April 2026 Highlights
The U.S. cash equities market saw a pullback in April, with total market Average Daily Volume (ADV) decreasing 12.99% month-over-month to 17.8 billion shares. Against this backdrop of declining volume, market share shifted toward off-exchange venues, which captured nearly half of all volume. Cboe EDGX® Equities Exchange (EDGX) stood out, increasing its market share to 4.5%. Within on-exchange trading, Cboe maintained a strong 21.0% market share.
EDGX Retail Price Improvement (RPI):
On April 10, Cboe successfully launched a new order type on EDGX. Liquidity providers can submit a non-displayed order that will only trade against attested retail remove orders.
- Capture "In-Flight" Liquidity: Target retail limit orders that attempt to post to EDGX but remove on entry due to marketable conditions.
- Post Non-Displayed Liquidity with Exclusive Interaction: Add non-displayed interest that interacts exclusively with retail-attested removing orders, ensuring high-quality contra flow.
- Gain Price Priority with Sub-Penny Increments: Aggressively provide liquidity in 1/10th of a penny increments to achieve price priority over other non-displayed orders resting in the book.
- Access Unique Retail Liquidity Unavailable Elsewhere: Source differentiated retail order flow that is exclusive to EDGX and cannot be accessed on any other venue.
- Tap into a Significant Retail Franchise: Retail trading accounts for an average of 22% of daily market volume on EDGX, representing a deep and consistent liquidity pool.
- Adoption in April: Early adopters went live on day one, with ADV in April around 345,000 shares executed. Approximately 80% of executions occur inside the near touch.
The Impact of Round Lot Reform Had on U.S. Equity Market Quality
The most recent analysis from Cboe’s Execution Consulting team illustrated how the November 2025 round lot reform drove a significant structural shift in market quality, particularly for high-priced securities. While spreads have narrowed aggressively, this has come at the cost of displayed liquidity depth.
- Quote Depletion Protection (QDP) saw a meaningful lift in performance, with the most significant improvements occurring in the same high-priced segments impacted by the reform.
- Prediction accuracy increased across price groups.
- Higher accuracy was paired with a decrease in both false predictions and static predictions, suggesting the signal is now more responsive and reliable in volatile, high-priced segments.
Upcoming Changes and Key Notices
New Listings
In April, Cboe added 44 new ETF listings to Cboe BZX® Equities Exchange (BZX).
In addition, five ETFs transferred to BZX in April:
There are important risks associated with transacting in any of the Cboe Company products discussed here. Before engaging in any transactions in those products, it is important for market participants to carefully review the disclosures and disclaimers contained at: https://www.cboe.com/global-_disclaimers/. These products are complex and are suitable only for sophisticated market participants. In certain jurisdictions, Cboe Company products are only permitted for investment professionals, certified sophisticated investors, or high net worth corporations and associations. These products involve the risk of loss, which can be substantial and, depending on the type of product, can exceed the amount of money deposited in establishing the position. Market participants should put at risk only funds that they can afford to lose without affecting their lifestyle. © 2026 Cboe Exchange, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
