This chapter analyzes different aspects of a futures market. A future is an obligation to pay and take delivery of an asset, usually a commodity such as corn or gold, at a given future date. Equity investors can use the forward‐looking futures market to better forecast earnings for companies that deal with commodities. By charting moves in financial futures, traders may see signals that can help verify or contradict other indicators. Futures contracts rarely end in actual delivery; instead the contracts are closed just before expiration, and the parties exchange cash instead. A trader wanting even more exposure can buy options on predicted futures contract movements. Investors should consider options bets as part of the total picture of trader positions. When a commodity moves sharply, equity markets can signal whether most equity investors think the change is based on fundamentals, or on an out‐of‐sync futures market.