Options traders can now react to after-hours earnings reports and pre-market news by trading single-stock and ETF options outside regular market hours. CBOE’s extended trading sessions launched Wednesday, October 19, 2026, after two prior missed dates, and seven brokers confirmed support on day one.
- CBOE extended hours for single-stock and ETF options launched Wednesday, October 19, 2026, confirmed by Cboe’s own IR release and Bloomberg’s launch-day coverage, after two prior missed dates (July 13 and August 17, 2026).
- Sessions: pre-market 7:30, 9:25 AM ET. Post-market/curb session 4:00, 4:15 PM ET. Limit orders only, market and stop orders are rejected.
- 24 stocks qualified at launch, including all Magnificent 7 names (AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, META, NVDA, TSLA), major semiconductor names (TSM, AMD, Broadcom, Intel, Micron, Marvell, SanDisk), plus Oracle, Palantir, Alibaba, Robinhood, Netflix, Nokia, Pfizer, Bank of America, and Ford, among others.
- 5 ETFs also qualify: SPY, QQQ, IWM, GLD, XLF. Index options (SPX, VIX, XSP, RUT) are NOT part of this expansion; they already trade on Cboe’s separate Global Trading Hours session.
- Broker support confirmed at launch, per Cboe’s own October 19, 2026 release: Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, moomoo, Robinhood, TradeStation, Tradier, and Tiger Brokers Singapore. Schwab, tastytrade, Webull, E*TRADE, and Firstrade are not on the named list; check your own broker’s announcements before assuming access.
- Risks: wider bid-ask spreads and lower liquidity compared to the regular session, standard for any extended-hours options trading.
What CBOE Extended Hours Options Actually Are
Options on U.S. equities trade during regular market hours: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday. CBOE’s approval created two new windows around that core session, live since October 19, 2026:
- Pre-market session: 7:30 AM to 9:25 AM ET (5 minutes before regular open)
- Post-market/curb session: 4:00 PM to 4:15 PM ET (15 minutes after regular close)
These are not 24-hour options. The extended windows are narrow and targeted specifically at the periods when major catalysts, primarily earnings reports, tend to hit. Most large-cap companies report AMC (after market close) or BMO (before market open), which puts the announcement squarely inside one of these two windows. Only limit orders are accepted in both sessions; market and stop orders are rejected outright.
Regular Session vs. Extended Sessions
| Session | Hours (ET) | Eligible names | Expected spreads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-market (new) | 7:30, 9:25 AM | 24 stocks + 5 ETFs | Wider than regular session |
| Regular session (unchanged) | 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM | All listed equity options | Tightest, most liquid |
| Post-market/curb (new) | 4:00, 4:15 PM | 24 stocks + 5 ETFs | Widest, especially the first few minutes after an AMC print |
Eligibility and spread behavior per Cboe’s approved rule; exact spreads will depend on live market-maker participation once sessions launch.
Which Stocks Are Eligible at Launch
CBOE designed the eligibility criteria to limit extended hours trading to names with enough liquidity that market makers can maintain reasonably tight spreads even with reduced participation. The three requirements:
- 150,000 or more average daily contracts traded
- Underlying stock market cap of $50 billion or higher
- Underlying stock average daily trading volume of 10 million shares or higher
The confirmed list at launch is 24 stocks: all seven Magnificent 7 components (AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, META, NVDA, TSLA), major semiconductor and AI-infrastructure names (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, AMD, Broadcom, Intel, Micron, Marvell, SanDisk), plus Oracle, Palantir, Alibaba, Robinhood, Netflix, Nokia, Pfizer, Bank of America, and Ford, among others. Five ETFs also qualify: SPY (S&P 500), QQQ (Nasdaq-100), IWM (Russell 2000), GLD (gold), and XLF (financials). CBOE expects to update the eligible list semi-annually, so additional names may be added over time as they hit the volume thresholds.
One important scope clarification: index options (SPX, VIX, XSP, RUT) are not part of this expansion. Those products already trade on CBOE’s separate, pre-existing Global Trading Hours session (8:15 PM to 9:25 AM ET). This launch is specifically for single-stock and ETF options, a distinct product set.
Critically, this is not a broad market expansion. Options on mid-cap stocks, small-cap names, sector ETFs outside the five listed above, and most individual stocks outside the mega-cap tier will not be available in extended sessions at launch.
How This Changes the Earnings Options Setup
The most practical application for retail traders is managing positions around after-hours earnings reports. Here is the sequence now possible, live since October 19, 2026:
- Company reports earnings AMC at approximately 4:05 PM ET. Under the old system, options traders had to wait until 9:30 AM the next morning to react.
- Extended post-market/curb session runs 4:00, 4:15 PM ET. Traders can open or close positions in the 15 minutes after the report drops, before the market officially digests the news in the next morning’s open.
- Pre-market session opens at 7:30 AM ET. For names reporting BMO, the pre-market window gives options traders access before the 9:30 AM regular open.
Consider a hypothetical example: NVDA reports Q2 results at 4:10 PM ET on an AMC date. The stock is up 8% in pre-market trading. Under the old regular-hours rules, you would need to wait until 9:30 AM to close your short puts or buy protective puts. With extended hours options live, you can now act in the 4:10, 4:15 PM window immediately after the results, or in the 7:30, 9:25 AM pre-market session the following morning, to adjust before the regular open. This is a hypothetical illustration only, not a trade recommendation.
This will matter most for:
- Traders holding short premium positions into an AMC event who want to close early rather than carry gamma risk overnight
- Traders who want to establish a directional position based on a confirmed earnings result before the next morning’s likely gap
- Long options holders who want to take profits on a winning straddle or strangle in the post-earnings window rather than waiting for the next session
What Does Not Change
A few important clarifications on scope:
This is a CBOE-level approval, and broker support is still broker-by-broker. CBOE’s SEC approval meant the exchange could offer these sessions, but each broker had to separately implement support. As of launch day (October 19, 2026), Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, moomoo, Robinhood, TradeStation, Tradier, and Tiger Brokers Singapore confirmed support, per Cboe’s own launch release. Schwab, tastytrade, Webull, E*TRADE, and Firstrade are not on that list. Check your own broker’s platform news before assuming access, since CBOE-level approval does not automatically mean every broker is ready.
Regular expiration mechanics do not change. Weekly and monthly options still expire on Fridays (or Thursdays for some index products). Extended hours sessions add trading windows, not new expirations.
0DTE options are not extended by this change. The 0DTE sessions end at the regular close (4:00 PM ET for equity options). The post-market session opening at 4:00 PM is a new window for non-zero-DTE options, not an extension of same-day expiration.
Liquidity and Spread Risk in Extended Sessions
Extended hours trading in equities has been available for years, and the pattern is consistent: wider bid-ask spreads and lower fill quality compared to regular hours. Options extended sessions will likely follow the same pattern, at least initially.
During regular hours on a name like NVDA or AAPL, ATM options spreads are often $0.01, $0.05 wide. In extended sessions with fewer market makers active, spreads on the same contracts could be $0.10, $0.50 wide or more, depending on the market environment and the time within the extended window.
Practical implications now that the sessions are live:
- Limit orders only, by rule. CBOE only accepts limit orders in both extended sessions; market and stop orders are rejected outright, so there is no risk of a market order filling at a wild price, but a limit order can simply not fill in thin conditions.
- Size down. Wider spreads mean higher transaction costs. Consider smaller position sizes during extended sessions until you observe actual spread behavior on your broker’s platform.
- The 4:00, 4:15 PM window is especially thin. This 15-minute post-market window is narrow. Heavy IV expansion from an earnings event may make spreads temporarily very wide in the first few minutes after a report. The useful execution window may be closer to 4:10, 4:15 PM once spreads settle.
Which Platforms Support Extended Hours Options
Seven brokers confirmed support at launch, per Cboe’s own October 19, 2026 release: Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, moomoo, Robinhood, TradeStation, Tradier, and Tiger Brokers Singapore. Robinhood had already announced at its HOOD Summit 2026 that options trading would run from 7:30 AM to 4:15 PM starting in October, a 35% increase in trading hours across its most popular symbols, and TradeStation’s own blog had confirmed October 19 support ahead of launch. Fidelity, moomoo, and Tiger Brokers Singapore joining the confirmed list alongside Interactive Brokers was new information as of launch day.
Interactive Brokers is now confirmed, named directly in Cboe’s launch release. IBKR already operated one of the broadest extended hours equity trading infrastructures among retail brokers, so this is a natural fit for its real-time risk engine and direct market access routing. IBKR Pro options commissions run $0.65 per contract at up to 10,000 contracts/month, stepping down to $0.15 per contract above 100,001 contracts/month. IBKR Lite is premium-tiered rather than flat: $0.25 per contract under $0.05 premium, $0.50 from $0.05 to under $0.10, and $0.65 at $0.10 premium or higher, each with a $1.00 per-order minimum (verified 2026-10-03).
tastytrade built its platform explicitly for options traders and has been aggressive about supporting new CBOE products, including early support for 0DTE and VIX options and full support for Cboe’s separate Global Trading Hours session on index options. Despite that track record, tastytrade did not make Cboe’s confirmed launch-day list for this single-stock session, a genuine surprise given how closely it tracks other Cboe product launches. Schwab/thinkorswim and Webull also did not make the list. None of the three are ruled out going forward; broker integrations for new exchange sessions typically roll out in phases. Check each broker’s own platform announcements directly for the latest status.
Bottom Line
CBOE extended hours for single-stock and ETF options launched Wednesday, October 19, 2026, confirmed by Cboe’s own IR release and Bloomberg’s launch-day coverage, after two prior missed dates (July 13 and August 17, 2026). The scope is limited: 24 stocks plus 5 ETFs, a 15-minute post-market window, and real spread risk compared to the regular session. Seven brokers confirmed support at launch (Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, moomoo, Robinhood, TradeStation, Tradier, and Tiger Brokers Singapore); check your own broker before assuming access. For traders managing positions in mega-cap names around AMC events, this is a real, live change worth planning around now.
FAQ
Q: When did CBOE extended hours options trading start?
A: Wednesday, October 19, 2026, confirmed via Cboe’s own IR release and Bloomberg’s own-day coverage. CBOE originally targeted July 13, 2026, then rescheduled to August 17, 2026, missing both dates before the SEC-approved rule (May 28, 2026) and OCC companion rules (September 23, 2026) cleared the way for the October 19 launch, which went live on schedule.
Q: Which stocks can I trade options on in extended hours?
A: 24 stocks qualify at launch: all seven Magnificent 7 names (AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, META, NVDA, TSLA), major semiconductor names (TSM, AMD, Broadcom, Intel, Micron, Marvell, SanDisk), plus Oracle, Palantir, Alibaba, Robinhood, Netflix, Nokia, Pfizer, Bank of America, and Ford, among others. Five ETFs also qualify: SPY, QQQ, IWM, GLD, and XLF. Index options (SPX, VIX, XSP, RUT) are not included, they already trade on a separate, existing Global Trading Hours session.
Q: What are the extended hours options trading times?
A: Pre-market session 7:30 AM to 9:25 AM ET, post-market/curb session 4:00 PM to 4:15 PM ET. Regular session (unchanged): 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET. Only limit orders are accepted in both extended sessions.
Q: Can I trade 0DTE options in extended hours?
A: No. The extended hours sessions do not extend 0DTE (same-day expiration) options. The post-market session is for non-zero-DTE contracts. 0DTE equity options still expire at the regular 4:00 PM ET close.
Q: What are the risks of trading options in extended hours?
A: The primary risks are wider bid-ask spreads and lower liquidity compared to the regular session. With fewer market makers active, fills are likely to be worse than during regular hours, and only limit orders are accepted (market and stop orders are rejected). Size down relative to regular-hours positions and allow spreads to settle before executing, especially in the first few minutes after an AMC earnings release.