# Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Various Port Fees in the Connectivity Fee Schedule
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) [^1] of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) [^2] and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, [^3] notice is hereby given that on September 18, 2025, the NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
[^1] 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
[^2] 15 U.S.C. 78a.
[^3] 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
**I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change**
The Exchange proposes to amend various port fees in the Connectivity Fee Schedule. The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's website at *www.nyse.com,* at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
**II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change**
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements.
**A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change**
**1. Purpose**
The Exchange proposes to amend the Connectivity Fee Schedule to make changes to the monthly recurring fees that Users [^4] pay for ports in the Mahwah Data Center (“MDC”). [^5] Specifically, the Exchange proposes to adjust the monthly recurring fees for IP Network Access, IP and NMS Network Access, and LCN and NMS Network Access in the MDC. Such changes would become immediately effective, but the Exchange proposes to delay the operative date of such changes until January 1, 2026, to give sufficient notice to market participants.
[^4] For purposes of the Exchange's colocation services, a “User” means any market participant that requests to receive colocation services directly from the Exchange. *See* Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76009 (September 29, 2015), 80 FR 60213 (October 5, 2015) (SR-NYSEMKT-2015-67). As specified in the Connectivity Fee Schedule, a User that incurs colocation fees for a particular colocation service pursuant thereto would not be subject to colocation fees for the same colocation service charged by New York Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE National, Inc., and NYSE Texas, Inc. (the “Affiliate SROs”). Each Affiliate SRO has submitted substantially the same proposed rule change to propose the changes described herein. *See* SR-NYSE-2025-37, SR-NYSEARCA-2025-71, SR-NYSENAT-2025-23, and SR-NYSETEX-2025-35.
[^5] Through its Fixed Income and Data Services (“FIDS”) business, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE”) operates the MDC. The Exchange and the Affiliate SROs are indirect subsidiaries of ICE.
The Exchange currently provides ports (also referred to as “connections” and “network access”) to Users in the colocation halls of the MDC at the prices shown below. With this proposal, the Exchange proposes to increase its monthly recurring fees for these ports by amounts between 9.1% to 11.1% (the initial port charges would not change). As proposed, Users would be charged the following adjusted prices:
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| IP Network Access | 1 Gb Circuit | $2,500 per connection initial charge plus
[$2,500] monthly per connection. |
| IP Network and NMS Network Access | 10 Gb IP Network Circuit and 10 Gb NMS Network Circuit | $10,000 initial charge per connection to both the IP Network and NMS Network plus
[$11,000] monthly charge per connection to both the IP Network and NMS Network.* |
| IP Network and NMS Network Access | 40 Gb IP Network Circuit and 40 Gb NMS Network Circuit | $10,000 initial charge per connection to both the IP Network and NMS Network plus
[$18,000] monthly charge per connection to both the IP Network and NMS Network.* |
| LCN and NMS Network Access | 10 Gb LX LCN Circuit and 10 Gb NMS Network Circuit | $15,000 initial charge per connection to both the LCN and NMS Network plus
[$22,000] monthly charge per connection to both the LCN and NMS Network.* |
| LCN and NMS Network Access | 40 Gb LCN Circuit and 40 Gb NMS Network Circuit | $15,000 initial charge per connection to both the LCN and NMS Network plus
[$22,000] monthly charge per connection to both the LCN and NMS Network.* |
The proposed port fee increases would enable the Exchange to maintain and improve its market technology and services to remain competitive with its peers. Over the years, customer demand for more sophisticated, higher-throughput, lower-latency, and higher-power connectivity solutions has increased. The Exchange continues to invest in maintaining, improving, and enhancing its connectivity products, services, and facilities for the benefit and often at the behest of its customers. Such enhancements include refreshing hardware and expanding the Exchange's existing colocation facility to offer customers additional space and power. [^6] Nevertheless, the Exchange has not increased its fees for ports in the colocation halls of the MDC since 2017, [^7] while inflation has been roughly 11.82% since 2017 as measured using the “Data PPI” metric described below. As such, the Exchange proposes increases in its monthly recurring fees for ports in the colocation halls of the MDC ranging from 9.1% to 11.1% with respect to inflation that has occurred since 2017.
[^6] In addition, in 2020, the Exchange began providing Users, at no additional charge, one port on the new NMS Network for each 10 Gb or 40 Gb IP Network port or LCN port that Users purchased. The Exchange did not increase the underlying IP Network or LCN port fees at the time. *See* Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 88837 (May 7, 2020), 85 FR 28671 (May 13, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2019-46, SR-NYSEAMER-2019-34, SR-NYSEARCA-2019-61, SR-NYSENAT-2019-19) (Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Exchanges' Co-Location Services to Offer Co-Location Users Access to the NMS Network); 88972 (May 29, 2020), 85 FR 34472 (June 4, 2020) (SR-NYSECHX-2020-18).
[^7] In fact, the fee for the 1Gb IP Network port was not increased in 2017, and thus has stayed at the same level for even longer.
As discussed below, the Exchange proposes to adjust its fees by an industry- and product-specific inflationary measure. It is reasonable and consistent with the Act for the Exchange to recoup its investments, at least in part, by adjusting its fees. Continuing to operate at fees frozen at 2017 levels impacts the Exchange's ability to enhance its offerings and the interests of market participants and investors.
The fee increases the Exchange proposes are based on an industry-specific Producer Price Index (“PPI”), which is a tailored measure of inflation. [^8] As a general matter, the Producer Price Index is a family of indexes that measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. PPI measures price change from the perspective of the seller. This contrasts with other metrics, such as the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”), that measure price change from the purchaser's perspective. [^9] About 10,000 PPIs for individual products and groups of products are tracked and released each month. [^10] PPIs are available for the output of nearly all industries in the goods-producing sectors of the U.S. economy—mining, manufacturing, agriculture, fishing, and forestry—as well as natural gas, electricity, and construction, among others. The PPI program covers approximately 69 percent of the service sector's output, as measured by revenue reported in the 2017 Economic Census.
[^8]*See https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU51825182#0.*
[^9]*See https://www.bls.gov/ppi/overview.htm.*
[^10]*Id.*
For purposes of this proposal, the relevant industry-specific PPI is the Data Processing and Related Services PPI (“Data PPI”), which is an industry net-output PPI that measures the average change in selling prices received by companies that provide data processing services.
The Data PPI was introduced in January 2002 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of an ongoing effort to expand Producer Price Index coverage of the services sector of the U.S. economy and is identified as NAICS 518210 in the North American Industry Classification System. [^11] According to the BLS, “[t]he primary output of NAICS 518210 is the provision of electronic data processing services. In the broadest sense, computer services companies help their customers efficiently use technology. The processing services market consists of vendors who use their own computer systems—often utilizing proprietary software—to process customers' transactions and data. Companies that offer processing services collect, organize, and store a customer's transactions and other data for record-keeping purposes. Price movements for the NAICS 518210 index are based on changes in the revenue received by companies that provide data processing services. Each month, companies provide net transaction prices for a specified service. The transaction is an actual contract selected by probability, where the price-determining characteristics are held constant while the service is repriced. The prices used in index calculation are the actual prices billed for the selected service contract.” [^12]
[^11] NAICS appears in table 5 of the PPI Detailed Report and is available at *https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/PCU518210518210.*
[^12]*See https://www.bls.gov/ppi/factsheets/producer-price-index-for-the-data-processing-and-related-services-industry-naics-518210.htm.*
The Exchange believes the Data PPI is an appropriate measure to be considered in the context of the proposed rule change to modify its port fees because the Exchange uses its “own computer systems” and “proprietary software,” *i.e.,* its own data center, including the hardware and equipment that it uses to bring customers' orders, transactions, and other data into the data center for processing, routing, and execution. In other words, the Exchange is in the business of data processing and related services.
For purposes of this proposed rule change, the Exchange examined the Data PPI value for the period from January 2017 through March 2025 (the last month for which finalized data is available). The Data PPI had a starting value of 109.0 in January 2017 and an ending value of 121.880 in March 2025, an 11.82% increase. This indicates that companies who are also in the data storage and processing business have generally increased prices for a specified service covered under NAICS 518210 by an average of 11.82% during this period. Based on that percentage change, the Exchange proposes to increase its monthly recurring fees for the ports in the colocation halls of the MDC by up to 11.1%—slightly below the Data PPI increase of 11.82%—which reflects an increase covering the entire period since the last price adjustment to these fees was made.
The Exchange further believes the Data PPI is an appropriate measure for purposes of the proposed rule change on the basis that it is a stable metric with limited volatility, unlike other consumer-side inflation metrics. In fact, the Data PPI has not experienced a greater than 3.00% increase for any one calendar year period since 2004, the earliest Data PPI is available. The average calendar year change from 2004 to 2025 was 0.76%, with a cumulative increase of 17.15% over this 21-year period. The Exchange believes the Data PPI is considerably less volatile than other inflation metrics such as CPI, which has had individual calendar-year increases averaging 2.62%, and a cumulative increase of 71.53% during the same period. [^13]
[^13]*See https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/consumer-price-index-and-annual-percent-changes-from-1913-to-2008/.*
The Exchange believes the Data PPI, and significant investments into, and enhanced performance of, the Exchange support the reasonableness of the proposed fee increases. [^14]
[^14]*See supra* discussion of system performance advancements. Additionally, other exchanges have filed for increases in certain fees, based in part on comparisons to inflation. *See, e.g.,* Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 102073 (January 2, 2025), 90 FR 1558 (January 8, 2025) (SR-BOX-2024-30); and 102103 (January 3, 2025), 90 FR 2045 (January 10, 2025) (SR-NASDAQ-2024-087).
These proposed fee increases will be immediately effective upon filing. However, the Exchange proposes to delay the operative date of such changes until January 1, 2026, to give sufficient notice to market participants.
**2. Statutory Basis**
The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the provisions of Section 6 of the Act, [^15] in general, and Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act, [^16] in particular, in that it provides an equitable allocation of reasonable fees among users and recipients of the data and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination among customers, issuers, and brokers.
[^15] 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
[^16] 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4), (5).
This belief is based on two factors. First, the current fees do not properly reflect the quality of the services and products, as fees for these ports have been static in nominal terms, and therefore falling in real terms due to inflation. Second, the Exchange believes that investments made in enhancing the capacity and speed of Exchange systems has increased the performance of these ports.
**The Proposed Rule Change Is Reasonable**
As noted above, the Exchange has not increased any of the fees included in the proposal since 2017 or earlier. However, in the years following the last fee increases, the Exchange has made significant investments in upgrades to its connectivity products, services, and facilities, enhancing the quality of its services. In other words, Exchange customers have greatly benefited, while the Exchange's ability to recoup its investments has been hampered.
Between 2017 and 2025, the inflation rate was 3.51% per year, on average, producing a cumulative inflation rate of 31.79%. [^17] Using the more targeted inflation number of Data PPI, the cumulative inflation rate was 11.82%. The exchange believes the Data PPI is a reasonable metric to base this fee increase on because it is targeted to producer-side increases in the data processing industry.
[^17]*See https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/2019?endYear=2023&amount=1* (as of August 25, 2025).
Notwithstanding inflation, as noted above, the Exchange has not increased its fees for the subject services for more than eight years. The proposed fee changes therefore represent a modest increase from the current fees.
The Exchange believes the proposed fee increase is reasonable in light of the Exchange's continued expenditure in maintaining a robust technology ecosystem. Furthermore, the Exchange continues to invest in maintaining and enhancing its connectivity products—for the benefit and often at the behest of its customers and global investors. Such enhancements include refreshing several aspects of the technology ecosystem including software, hardware, and network while introducing new and innovative products and expanded and modernized facilities. The goal of the enhancements discussed above, among other things, is to provide faster, higher-capacity, and more modern connectivity products and services. Accordingly, the Exchange continues to expend resources to innovate and modernize its technology so that it may benefit its members in offering connectivity products and services.
**The Proposed Fees Are Equitably Allocated and Not Unfairly Discriminatory**
The Exchange believes that the proposed fee increases are equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory because they would apply to all market participants that choose to purchase such connectivity products and services from the Exchange. Any participant that chooses to purchase the Exchange's connectivity products and services would be subject to the same Connectivity Fee Schedule, regardless of what type of business they operate or the use they plan to make of the products and services. Additionally, the fee increases would be applied uniformly to market participants without regard to Exchange membership status or the extent of any other business with the Exchange or affiliated entities.
The Exchange also believes that the proposal represents an equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges because Exchange fees have fallen in real terms during the relevant period. Finally, the Exchange believes that the proposed fee changes are not unfairly discriminatory because the fees would be assessed uniformly across all market participants, in the same manner they are today, that voluntarily purchase the Exchange's connectivity products and services, which would remain available for purchase by all market participants.
**B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition**
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed fees will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
*Intramarket Competition.* The Exchange believes that the proposed fees do not put any market participants at a relative disadvantage compared to other market participants. As noted above, the Connectivity Fee Schedule would continue to apply to all purchasers of the Exchange's connectivity products and services in the same manner as it does today, albeit at inflation-adjusted rates for port fees, and customers may choose whether to purchase these products and services at all. The Exchange also believes that the level of the proposed fees neither favors nor penalizes one or more categories of market participants in a manner that would impose an undue burden on competition.
*Intermarket Competition.* The Exchange believes that the proposed fees do not impose a burden on competition or on other SROs that is not necessary or appropriate. In determining the proposed fees, the Exchange utilized an objective and stable metric with limited volatility. Utilizing Data PPI over a specified period of time is a reasonable means of recouping the Exchange's investment in maintaining and enhancing its connectivity products, services, and facilities. The Exchange believes utilizing Data PPI, a tailored measure of inflation, to increase certain fees for connectivity products and services to recoup the Exchange's investment in maintaining and enhancing such products, services, and facilities would not impose a burden on competition.
**C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others**
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change.
**III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action**
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act, [^18] and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder [^19] the Exchange has designated this proposal as establishing or changing a due, fee, or other charge imposed on any person, whether or not the person is a member of the self-regulatory organization, which renders the proposed rule change effective upon filing. At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
[^18] 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
[^19] 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
**IV. Solicitation of Comments**
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
**Electronic Comments**
• Use the Commission's internet comment form ( *https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml* ); or
• Send an email to *[email protected].* Please include file number SR-NYSEAMER-2025-60 on the subject line.
**Paper Comments**
• Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-NYSEAMER-2025-60. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's internet website ( *https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml* ). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions should refer to file number SR-NYSEAMER-2025-60 and should be submitted on or before October 21, 2025.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority. [^20]
[^20] 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.