Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.

IBKR · NASDAQ · USD

Analysis

Last 4 earnings calls · through Q3 FY2026

IBKR is no longer growing mainly because clients trade more; it is growing because more clients keep more money on the platform. Commissions are cooling while balances and new accounts carry the records. What share of profit now comes from client cash balances?

  • Account growth above 30% has held for over a year.

    Galik says the growth is universal — all regions, all account types — and client equity is up 40% year on year, with uninvested cash at a record. Accounts arrive with money attached, so they earn interest before they ever trade a share. How much of the account growth comes from outside the US?

  • Interest income, not commissions, now sets the record.

    Net interest income rose 19% in Q3 FY2026 even as the average Fed funds rate fell, because margin loans and client cash grew faster. With commissions cooling, what clients keep here matters more than how often they trade.

  • Trading per account is thinning out.

    In Q3 FY2026 options volumes were flat and stock share volumes fell 24%; Galik called the slowdown broad based. Commission per order slipped too, so the ads and new products keep costing money while the trading revenue behind them stalls. How did trades per account trend across each client segment?

Bullish
  • Account growth across regions
    The bull case is that a low-cost, automated global platform keeps winning accounts in every region, and those accounts bring cash and trading with them as they grow.
  • Interest-earning client balances
    Growth in client cash and margin balances has more than offset falling benchmark rates, so net interest income has kept rising even as central banks cut.
  • Broad product expansion
    New markets, prediction markets, crypto and AI trading tools each give existing clients another reason to trade without requiring a new customer.
Bearish
  • Trading activity per account
    The bear case is that account growth flatters the headline while activity per account falls, so revenue depends on a steady flow of new clients.
  • Sensitivity to interest rates
    A large share of profit comes from interest on client cash and margin loans, which shrinks when central banks cut rates and is difficult to replace with fees.
  • Cyclical trading revenue
    Commission revenue follows market volatility, and in a prolonged downturn the company has already shown that revenue can fall by more than half.
See the full bull & bear case
PoliticiansInstitutionsInsiders
PoliticianTransactionAmountTradedFiled
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Sale≥$50KAug 21Oct 8
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Purchase≥$50KJul 20Sep 22
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Sale≥$100KMar 17May 13
Donald Trump
Republican · Executive
Purchase≥$100KFeb 10May 13
Ro Khanna
Democratic · House · CA-17
Purchase≥$1KMay 27Jun 9

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Product segmentsGeography
FY2025 · USD

How Interactive Brokers Group turned $6.2B of revenue into $0 of gross profit.

Revenue
Commissions$2.1B▲ 26.64% YoY
Risk Exposure Fees$80.0M▼ 20.00% YoY
Market Data Fees$79.0M▲ 11.27% YoY
Payments For Order Flow$51.0M▲ 13.33% YoY
Others$44.0M▲ 22.22% YoY
Total revenue$6.2B
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