SOURCE: CME Group
What You'll Learn
What Single Stock Futures are and how they differ from stocks and stock options
Which companies are available at launch: 55 standard and 22 Micro contracts spanning the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000
How contract specs work: size, tick value, quarterly expiration, and financial settlement
Why trading individual stocks as futures can offer capital efficiency, easier short exposure, and near round-the-clock access, and what it costs to trade (commissions, the exchange fee, and how margin is calculated)
Single Stock Futures (SSF) are a new contract type that gives clients futures exposure to individual companies (think AAPL, NVDA, TSLA, or MSFT).
Feature | Standard SSF | Micro SSF |
Contract size | 100 shares of underlying stock | 10 shares of underlying stock |
Minimum price fluctuation | $0.01 per share = $1.00 per contract | $0.01 per share = $0.10 per contract |
Listed contracts | Quarterly (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec), third Friday, 2 consecutive quarters | Same as standard |
Settlement | Financially settled | Financially settled |
Trading hours | CME Globex: Sunday 6:00 p.m. – Friday 5:00 p.m. ET, daily maintenance 5:00–6:00 p.m. ET | Same as standard |
Termination | Trading ends 4:00 p.m. ET on third Friday of contract month | Same as standard |
55 standard-size contracts (100 shares per contract) and 22 Micro-size contracts (10 shares per contract) will cover more than 50 of the most actively traded names across the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000. Every contract is financially settled: at expiration, any profit or loss is paid in cash based on the Settlement Price on the SSF contract at the CME, so there's no physical delivery of shares to manage.
The futures price reflects the current stock price adjusted for financing costs and expected dividends, which is why the SSF price may differ from the stock's current market price. Due to the fact that these are Single Stock Futures contracts and not options, there is no early-exercise risk.
Single Stock Futures trade 23 hours a day, Sunday through Friday on CME Globex. This is well beyond the stock market's 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET session. Contracts expire quarterly (March, June, September, December) on the third Friday, with tick values of $1.00 for standard contracts and $0.10 for Micro contracts.
Available Products at Launch
Single Stock Futures (100 shares/contract) |
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AbbVie (ABBV) | Costco Wholesale (COST) | Palantir Technologies (PLTR) |
Adobe (ADBE) | Eli Lilly (LLY) | Palo Alto Networks (PANW) |
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | Exxon Mobil (XOM) | PepsiCo (PEP) |
Alphabet (GOOGL) | Home Depot (HD) | Pfizer (PFE) |
Amazon (AMZN) | Intel (INTC) | Procter & Gamble (PG) |
Amgen (AMGN) | International Business Machines (IBM) | Prologis (PLD) |
Apple (AAPL) | Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | QUALCOMM (QCOM) |
Applied Materials (AMAT) | JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | Salesforce (CRM) |
Bank of America (BAC) | Lockheed Martin (LMT) | SpaceX (SPCX) |
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) | Mastercard (MA) | Starbucks (SBUX) |
Boeing (BA) | McDonald's (MCD) | Tesla (TSLA) |
Booking Holdings (BKNG) | Merck (MRK) | Texas Instruments (TXN) |
Broadcom (AVGO) | Meta (META) | UnitedHealth Group (UNH) |
Caterpillar (CAT) | Micron Technology (MU) | Verizon (VZ) |
Chevron (CVX) | Microsoft (MSFT) | Visa (V) |
Cisco Systems (CSCO) | Netflix (NFLX) | Walmart (WMT) |
Coca-Cola (KO) | Newmont (NEM) | Walt Disney (DIS) |
Comcast (CMCSA) | NVIDIA (NVDA) |
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ConocoPhillips (COP) | Oracle (ORCL) |
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Micro Single Stock Futures (10 shares/contract) |
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Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | Boeing (BA) | JPMorgan Chase (JPM) |
Alphabet (GOOGL) | Broadcom (AVGO) | Meta (META) |
Amazon (AMZN) | Cisco Systems (CSCO) | Micron Technology (MU) |
Apple (AAPL) | Exxon Mobil (XOM) | Microsoft (MSFT) |
Bank of America (BAC) | Intel (INTC) | Netflix (NFLX) |
Newmont (NEM) | NVIDIA (NVDA) | Palantir Technologies (PLTR) |
Pfizer (PFE) | SpaceX (SPCX) | Tesla (TSLA) |
Walmart (WMT) |
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Current as of 7/2026. Clients can view the full list and margin requirements here.
Trading Costs
Single Stock Futures carry the same type of transaction costs as other futures products. A commission plus an exchange fee and an NFA fee, charged per side (that is, once when a position is opened and again when it's closed).
Fee Type | Standard SSF | Micro SSF |
Commission | $0.50 per side | $0.25 per side |
Exchange fee | $0.60 per side | $0.30 per side |
NFA fee | $0.01 cent per side | $0.01 cent per side |
Margin requirements are set as a percentage of the futures contract's market notional value, so the dollar amount required will change as that value moves. This is because notional value is calculated by multiplying the contract's unit size by its current futures price, meaning it fluctuates in real time with the market. Lower day trading margins may be available at a later time.
Because that percentage can differ by product, always check the specific contract's margin requirement in TopstepX before placing a trade.
FAQ
What are Single Stock Futures?
Single Stock Futures are standardized, capital-efficient futures contracts that let you trade on the price movement of an individual company's stock without owning the shares. Unlike buying a stock outright, you do not own shares, and no shares are delivered at expiration. Contracts are financially settled in cash at expiration; any profit or loss is paid based on the difference between your contract price and the stock's official closing price on the settlement date.
Which companies will be available?
At launch, 55 standard-size and 22 Micro-size contracts are across the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000 (full list above).
How many shares does one contract represent?
A standard contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock; a Micro contract represents 10 shares.
How do they differ from buying or shorting the stock?
They trade nearly 23 hours a day, are financially settled with no delivery, and use futures margin rather than requiring full share payment. Short positions don't require borrowing shares or paying a borrow fee.
How do they differ from stock options?
Single Stock Futures have a straightforward payout. For every point the SSF contract moves, your gain or loss changes by the tick value of the contract. For a standard contract, each $0.01 move equals $1.00. For a Micro contract, each $0.01 move equals $0.10. There is no options-style complexity, no time decay, no implied volatility, no Greeks. And because SSF are futures contracts, not options, there is no early-exercise risk. Dividends are reflected in the futures price rather than paid separately.
When do Single Stock Futures expire?
Contracts follow a quarterly expiration cycle (March, June, September, December), with trading ending at 4:00 p.m. ET on the third Friday of the contract month.
Where will I be able to trade them?
Through TopstepX once the product goes live, the same way you trade other CME Group futures today.
What does it cost to trade Single Stock Futures?
A commission plus an exchange fee, charged per side: $0.50 commission and $0.60 exchange fee for standard contracts, or $0.25 commission and $0.30 exchange fee for Micro contracts. Additionally, there is an NFA fee of $0.01. To view full margin requirement details for SSF, click here.
Why This Matters
Single Stock Futures are a significant addition to Topstep Brokerage.
Trade the stocks you already follow. Apple, NVIDIA, Tesla, Microsoft, and 50+ others now available as futures contracts.
Go short without the friction. No stock borrow fees. No locate requirements. Selling a contract works the same way as buying one.
Trade on your schedule. 23 hours of trading means you can act on earnings, news, and market moves when they happen not at the next stock market open.
Choose your size. Standard contracts (100 shares) for larger positions. Micro contracts (10 shares) for precise position sizing.
If you have questions about Single Stock Futures products, please contact our Support Team for assistance. Supporting documentation will be provided upon request.
CME Group and the CME Group GLOBE LOGO are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and have been licensed by Topstep Brokerage for use in connection with Single Stock Futures.
Contract list and specifications are subject to change. Visit cmegroup.com for the latest updates.