The first half of 2026 marked another breakout for retail options trading. Record activity, increasingly sophisticated positioning, and an unwavering concentration on the market’s largest companies defined activity as retail investors played an increasingly important role in equity markets.
As we enter the second half of the year, our attention turns to what is changing beneath the surface. While mega-cap technology and AI leaders still hold retail’s focus, the way retail investors express those views continues to evolve. Retail traders are increasingly using options to hedge risk and manage broader market exposure, resulting in a maturing landscape compared to past periods of retail exuberance.
Retail Participation Reaches New Highs
Retail trading activity reached new highs in June, with investors trading a record $6.7 billion in options premium per day on the Citadel Securities platform. Average daily premium jumped 15% from the previous record set in May, 65% above the 2025 average, and more than double the historical average.
While retail activity outpaced 2025 levels throughout the first half of the year, the pace of growth accelerated sharply in May and June. Average daily options premium rose 73% and 102% year-over-year, respectively, compared with more modest gains during the first four months of 2026.
The continued use of zero-days-to-expiry (0DTE) options remains one of the largest structural drivers of activity. Following the introduction of Monday and Wednesday expirations for single stocks earlier this year, nearly half of all retail options volume executed by Citadel Securities now occurs in 0DTE contracts, up from approximately 30% in 2025 and just 13% in 2021. The average option traded on our platform has fewer than three days to expiry.
The persistent growth of 0DTE trading reflects a broader evolution in market-wide options trading. Alongside increased participation in index and ETF options, shorter-dated contracts have become an increasingly important tool for expressing tactical views and navigating rapidly changing market conditions.
Retail’s Toolkit Expands
Retail activity remains just as concentrated as it was during previous periods of elevated participation, but the composition of that activity has changed dramatically. In both November 2021 and June 2026, retail’s ten most-traded symbols accounted for roughly two-thirds of all options premium traded on the Citadel Securities platform. The key difference is where that concentration resides.
In November 2021, retail concentration was overwhelmingly centered on one single-name stock, which traded more options premium than the rest of the top 10 combined. Today, that concentration is increasingly expressed through broad market exposure, with index and ETF products accounting for three of the four most-traded symbols and more than half of the options premium traded among the top 10.
Index and ETF options now account for roughly 60% of total volume on the Citadel Securities retail platform, well above the long-run average of approximately 50%.
The increased use of index products was particularly evident during June’s momentum unwind. Demand for broad-based ETF puts surged to record levels, with put volume reaching more than 3x its historical average, beating the previous record by 36%. Retail investors also monetized those positions at a record pace, making June the most profitable month for broad-based ETF put selling since Liberation Day, surpassing that previous record by 14%.
Retail’s Largest Themes of 2026: Semis, Space, and the AI Ecosystem
Retail’s focus in the first half of the year remained firmly on the market’s structural growth themes. June set new records in average daily premium traded across Semiconductors (3x its trailing one-year average), Space (4x), Broad-Based ETFs (2x), Leveraged ETFs (2x), and Software (2x). Retail investors consistently bought dips in the market’s largest technology companies, with net premium spent on Mag 7 calls reaching its highest daily average since September 2023.
Semiconductor Dominance
Semiconductors remained retail’s highest-conviction theme, averaging more than $1 billion of options premium traded per day this year, including a record $1.9 billion per day in June driven primarily by put buying. Total call volume failed to set a new monthly record for the first time in several months, while put activity reached its highest level since June 2024 as retail investors traded around uncertainty in the sector.
The shift comes against a backdrop of structurally higher semiconductor volatility. Average three-month implied volatility across the ten largest semiconductor companies has risen from roughly 32% in 2016 to nearly 72% today, more than doubling over the past decade.
June was the most profitable month on record for semiconductor options trading on the Citadel Securities platform, with approximately $76 million collected per day – 2.6x the trailing one-year average, more than 7x the historical average, and 36% above the previous record set in June 2024.
Other Notable Retail Themes
The broader Space theme continued to attract elevated retail participation following recent large-cap listing activity, with average daily premium traded reaching 4.2x its trailing one-year average (and 14x its historical average). The enthusiasm extended well beyond the listing itself, as investors sought exposure across companies expected to benefit from renewed interest in the sector.
Average daily volume in Space-related names jumped another 63% higher vs. May’s record levels, surging to 6x the historical average.
Retail investors also broadened exposure across the AI ecosystem. Metals & Mining activity reached 5.3x historical norms as investors increasingly targeted the infrastructure supporting AI investment, while Software activity established a new record, with average daily premium traded running 70% above its trailing one-year average.
Toward month-end, Drones & Robotics emerged as another area of growing interest. Net premium spent on robotics calls reached a new monthly high –approximately 15x the historical average –suggesting retail investors are beginning to look beyond today’s AI leaders toward the technologies and infrastructure that could define the next phase of the investment cycle.
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