Item 4. Controls and Procedures
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Item 4. Controls and Procedures
**a)**Disclosure controls and procedures. The Company’s management, with the participation of its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
**b)**Internal controls over financial reporting. No changes occurred in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the second quarter of 2025 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
PART II—OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
Cboe incorporates herein by reference the discussion set forth in Note 21 (“Commitments, Contingencies, and Guarantees”) of the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein.
Equity Access Fees Cap Challenge
In December 2022, the SEC released four equity market structure proposals, including one concerning Regulation NMS Under the Exchange Act Amendments: Tick Size, Access Fees, and Transparency. On October 8, 2024, the SEC promulgated Final Rules concerning Regulation NMS to amend the minimum pricing increments for quoting certain NMS stocks, reduce access fee caps, and enhance the transparency of better priced orders (“Final Rules”). Among other things, the Final Rules reduce the access fee cap from $0.30 per 100 shares to $0.10 per 100 shares.
On October 30, 2024, the Company and the Company’s U.S. equities exchanges, BZX, BYX, EDGX, and EDGA (collectively, the “Cboe U.S. equity exchanges”) and Nasdaq, Inc. filed a Petition for Review (“PFR”) in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”) appealing the Final Rules. On December 3, 2024, the Cboe U.S. equity exchanges and Nasdaq, Inc. filed a request with the SEC for a stay to delay the initial implementation date of the Final Rules, which was scheduled to occur in November 2025. On December 12, 2024, the SEC granted a stay of the challenged provision of the Final Rules until the litigation is resolved. The briefing on the merits concluded on April 7, 2025, and oral argument was held on May 15, 2025. The parties are waiting for a decision.
The Final Rules, amongst other things, are expected to reduce access fee caps to a level that may inhibit our ability to incentivize liquidity on the Cboe U.S. equity exchanges, thereby resulting in a reduction in transaction fee revenue, as well as limit our ability to differentiate our fee schedule and compete with other national securities exchanges and off-exchange venues, which may have a material impact on our business, financial condition, and operating results. The Company and the Cboe U.S. equity exchanges intend to litigate the matter vigorously.
OEMS Disapproval Order Challenge
On February 13, 2024, Cboe Options filed a proposal to adopt a new rule regarding order and execution management systems (“OEMS”). The proposed new rule provided that an exchange-affiliated OEMS that satisfies criteria (designed to ensure the OEMS is acting independently from the exchange) is not a facility of the exchange, and therefore not subject to the rule filing requirements of Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The objective of the proposed rule was to improve competition within the OEMS market and ultimately benefit investors.
On October 31, 2024, the SEC issued an order disapproving Cboe Options’ proposal. On December 26, 2024, Cboe Options filed a Petition for Review (“PFR”) of the SEC’s disapproval order in the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (the “7th Circuit”). The briefing on the merits concluded on June 20, 2025, and the parties are waiting for argument to be scheduled. The Company and Cboe Options intend to litigate the matter vigorously.
There have been no other material updates during the period covered by this Form 10-Q to the Legal Proceedings as set forth in Item 3. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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