazon.com (AMZN) | 930,000 | E-commerce |
| iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) | 811,000 | Tracks the Russell 2000 |
| AMC Entertainment (AMC) | 726,000 | Movie theaters |
| Alphabet (GOOGL) | 609,000 | Internet |
| Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | 435,000 | Semiconductors |
| Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) | 407,000 | Retail |
The most famous billionaire traders are George Soros, Carl Icahn, Ray Dalio, David Tepper, and James Simons. The Richest and most famous active traders in the world in 2023 are: Carl Icahn (17.6 billion dollars) George Soros (6.7 billion dollars).
Between January 2021 and January 2023, CBOE held the largest market share at almost 40% of U.S. daily exchange-traded options, followed by Nasdaq at over 32%, BOX at around 15.5%, and NYSE at 7.93%, with a total average daily turnover of approximately 28.3B U.S. dollars in January 2023.
In the U.S., options trading is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), where the SEC oversees the securities industry with the primary aim of protecting investors, while FINRA regulates brokerage firms and brokers.
The issuer has the corresponding obligation to fulfill the transaction (to sell or buy) if the holder “exercises” the option. An option that conveys to the holder the right to buy at a specified price is referred to as a call, while one that conveys the right to sell at a specified price is known as a put.
All option contracts involving stocks or indexes are overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA); while option contracts involving forex, commodities, or futures are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA).
You don’t need a license to be an options trader. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) offers the Registered Options Principal Exam. Passing this test can give you more credibility as an options trader, but it’s not a requirement.
Cboe Europe operates two regulated venues – Cboe UK (Cboe Europe Limited) and Cboe NL (Cboe Europe B.V.). Cboe Europe oversees and regulates all trading conducted on its markets and takes its responsibilities in this — and every other regard — very seriously.
Options traders in America make an average salary of $110,139 per year or $53 per hour. The top 10% makes over $185,000 per year, while the bottom 10% earns under $65,000 per year.
Options trading, despite its advantages, involves significant risk and speculation. Success in this field is not attainable for everyone. Similar to other businesses, it demands specific skills, personality traits, and a determined attitude.
Only 10% of traders make money, and the remaining 90% end up in a loss.
There is a 25% chance of losing your investment and a 75% chance of profit.
The percentage of total trading volume coming from retail investors was about 23% from January 25 to February 1 in 2023.
90% of traders fail to make money when trading the stock market. This statistic deems that over time 80% lose, 10% break even and just 10% make money consistently.
According to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) here are the statistics:
55% – 60% of option contracts are closed out prior to expiration
10% of option contracts are exercised
30% – 35% of option contracts expire worthless
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 88.51% | 11.49% |
| 2011 | 87.64% | 12.36% |
| 2012 | 88.43% | 11.57% |
| 2013 | 88.30% | 11.70% |
| 2014 | 87.99% | 12.01% |
| 2015 | 88.62% | 11.38% |
| 2016 | 88.98% | 11.02% |
| 2017 | 87.72% | 11.28% |
| 2018 | 89.26% | 10.74% |
| 2019 | 90.56% | 9.44% |
| 2020 | 90.47% | 9.53% |
| 2021 | 90.80% | 9.20% |
The most common ethnicity among options traders is White, which makes up 66.7% of all options traders. Comparatively, there are 12.2% of the Asian ethnicity and 11.3% of the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.
“Unknown” options traders have the highest average salary compared to other ethni- cities. Black or African American options traders have the lowest average salary at $93,952.
| Year | White | Black or African American | Asian | Hispanic or Latino |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 74.21% | 6.09% | 8.15% | 10.03% |
| 2011 | 74.32% | 5.72% | 8.99% | 9.53% |
| 2012 | 72.69% | 5.77% | 9.02% | 11.12% |
| 2013 | 73.15% | 5.04% | 9.64% | 10.10% |
| 2014 | 73.60% | 5.49% | 9.34% | 10.06% |
| 2015 | 73.23% | 5.62% | 9.62% | 9.68% |
| 2016 | 71.71% | 5.30% | 9.94% | 11.25% |
| 2017 | 72.00% | 5.17% | 9.72% | 11.02% |
| 2018 | 70.16% | 5.18% | 11.17% | 11.16% |
| 2019 | 72.04% | 5.53% | 10.50% | 10.06% |
| 2020 | 69.05% | 5.49% | 10.33% | 11.60% |
| 2021 | 66.73% | 5.44% | 12.21% | 11.28% |
| Race | Male Age | Female Age |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 40 | 48.5 |
| White | 43 | 47 |
| Black or African American | 40.5 | 47 |
| Asian | 42 | 37.5 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 37 | 42 |
This chart breaks down the ages of options trader employees. Interestingly enough, the average age of options traders is 40+ years old, which represents 58% of the population.
| Option Traders Years | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 40+ years | 58% |
| 30 – 40 years | 28% |
| 20 – 30 years | 14% |
The most common degree for options traders is a bachelor’s degree, with 82% of options traders holding a bachelor’s degree. A close second is a master’s degree with 12%, and rounding it off is an associate’s degree with 3%.
| Option Trader Degree | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Bachelors | 82% |
| Masters | 12% |
| Associate | 3% |
| Doctorate | 1% |
| Other Degrees | 2% |
Options traders with a Masters degree earn more than those without, at $141,254 annually. With a Doctorate degree, options traders earn a median annual income of $130,472 compared to $109,139 for options traders with a Bachelor’s degree.
| Company Size | Percentages |
|---|---|
| < 50 employees | 11% |
| 50 – 100 employees | 16% |
| 100 – 500 employees | 23% |
| 500 – 1,000 employees | 11% |
| 1,000 – 10,000 employees | 23% |
| > 10,000 employees | 16% |
Employees with the options trader job title have their preferences when it comes to working for a company. For instance, most options traders prefer to work at private companies over public companies.
Just based on the number of employees within each industry, we were able to determine the most common industries that employ options traders. Those industries include finance, professional and technology.
| Industry | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Finance | 40% |
| Professional | 9% |
| Fortune 500 | 8% |
| Technology | 7% |
| Manufacturing | 6% |
| Transportation | 4% |
| Hospitality | 4% |
| Media | 3% |
| Internet | 2% |
| Government | 2% |
| Utilities | 2% |
| Real Estate | 2% |
| Pharmaceutical | 1% |
| Automotive | 1% |
| Construction | 1% |
| Health Care | 1% |
| Retail | 1% |
| Telecommunication | 1% |
| Energy | 1% |
| Non Profits | 1% |
| Insurance | 1% |
| Education | 1% |
| Agriculture | 1% |
| Start-up | 1% |
| Year | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 7.5% |
| 2011 | 6.42% |
| 2012 | 6.14% |
| 2013 | 4.28% |
| 2014 | 4.90% |
| 2015 | 3.10% |
| 2016 | 4.15% |
| 2017 | 3.43% |
| 2018 | 2.39% |
| 2019 | 3.02% |
| 2020 | 4.76% |
| 2021 | 3.65% |
| Foreign Language | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Spanish | 24.5% |
| Chinese | 15.1% |
| French | 9.4% |
| German | 7.5% |
| Japanese | 7.5% |
| Other | 36.0% |
See our unique insight in the following guides:
