CME single stock futures contracts explained

Single stock futures na exchange-traded contracts to buy or sell fixed number of shares for one company at agreed price on a set future date. On July 27, 2026, CME Group list fresh set, the first one for major US exchange since OneChicago close for business in 2020: 55 standard contracts on 100 shares and 22 micro contracts on 10 shares. All of dem settle for cash based on the stock official closing price, and traders fit trade dem for about 23 hours every day. SpaceX dey the list, and na am we use for the example below.

Wetin CME list on July 27, 2026?

SpaceX don dey public for about six weeks when its contract start trading, together with names wey come from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. As of September 2026, CME contract specification page set the terms below, and na still be the reference for anything you trade.

• Contract unit: 100 shares for each standard contract, and 10 for each micro.
• Settlement: cash, based on the stock official closing price for its primary exchange.
• Expirations: two consecutive quarterly months — March, June, September and December. Trading stop on the third Friday of the contract month.
• Minimum price increment: $0.01 per share, or $1.00 for each standard contract and $0.10 for each micro.
• Trading hours: CME Globex from 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday reach 5:00 p.m. ET Friday, with one-hour maintenance break every day at 5:00 p.m. ET.

The 23-hour trading clock na the big change from every earlier US attempt. SpaceX future fit trade at 2:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, even when the stock market no get session. Contract codes follow CME usual root-plus-month-plus-year format (see how to read a futures symbol).

How dem price single stock future?

Futures price na spot price wey dem adjust for the cost of carrying the shares reach expiry. E no be forecast. Money wey you tie down inside the shares fit earn interest, so dem add that financing cost. Whoever hold the shares go collect any dividend before expiry, but the futures long no go collect am, so dem subtract the expected payout. Written plainly: futures price = spot + financing cost - expected dividends.

Take SpaceX at purely illustrative $100 per share. Na round number, e no be quote. Its listing prospectus talk say e no expect to pay cash dividends for foreseeable future, so dividend part na zero. The panel below run the calculation with 4% annual financing rate. E compare am with hypothetical stock wey also dey trade at $100 and get $0.50 dividend wey go become ex-dividend before expiry.

SELECT
    days_to_expiry,
    round(100 * 0.04 * days_to_expiry / 365, 2) AS financing_usd,
    round(100 + 100 * 0.04 * days_to_expiry / 365, 2) AS fair_price_no_dividend,
    round(100 + 100 * 0.04 * days_to_expiry / 365 - 0.50, 2) AS fair_price_with_050_dividend
FROM (SELECT arrayJoin([30, 60, 90, 180, 365]) AS days_to_expiry)
ORDER BY days_to_expiry

After 90 days, the carry na about $0.99, so fair futures price go dey near $100.99. The stock wey pay dividend go dey near $100.49 instead. On its ex-dividend date, the stock go open lower by the payout, but the future, wey don already carry am, no go move because of that dividend. The basis — the gap between futures and spot — dey reduce to zero as expiry dey near. So contract wey you hold reach the end go pay the full financing leg even if the stock no move.

How margin for security future different from Reg T?

Buying shares on margin na loan. Under Federal Reserve Regulation T, broker fit lend at most 50% of the purchase, and the borrowed half go attract interest at the broker margin rate. FINRA maintenance minimum na 25%.

Security future no be loan. Nobody borrow money, so no interest charge dey; the financing dey inside the price. Margin here na performance bond against adverse price movement. Joint SEC and CFTC rule set the minimum at 15% of the contract current market value for each long or short position, both as initial and maintenance margin. The rule floor na 20% from 2002 until the two agencies reduce am, effective December 24, 2020. CME Rule 930 adopt the 15% figure, with lower requirements for recognized offsets.

The next panel put the percentages side by side for the illustrative SpaceX contract: 100 shares at $100, or $10,000 notional value.

SELECT
    regime,
    margin_pct,
    round(10000 * margin_pct / 100, 0) AS deposit_usd,
    round(100 / margin_pct, 1) AS leverage_x
FROM (
    SELECT 'Reg T initial' AS regime, 50 AS margin_pct
    UNION ALL SELECT 'Reg T maintenance', 25
    UNION ALL SELECT 'OneChicago era floor', 20
    UNION ALL SELECT 'CME security futures floor', 15
)
ORDER BY margin_pct DESC

Reg T need $5,000 upfront. Security-futures floor need $1,500. That one mean roughly 6.7 times leverage, versus 2 times under Reg T. E fit work against you too: 15% move against the position go use up the whole $1,500 deposit. This na flat percentage of notional value. E no be risk-model, SPAN-style margin wey index futures use. That one dey change with volatility and often dey well below 15%. Daily settlement work like e dey work for any future; see how futures margin works and, for securities side, Reg T versus portfolio margin.

Single stock futures dey pay tax 60/40 like index futures?

No. Section 1256 of Internal Revenue Code give regulated futures contracts and broad-based index options blended 60/40 treatment. That means 60% of any gain na long-term and 40% na short-term, no matter how long you hold am. But Section 1256(b)(2)(A) exclude “any securities futures contract or option on such a contract unless such contract or option is a dealer securities futures contract.” Retail trader no be dealer, so CME single stock future dey completely outside Section 1256.

Section 1234B cover the gap. Gain or loss on securities futures contract take the character of the underlying stock. For investor, that mean capital gain or loss, and e become long-term only if you hold the contract for more than one year. Contract to sell, meaning a short, always be short-term under Section 1234B(b). Wash-sale rule under Section 1091 mention securities futures contracts by name. See why index options are taxed 60/40 for where dem draw that line. None of this na tax advice.

Single stock futures versus shares versus options

Compared with owning the shares, futures long give up four things: the dividend, the vote, open-ended holding period, and 50% Reg T deposit. In exchange, e get 15% floor and 23-hour trading session. The contract also get expiry. Since two quarterly months dey listed, position wey last one year go roll three times. Each roll na spread between the month wey dey expire and the next month (see continuous futures contracts). Position wey you carry reach expiry go become final cash credit or debit. No shares go arrive.

Compared with options, the main difference na the shape of the exposure. A call option lose value as time dey pass, because of theta, and e move with implied volatility as well as the stock. Future no get either feature. E pay straight $1 per standard contract for every cent wey the stock move. That linear movement na also the risk. Call buyer loss stop at the premium, but futures long or short no get that limit. The 15% deposit na the first 15% of loss, no be the last 15%.

Why OneChicago single stock futures fail?

Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 remove ban wey don dey since 1982, and US single stock futures start trading on November 8, 2002. OneChicago carry the product for almost eighteen years and hold its last session on September 18, 2020. Five conditions remain throughout the whole period: physical delivery, where expiring long receive 100 shares through Options Clearing Corporation; daytime trading hours only; 20% margin floor for the whole life of the product, with reduction to 15% taking effect three months after the last trade; the same tax carve-out we describe above; and dual SEC and CFTC registration for every broker, something wey few retail brokers agree to do.

Three out of those five conditions don change in 2026. The new contracts settle for cash, with no delivery and no borrow. Dem trade for 23 hours every day on Globex. The 15% floor dey in place before the first trade. Retail access to futures also wide pass wetin e be in 2002. The tax carve-out and dual regime no change. Whether this mix go change the result still be open question. Our coverage of the SpaceX lockup expiration and the SpaceX Nasdaq-100 index add dey track the stock wey those first contracts settle against.

FAQ

Wetin be single stock future?

Na exchange-traded contract to buy or sell set number of shares for one company at agreed price on fixed date. CME contracts cover 100 shares for standard contract or 10 for micro, and dem settle for cash based on the official closing price on the third Friday of the contract month.

Single stock futures dey pay dividends?

No. Futures long never receive dividend and never vote. Instead, dem subtract the expected payout from the futures price. Futures short no owe dividend the way person wey short the stock owe am.

How much margin single stock futures need?

Joint SEC and CFTC rules set minimum at 15% of the contract current market value for each long or short position, both as initial and maintenance margin. Brokers fit ask for more. Buying the shares under Regulation T need 50% upfront.

Single stock futures dey taxed 60/40 like index futures?

No. Section 1256(b)(2)(A) exclude securities futures contracts from the 60/40 rule unless dem be dealer contracts. Under Section 1234B, gains take the character of the underlying stock, and short position always be short-term.

The terms above na September 2026 snapshot. CME specification page na the live reference. The carry and margin calculation above run as plain SQL on the Strasmore terminal.