What Are Single Stock Futures?

Single stock futures (SSFs) are futures contracts on individual stocks, with each standard contract representing 100 shares of the underlying stock. Single stock futures give traders direct, leveraged exposure to a single equity without owning shares, navigating options Greeks, or paying stock borrow fees.

You follow the names driving the market. You see the moves. SSFs let you trade them futures-style, with built-in leverage, nearly 24-hour access, and none of the complexity that comes with options.

If you trade futures and want stock exposure, or trade stocks and want the efficiency of futures, SSFs may be worth evaluating as part of your trading toolkit. This guide explains what single stock futures are, how they work, how they compare to stocks and options, and how to start trading them with NinjaTrader.

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How do single stock futures work?

A single stock future (SSF) is a futures contract on a single equity that provides exposure to 100 shares of the underlying stock. CME Single Stock futures are financially settled at expiration based on the final settlement price of the underlying stock.

Like other futures contracts, SSFs trade on regulated exchanges. NinjaTrader—a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and NFA Member—offers trading on single stock futures launching summer 2026 on more than 50 top U.S. stocks from the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000, including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Contract size and specs

Each standard SSF contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock, matching the convention of standard equity options. According to CME Group, SSF contracts are cash-settled based on the final settlement price of the underlying equity, and each contract specifies the underlying stock, expiration date, and contract multiplier.

Prices are quoted per share. If a stock is trading at $200, one SSF contract has a notional value of $20,000 (100 shares × $200). Traders control that notional exposure with margins starting from a percentage of notional, with built-in leverage as a core feature of the product.

How SSFs are settled

CME Single Stock futures are financially settled, meaning no shares change hands at expiration. The final settlement value is determined according to the exchange's settlement procedure for the underlying stock, and profits and losses are reflected through the futures market's daily mark-to-market process. Traders may also close a position before expiration or roll it into a later contract month.

Understanding how SSF contracts are structured and settled is the foundation for comparing them to other instruments and using them effectively.

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Single stock futures vs. stocks

SSFs and stocks give you exposure to the same underlying companies, but the mechanics of how you hold that exposure are quite different. Here's how they compare on the dimensions that matter to many active traders.

Capital efficiency and leverage

When you buy 100 shares of a stock at $200, you commit $20,000 in capital. With an SSF on the same stock, you gain equivalent notional exposure with margins starting from a percentage of notional, a fraction of the outright stock cost. This capital efficiency is one of the primary reasons futures traders use SSFs to gain equity exposure without tying up large amounts of capital.

For a deeper look at how futures margin works, see NinjaTrader's guide to margin and leverage in futures markets.

NinjaTrader offers trading on SSFs with up to 6× built-in leverage*, which can significantly amplify outcomes in either direction.

Long or short, no borrow fees

One of the practical advantages of SSFs over stocks is short selling. To short a stock, you must borrow shares from your broker, which can be difficult, costly, or sometimes unavailable for high-demand names. SSFs have no such restriction: you simply sell to open a contract. No locate or borrow fees are required because traders are not borrowing shares.

This makes SSFs particularly useful for traders who want to express a bearish view on an individual stock efficiently and without the administrative friction of traditional short selling.

For a deeper look at how short selling works in futures markets, see our guide to The Ease of Short Selling Using Futures.

Same companies, different mechanics. For active traders, those differences in capital efficiency and shorting are what can make SSFs worth a closer look.

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Single stock futures vs. options

Both SSFs and options are derivatives, but they solve different problems and carry different complexity. If you've traded options, the contrast may be sharper than you expect.

No Greeks, no time decay

Unlike stock options, single stock futures have no Greeks and no time decay, so the contract's value tracks the underlying stock's price movement directly. With options, traders must manage delta, gamma, theta (time decay), and vega (volatility sensitivity) simultaneously. An option can lose value even when the underlying moves in your direction if implied volatility contracts or time erodes the premium.

SSFs eliminate that complexity. If the underlying stock rises $5, the SSF position gains $500 (100 shares × $5 move); the same could happen for a loss. The pricing relationship is direct and linear.

Cleaner directional exposure

Options offer sophisticated tools for income strategies, hedging, and volatility plays. But when all a trader wants is simple directional exposure, long if bullish, short if bearish, options involve additional factors such as implied volatility and time decay that may be relevant to a directional trade. SSFs provide more direct exposure to the underlying stock's price movement, similar in feel to trading a leveraged stock position but without the complexity of options pricing.

For traders who find the options chain intimidating or who simply want a more transparent instrument, SSFs can be a practical alternative.

For traders who want straightforward directional exposure without managing time decay and volatility, SSFs can be the more transparent choice.

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Who trades single stock futures?

SSFs fit a few trader profiles particularly well. The common thread: traders who want more flexibility or efficiency than their current instrument gives them.

Futures traders adding stock exposure

Experienced futures traders who are comfortable with margin, contract specs, and rolling positions often find SSFs a natural extension of their existing toolkit. Index futures capture broad market moves, but when one stock drives the action, the impact on the index may be limited. SSFs let futures traders zero in on the names actually moving the market, using the leverage, mechanics, and low commissions they already know, without opening a separate account or switching platforms.

Options traders seeking an alternative

Options traders who use long calls or long puts for directional bets know the frustration: you're right on direction, but implied volatility collapses or theta bleeds your position anyway. SSFs remove those variables entirely. There's no time decay chipping away at your position, no volatility crush to worry about, just clean, linear exposure to price movement. If the stock goes up, the position goes up. For traders seeking directional exposure, SSFs may provide an alternative to options depending on their objectives, experience, and risk tolerance.

Stock day traders chasing leverage

You know the names. You see the moves. But trading big-name stocks can feel out of reach: high share prices tie up capital, shorting adds friction, and regular market hours mean overnight catalysts become missed opportunities. SSFs change that. Day traders can control the same 100-share block of Apple, Nvidia, or Tesla with margins starting from a percentage of notional, freeing up capital for other positions and removing the borrowing hurdles that slow down short selling. Increased leverage does increase risk.

SSFs are designed for traders who already understand futures mechanics or equity markets, and who want a more capital-efficient, flexible way to trade individual stocks.

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Benefits of trading SSFs

Beyond leverage, SSFs come with a set of structural advantages that are easy to overlook. Three stand out.

Nearly 24-hour access

Single stock futures trade nearly 24 hours a day, letting traders react to earnings, overnight news, and global events outside of regular U.S. stock market hours. For traders who follow high-profile names like Apple, Nvidia, or Tesla, this extended window can be especially valuable; earnings releases and macro announcements often hit outside of the 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET window, and SSFs allow for immediate positioning in response.

Transparent futures-style pricing

SSF pricing is derived from the underlying stock price plus cost of carry (interest rates and dividends), a straightforward relationship that makes fair value easy to calculate. There's no bid-ask spread on implied volatility, no skew to navigate, and no model-dependent fair value to debate. The contract's price moves in lockstep with the stock.

With nearly around-the-clock access and transparent pricing, SSFs offer structural advantages that go well beyond leverage.

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How to start trading single stock futures with NinjaTrader

Traders can access SSFs through the same NinjaTrader platform they already use for index futures, commodities, and other futures markets.

To get started with SSFs:

1. Open a NinjaTrader account if you don't already have one.
2. Review and attest to the mandatory Security Futures Risk Disclosure Statement.
3. Fund your account to meet the required initial margin for the SSF contracts you want to trade.
4. Search for the SSF contract on the instrument you want to trade within the NinjaTrader platform.
5. Review the contract specs, including expiration date, margin requirements, and settlement method.
6. Place your trade—long to go bullish, short to go bearish—without needing to locate shares or navigate an options chain.

For a broader overview of SSFs, visit our single stock futures hub. You can also review our guides on trading futures vs. stocks and trading futures vs. options for additional context on how SSFs compare across instrument types, or browse our futures contracts hub to explore other markets available on NinjaTrader.

Getting started with SSFs on NinjaTrader follows the same process as any futures market: open an account, fund to margin requirements, and trade from the same platform you already know.

Ready to trade the stocks you love, futures-style? Open a NinjaTrader account to get started. Not ready to go live? Practice first in NinjaTrader's simulated trading environment with real-time market data and zero risk.