Notice2025-23526

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Change To Amend Sections 140 and 141 of the NYSE American Company Guide

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Published
December 22, 2025

Issuing agencies

Securities and Exchange Commission

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 243 (Monday, December 22, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 243 (Monday, December 22, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59918-59920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23526]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-104432; File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2025-73]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Change To Amend Sections 
140 and 141 of the NYSE American Company Guide

December 17, 2025.
    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 December 11, 2025, NYSE American LLC (``NYSE American'' or the 
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 
``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.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend Sections 140 and 141 of the NYSE 
American Company Guide (the ``Company Guide'') to amend the original 
and annual listing fees for stock issues. The proposed rule change is 
available on the Exchange's website at <a href="http://www.nyse.com">www.nyse.com</a>, and at the 
principal office of the Exchange.

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 Sections 140 and 141 of the Company 
Guide to amend the original and annual listing fees for stock issues. 
The proposed changes will take effect from the beginning of the 
calendar year commencing on January 1, 2026.
    The Exchange currently charges original listing fees for stock 
issues on a tiered schedule based on the number of shares outstanding. 
At the low end of the fee schedule, an original listing fee of $50,000 
is charged when there are less than 5,000,000 shares outstanding. At 
the top of the fee schedule, an original listing fee of $75,000 is 
charged when there are more than 15,000,000 shares outstanding. There 
are two intermediate tiers.
    The Exchange proposes to eliminate the tiered schedule and charge a 
flat original listing fee of $75,000 for all stock issues.\4\ 
Transitioning to a flat original listing fee will simplify the 
Exchange's administrative process for billing original listing fees and 
also provide greater clarity to issuers seeking a listing on the 
Exchange. Further, in recent years, the substantial majority of issuers 
seeking to list a stock issue on the Exchange have had more than 
15,000,000 shares outstanding and were therefore subject to the top 
tier of the original listing fee schedule and the Exchange infrequently 
lists new classes of warrants. Accordingly, the proposed adoption of a 
flat original listing fee for stock issues and warrants is unlikely to 
have any meaningful impact on the fees paid by new issuers listing on 
the Exchange. In addition, the proposed change will not take effect 
until January 1, 2026 so all issuers will be on notice of the new fee 
schedule.
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    \4\ Pursuant to Section 140 of the Company Guide, the original 
listing fee for a class of warrants is the same as for a stock 
issue. Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to adopt a flat $75,000 
original listing fee for a class of warrants.
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    The Exchange currently charges an annual fee of $60,000 to issuers 
with 50 million or fewer shares outstanding and an annual fee of 
$80,000 to issuers with more than 50 million shares outstanding. The 
Exchange proposes to amend Section 141 of the Company Guide to increase 
the annual fee for

[[Page 59919]]

issuers with 50 million or fewer shares outstanding to $65,000, and to 
increase the annual fee for issuers with more than 50 million shares 
outstanding to $84,000.
    The proposed increase to the annual fee for stock issues reflects 
increases in the costs the Exchange incurs in providing services to 
listed companies on an ongoing basis including in relation to company 
events and advocacy on behalf of listed companies, as well as increases 
in the costs of conducting its related regulatory activities. In 2025, 
the Exchange increased the number of educational events it hosted for 
companies listed on the Exchange and also enhanced its facilities that 
can be used by listed companies. The Exchange proposes to make the 
aforementioned fee increases to better reflect the Exchange's costs 
related to listing equity securities and the corresponding value of 
such listing to companies.
    The revised annual fee for stock issues will be applied in the same 
manner to all issuers with listed securities in the affected categories 
and the Exchange believes that the changes will not disproportionately 
affect any specific category of issuers.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\5\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Section 6(b)(4) \6\ of the Act, in particular, in that it 
is designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees, and other charges. The Exchange also believes that the proposed 
rule change is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,\7\ in that 
it is designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to 
foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in regulating, 
clearing, settling, processing information with respect to, and 
facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and 
perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market 
system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest 
and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, 
issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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    The Exchange believes that it is not unfairly discriminatory and 
represents an equitable allocation of reasonable fees to amend Section 
140 of the Company Guide to transition to a flat original listing fee 
for stock issues because, as noted above, nearly all companies seeking 
to list on the Exchange already fall within the top tier of the current 
fee schedule. Therefore, the proposed change will not have any 
meaningful impact on most issuers seeking to list on the Exchange. In 
addition, the proposed change will not take effect until January 1, 
2026 so all issuers will be on notice of the new fee schedule.
    The Exchange believes that it is not unfairly discriminatory and 
represents an equitable allocation of reasonable fees to amend Section 
141 of the Company Guide to increase the annual fees for listed equity 
securities as set forth above because of the increased costs incurred 
by the Exchange since it established the current rates.
The Proposed Changes Are Reasonable
    The Exchange believes that the proposed changes to the original and 
annual fee schedule for listed equity securities are reasonable. In 
that regard, the Exchange notes that most issuers seeking to list on 
the exchange already pay a $75,000 original listing fee as they have 
more than 15,000,000 shares outstanding. The proposed change to adopt a 
flat original listing fee and eliminate the current tiered structure 
simplifies the Exchange's billing practices and provides improved 
clarity to issuers.
    Moreover, the Exchange notes that its general costs to support its 
listed companies have increased, including due to price inflation. The 
Exchange also continues to expand and improve the services it provides 
to listed companies. Specifically, the Exchange has (among other 
things) increased expenditure on listed companies and the value of an 
NYSE American listing by increasing programming for listed companies 
and enhancing its conference space which can be utilized by listed 
companies.
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive marketplace for the 
listing of the various categories of securities affected by the 
proposed original and annual fee adjustments. The Commission has 
repeatedly expressed its preference for competition over regulatory 
intervention in determining prices, products, and services in the 
securities markets. Specifically, in Regulation NMS,\8\ the Commission 
highlighted the importance of market forces in determining prices and 
SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current regulation of the 
market system ``has been remarkably successful in promoting market 
competition in its broader forms that are most important to investors 
and listed companies.'' \9\
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    \8\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-51808 (June 9, 2005); 
70 FR 37496 (June 29, 2005) (``Regulation NMS'').
    \9\ See Regulation NMS, 70 FR at 37499.
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    The Exchange believes that the ever-shifting market share among the 
exchanges with respect to new listings and the transfer of existing 
listings between competitor exchanges demonstrates that issuers can 
choose different listing markets in response to fee changes. 
Accordingly, competitive forces constrain exchange listing fees. Stated 
otherwise, changes to exchange listing fees can have a direct effect on 
the ability of an exchange to compete for new listings and retain 
existing listings.
    Given this competitive environment, the adoption of the proposed 
flat original listing fee and increase to the annual listing fee for 
equity securities represents a reasonable attempt to address the 
Exchange's costs in servicing these listings while continuing to 
attract and retain listings.
The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Fees
    The Exchange believes its proposal equitably allocates its fees 
among its market participants.
    The Exchange believes that the proposed amendments to the original 
listing fee for stock issues is equitable because the substantial 
majority of issuers seeking to list on the Exchange are already paying 
the top fee under the current schedule and the proposed change, 
therefore, will not have any meaningful impact on any category of 
issuer. Further, the annual fees for equity securities are equitable 
because they do not change the existing framework for such fees, but 
simply increase the amount of the annual fee to reflect increased 
operating costs. Similarly, as the fee structure remains effectively 
unchanged apart from the proposed increases in the rates paid by all 
issuers, the changes to the annual fee for equity securities neither 
target nor will they have a disparate impact on any particular category 
of issuer. Lastly, the proposed change will not take effect until 
January 1, 2026 so all issuers will be on notice of the new fee 
schedule.
The Proposal Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly 
discriminatory. The proposed fee changes are not unfairly 
discriminatory among issuers of operating company equity securities 
because the same fee schedules will apply to all such issuers. Further, 
the Exchange operates in a competitive environment and its fees are 
constrained

[[Page 59920]]

by competition in the marketplace. Other venues currently list all of 
the categories of securities covered by the proposed fees and if a 
company believes that the Exchange's fees are unreasonable it can 
decide either not to list its securities or to list them on an 
alternative venue.
    For the foregoing reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal 
is consistent with the Act.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed rule change is 
designed to ensure that the fees charged by the Exchange accurately 
reflect the services provided and benefits realized by listed issuers. 
The market for listing services is extremely competitive. Each listing 
exchange has a different fee schedule that applies to issuers seeking 
to list securities on its exchange. Issuers have the option to list 
their securities on these alternative venues based on the fees charged 
and the value provided by each listing. Because issuers have a choice 
to list their securities on a different national securities exchange, 
the Exchange does not believe that the proposed fee changes impose a 
burden on competition.
Intramarket Competition
    The proposed amended fees will be charged to all listed issuers on 
the same basis. The Exchange does not believe that the proposed amended 
fees will have any meaningful effect on the competition among issuers 
listed on the Exchange.
Intermarket Competition
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which 
issuers can readily choose to list new securities on other exchanges 
and transfer listings to other exchanges if they deem fee levels at 
those other venues to be more favorable. Because competitors are free 
to modify their own fees, and because issuers may change their chosen 
listing venue, the Exchange does not believe its proposed fee change 
can impose any burden on intermarket 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,\10\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(2) thereunder \11\ 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.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \11\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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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

    <bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
    <bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4b393e272e66282426262e253f380b382e28652c243d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="344641585119575b5959515a4047744751571a535b42">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Please include 
file number SR-NYSEAMER-2025-73 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

    <bullet> 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-2025-73. 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 (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). 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-2025-73 and should be submitted 
on or before January 12, 2026.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-23526 Filed 12-19-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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