Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to highlight record annual results, continued account growth, and ongoing product expansion across its global brokerage and emerging prediction markets business. Management repeatedly emphasized the strength of its “fully automated global platform,” which it said is designed to support clients from first-time investors to professional and institutional users.
Account growth and client assets reached new highs
In prepared remarks delivered by Investor Relations Director Nancy Stuebe on behalf of President and CEO Milan Galik, the company said it added more than 1 million net new accounts in 2025, calling it an annual record. Client equity rose 37% year over year to $780 billion, increasing by more than $200 billion and surpassing three-quarters of a trillion dollars for the first time at year-end.
The company also highlighted client performance as a key outcome of its pricing and execution approach. It said that in 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 17.9%, Interactive Brokers customers outperformed on average: individual investors were up 19.2%, financial advisors 20.57%, and hedge fund clients 28.91%, according to the company’s figures shared on the call.
Record revenue categories and high margins
CFO Paul Brody said Interactive Brokers produced “near-record” quarterly net revenues and pre-tax income, while posting record results in major financial categories for the full year. Commission revenue rose to a quarterly record of $582 million, and full-year commissions totaled $2.1 billion, up 27% year over year, driven by higher trading volumes across major product categories.
Net interest income was $966 million in the quarter and a yearly record of $3.6 billion, which Brody said came “despite multiple rate cuts in nearly all major currencies.” He attributed resilience in net interest income to a risk-on environment that increased margin borrowing and to strong net customer deposits that raised segregated funds balances, partly offset by interest paid on customer cash balances.
Other fees and services were $85 million for the quarter and $291 million for the year, which the company said were helped by higher payments for order flow from options exchange-mandated programs and higher FDIC Suite fees, despite reductions in risk exposure fees. Other income was $10 million as reported and $37 million as adjusted, with Brody citing a loss in the firm’s currency diversification program.
On profitability, Brody said the company’s pre-tax margin matched the third-quarter record at 79% and reached a record 77% for the year (as reported and adjusted). He also noted the public company’s effective tax rate was 12% below its typical range due to tax benefits captured in 2025.
Trading activity gains in options, futures, stocks, and overnight sessions
Interactive Brokers reported record customer activity in options, with contract volumes up 27% year over year in the quarter and up 26% for the full year, which Brody said was in line with industry volumes. Futures volumes rose 22% in the quarter and 12% for the year, which he described as above industry volumes. Stock share volumes increased 16% in the quarter and 38% for the full year, with Brody saying clients traded relatively less in pink sheet and some other very low-priced stocks while gravitating toward larger names.
Total customer DARTs were 4 million trades per day in the quarter, up 30% year over year. Commission per cleared commissionable order was $2.64, down from last year due to smaller average order sizes in stocks and futures, a slight increase in options order size, and the SEC fee rate moving to zero.
Management also pointed to rapid growth in overnight trading. The company said trading volume during overnight hours rose 76% from the prior quarter and more than 130% from the fourth quarter of the prior year.
Platform expansion, AI tools, and new funding and card offerings
The company highlighted a range of product and platform updates delivered in 2025. Management said it expanded market access to Brazil, Taiwan, the UAE, and Slovenia, and expects additional countries in 2026. It also described growth in country-specific tax-advantaged offerings, noting new additions in 2025 including Swedish ISKs, Japan’s NISAs, and Canadian FHSAs.
Interactive Brokers said clients can now fund accounts using Stablecoin “24/7,” and it doubled the amount of cash eligible for its FDIC Suite program to $5 million for individual accounts and $10 million for joint accounts. In October, the company partnered with Carta to introduce the Carta Visa Infinite Card globally, which it said allows eligible clients to link accounts and access cash instantly with no foreign transaction fees.
On technology, management highlighted a revamped GlobalTrader 2.0 mobile platform and enhancements to IBKR Desktop, including multi-monitor support, new screener filters, a named strategy selector for combo strategies, and a Linux beta installer. The company also described multiple AI-based features, including AI-powered investment themes, FINRA-approved AI-generated news summaries, and the initial release of “Ask IBKR,” an AI tool designed to let clients query portfolio performance, allocation, attribution, dividends, and tax-related measures in plain English.
ForecastX growth, regulatory outlook, and bank charter plans
Executives spent significant time on ForecastX, the company’s CFTC-regulated prediction markets exchange. Management said ForecastX traded 286 million pairs in the quarter, up from 15 million in the third quarter, and now has four members quoting into the exchange with more than 10,000 listed instruments. On institutional adoption, Founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy said the most frequently traded contracts currently are temperature contracts and that the company is working to link those with electricity and natural gas contracts, with an expectation that utilities could begin onboarding “sometime in the course of the year.”
Asked about the regulatory environment for sports-related prediction contracts, Peterffy cited a Massachusetts ruling against Kalshi and said Interactive Brokers “does not rely on sports,” adding the company believes prediction contracts can be broadly applicable without depending on sports. He also said the company would not acquire a firm doing sports betting, and he stated there was “no reason” to pursue acquisitions in prediction markets given ForecastX’s growth and move to a 24/7 schedule in mid-December.
On its bank charter effort, Peterffy said the company has been in contact with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and has officially filed an application for a National Trust Charter bank. He said he expects the company could be “operational by the end of this year,” explaining that the rationale is to enable custody of mutual funds and ETFs, which he said broker-dealer regulations currently do not permit.
Regarding Europe, Peterffy said the firm has not started the process for a European banking license, does not view it as urgent, but expects it will eventually obtain one, likely in Ireland due to existing regulatory relationships there.
On crypto, Peterffy said crypto-related revenues are currently small relative to the overall company, and that many crypto-active clients were already trading before Interactive Brokers entered the space. He added that clients in the IBKR channel “have not been asking” for crypto access, but said the firm’s offering is intended to “round it up” for advisors and multi-asset clients seeking limited exposure. Europe is the company’s near-term focus, and he said he expects the offering to go live there in the current quarter, with hopes that supporting asset transfers will lead some crypto assets to migrate to the platform.
Brody and Peterffy also addressed expense and growth expectations. Brody said expense growth has been consistent over recent years, noting 6% headcount growth in 2025 and an expectation for similar growth going forward, while acknowledging AI initiatives could influence future expense growth. When asked how long strong account growth can continue, Peterffy said he does not see a reason for account growth to slow if the company continues executing, citing global platform appeal.
About Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR)
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (NASDAQ: IBKR) is a global electronic brokerage holding company that provides trading, clearing and custody services to retail traders, institutional investors, proprietary trading groups and financial advisors. The firm offers direct access to a wide range of asset classes, including equities, options, futures, foreign exchange, bonds and exchange-traded funds across many international markets. Interactive Brokers emphasizes electronic order execution, automated trading and low transaction costs as core differentiators for its clients.
Its product suite centers on advanced trading platforms and infrastructure.
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