NSE equity-options fees supplied 76.6% of FY26 charges

National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) derived Rs 9,997.568 crore, or 76.6%, of FY26 transaction-charge revenue from equity options. The reconciling FY26 KPI figure for options exceeded cash-market and futures charges combined, making options the main contributor within Rs 13,057.012 crore of transaction charges for the year ended March 31, 2026.

How dependent was NSE on equity-options fees in FY26?

NSE was dependent on equity-options fees for 76.6% of FY26 transaction charges, compared with 11.9% from the cash market and 11.3% from equity futures. Transaction charges are fees levied on trading members for executing trades, while the options category includes index-options and stock-options trades. The Rs 9,997.568 crore options figure is measured against total FY26 transaction charges of Rs 13,057.012 crore.

NSE's options fees also represented 60.2% of FY26 revenue from operations of Rs 16,601.309 crore. The balance of Rs 6,603.741 crore came from cash, futures, mutual-fund and other transaction charges, along with listing, data, clearing, licensing, investment-related operating income and other operating revenue. Options were therefore the largest individual operating-revenue line, although the revenue base included several services beyond trading.

NSE's KPI disclosures contain inconsistent FY26 category figures that require care. The KPI table reports equity-options charges of Rs 979,675.68 million, which converts to Rs 97,967.568 crore and exceeds total transaction charges; it also reports futures charges of Rs 14,400.97 million. The later peer-comparison table reports Rs 99,975.68 million for options and Rs 14,800.97 million for futures, figures that reconcile to the disclosed Rs 130,570.12 million total transaction charges. The options share in this article uses those reconciling figures.

What changed in NSE's transaction-charge mix over three years?

NSE's equity-options share declined from FY24 to FY25 and then rose in FY26. Options contributed 78.7% of transaction charges in FY24, 74.8% in FY25 and 76.6% in FY26. Options fees fell 1.9% to Rs 9,997.568 crore in FY26 from Rs 10,194.030 crore in FY25, while total transaction charges declined 4.2% to Rs 13,057.012 crore from Rs 13,635.764 crore.

Cash-market and futures charges fell at different rates during FY26. Cash-market charges declined 7.9% to Rs 1,554.643 crore from Rs 1,688.549 crore, while the reconciling futures figure declined 14.3% to Rs 1,480.097 crore from Rs 1,727.258 crore. The steeper reduction in futures charges meant that options regained a larger share of transaction charges despite the decline in options-fee income.

Trading volumes and fee income are related but use different measures. Equity-options average daily trading volume, or ADTV, on a premium-value basis fell 7.7% to Rs 57,661.754 crore in FY26, while notional-value ADTV fell 17.4% to Rs 25,828,469.691 crore. Premium value is average premium turnover per trading day, whereas notional value is the average value of the contracts traded. Transaction charges arise from trades executed and applicable charges, so notional ADTV alone does not determine options-fee revenue.

Which other NSE businesses provided material operating revenue?

NSE's data and connectivity lines were its largest non-trading service contributors in FY26, though none approached options fees. Data-connectivity charges generated Rs 1,128.791 crore, data-feed and terminal services generated Rs 470.074 crore, and data-centre rack charges generated Rs 205.175 crore. Together, the three lines produced Rs 1,804.040 crore, equal to 10.9% of FY26 operating revenue.

Other operating lines added revenue outside core trading. Other operating revenue from investments was Rs 841.691 crore, listing services brought Rs 352.436 crore, clearing and settlement services brought Rs 251.451 crore, and licensing services brought Rs 151.845 crore in FY26. Listing-services revenue includes listing, processing and book-building fees, while clearing and settlement revenue arises from settlement operations.

NSE separately reported Rs 1,929.079 crore of investment income within other income in FY26, rather than within revenue from operations. Total income was Rs 18,713.370 crore, comprising Rs 16,601.309 crore of operating revenue and other income. The 76.6% measure therefore describes the mix of transaction charges, while the 60.2% measure compares options fees with operating revenue rather than total income.

Did the June 2026 quarter alter the options-revenue pattern?

NSE's three months ended June 30, 2026 retained an options-led transaction-charge mix. Options transaction charges were Rs 2,743.947 crore, or 75.8% of total transaction charges of Rs 3,622.664 crore. Options fees increased 15.5% from Rs 2,372.685 crore in the three months ended June 30, 2025, while total transaction charges increased 14.9% from Rs 3,153.600 crore.

Options activity increased on both reported ADTV measures in the June 2026 quarter. Premium-value options ADTV rose 15.9% year on year to Rs 64,357.181 crore, while notional-value options ADTV rose 12.8% to Rs 24,921,289.288 crore. Cash-market charges increased 27.6% to Rs 502.320 crore, but futures charges declined 3.8% to Rs 367.481 crore, leaving options as the largest transaction-charge category.

Revenue from operations increased 13.1% to Rs 4,560.410 crore in the three months ended June 30, 2026 from Rs 4,032.238 crore a year earlier. During that period, data-connectivity charges were Rs 258.294 crore, data-feed and terminal services were Rs 149.557 crore, and clearing and settlement services were Rs 82.358 crore. The quarterly figures show growth in selected service lines without changing the options-led fee structure.

Conclusion

NSE's FY26 KPI disclosures show that equity options supplied about three-fourths of transaction-charge revenue and about three-fifths of operating revenue. The Rs 9,997.568 crore reconciling options-fee figure was greater than the Rs 3,034.740 crore combined contribution from cash-market and futures charges, while data, listing, clearing and licensing activities supplied smaller operating-revenue streams.

The next disclosed development is NSE's commitment to report the KPIs in its prospectus periodically, at least annually for one year after listing, or for a shorter period set by its Governing Board. Later disclosures will show whether options fees, premium-value ADTV and notional-value ADTV change relative to data, connectivity, listing and clearing revenue, and whether NSE clarifies the inconsistent FY26 options and futures figures in its KPI tables.