'Y'all Street' takes on Wall Street as dueling stock exchanges head to Texas

Allyson Ackerman, Houston ChronicleHouston Chronicle

Feb. 12—In an effort to keep Texas "Texas," the Lone Star State will now have two dueling stock exchanges to call its own. The New York Stock Exchange announced on Wednesday that it will launch an exchange in Texas, increasing competition among listing venues. NYSE Chicago will incorporate in Texas and be renamed NYSE Texas, giving companies an option to list their stocks in the Lone Star State.

The NYSE announcement did not include a timetable but said it would launch its equities exchange in Dallas.

The news comes as the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE Group) said on Jan. 31 that it plans to start trading in 2026 after getting $161 million in backing from BlackRock, Citadel Securities, Charles Schwab and Dell Family Office.

Several high-profile firms, including Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX, have relocated their headquarters to Texas, drawn to the state's business-friendly reputation. Meta Platforms is exploring a similar move. Over the past decade, more than 300 companies have relocated their headquarters to the state, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office, including Tesla, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Chevron and Charles Schwab.

The New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ have dominated the U.S. listings market—the TXSE and the NYSE Texas represents the first challenge to that dominance.

"As the state with the largest number of NYSE listings, representing over $3.7 trillion in market value for our community, Texas is a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere," Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group, said in a news release.

"We have known all along that Texas is the best place to do business," Martin said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said NYSE Texas will help the state "become the financial capital of America."

"With the launch of NYSE Texas, we will expand our financial might in the U.S. and cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage."

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