Plus500: Six Times the Take, From a Fifth as ManyThin moat

XTB (XTB) — moat facet

The same model run for margin instead of scale out-earned XTB by 39 per cent from a fifth as many active clients.

1. ReportedPlus500 is the closest thing to a controlled experiment available.
   Plus500 Ltd preliminary unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2025 - revenue up 3% to 792,4 million US dollars, EBITDA up 2% to 348,1 million, Active Customers of 242 440 against 254 138 in FY2024, and average revenue per user up 8% year on year to a record annual level of 3 268 dollars, with the non-OTC business generating more than 100 million dollars of revenue for the first time; Plus500 is a CFD-focused brokerage platform founded in 2008, operating in over 50 countries and listed on the London Stock Exchange — FY2025 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
2. ReportedIt is a listed, regulated, market-making contract-for-difference broker with a proprietary platform, founded six years after XTB, operating in over fifty countries.
   XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, operational data - quarterly series for Q2 2026, Q1 2026, Q4 2025, Q3 2025, Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q4 2024 and Q3 2024 in that order: total operating income 992 558, 1 094 018, 609 344, 375 821, 580 597, 580 294, 465 416 and 470 234 thousand złoty; transaction volume in CFD instruments in nominal value 1 029 179, 1 333 410, 1 605 005, 1 118 278, 1 144 554, 937 867, 727 854 and 695 315 million dollars; profitability for USD 1 million of transaction volume 238, 216, 93, 84, 128, 144, 147 and 167 dollars; transaction volume in CFD instruments 1 831 627, 2 323 204, 2 542 526, 2 094 296, 2 321 584, 1 907 974, 1 657 390 and 1 627 978 lots; profitability per lot 484, 439, 208, 152, 229, 277, 253 and 272 złoty; marketing expenses 200 081, 235 429, 179 195, 141 495, 123 322, 141 034, 116 855 and 71 613 thousand złoty with client acquisition cost 0,7, 0,9, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7 and 0,6 thousand złoty; structure of the gross result in H1 2026 Commodity CFDs 75,3%, Index CFDs 13,9%, Currency CFDs 5,0% and other 5,8%, against H1 2025 Index CFDs 46,3%, Commodity CFDs 33,1%, Currency CFDs 15,6% and other 5,0%; share of CFD turnover by trading platform for the same eight quarters: xStation 30, 29, 29, 27, 35, 37, 36 and 38 per cent, xStation Mobile 61, 60, 64, 62, 59, 56, 56 and 57 per cent and MT4 9, 11, 7, 11, 6, 7, 9 and 8 per cent; own cash 2 934 090 at 30 June 2026 against 1 994 027 at 31 December 2025, up 47,1%, with no bonds; dividend per share of 1,5 for 2021, 4,86 for 2022, 5,02 for 2023, 5,45 for 2024 and 4,07 for 2025, the 2025 dividend being PLN 478,5 million or 75% of standalone net profit with a record date of 15 June 2026 and payment on 24 June 2026 — Q3 2024 - Q2 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
3. ReportedIn 2025 Plus500 reported revenue of 792,4 million US dollars, up 3 per cent, with EBITDA of 348,1 million and 242 440 active customers.
   Plus500 Ltd preliminary unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2025 - revenue up 3% to 792,4 million US dollars, EBITDA up 2% to 348,1 million, Active Customers of 242 440 against 254 138 in FY2024, and average revenue per user up 8% year on year to a record annual level of 3 268 dollars, with the non-OTC business generating more than 100 million dollars of revenue for the first time; Plus500 is a CFD-focused brokerage platform founded in 2008, operating in over 50 countries and listed on the London Stock Exchange — FY2025 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
4. Moat Explorer calcXTB reported operating income of 2 146 million złoty, which at the National Bank of Poland's average rate for the year is 570,9 million dollars, from 1 189 397 active clients.
   Moat Explorer calculations from XTB's published figures. Correlations across the eight quarters from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 between operating income (470 234, 465 416, 580 294, 580 597, 375 821, 609 344, 1 094 018 and 992 558 thousand złoty) and, first, CFD turnover in lots (1 627 978, 1 657 390, 1 907 974, 2 321 584, 2 094 296, 2 542 526, 2 323 204 and 1 831 627) giving 0,25, second, CFD notional in dollars (695 315, 727 854, 937 867, 1 144 554, 1 118 278, 1 605 005, 1 333 410 and 1 029 179 million) giving 0,37, and third, profitability per lot (272, 253, 277, 229, 152, 208, 439 and 484 złoty) giving 0,92; the ranges over those quarters are 1,56 times for lots, 2,31 times for notional, 3,18 times for profitability per lot and 2,91 times for operating income. Annually from 2019 to 2025 the correlation between CFD turnover in lots and operating income is 0,96. Market capitalisation of 16 970 million złoty is 144,34 złoty multiplied by 117 569 251 shares, which against trailing twelve-month revenue of 3 071,5 million złoty (2 146,056 less 1 160,891 plus 2 086,324) gives 5,53 times sales, and against trailing net profit of 1 261,4 million (644,199 less 410,052 plus 1 027,240) gives 13,45 times earnings and earnings per share of 10,73. Historic price-earnings ratios are year-end share price multiplied by 117,569 million shares divided by net profit: 8,15, 5,23, 8,31, 4,76, 5,62, 9,66 and 13,10 for 2019 to 2025, with price-to-sales of 1,97, 2,64, 3,16, 2,51, 2,75, 4,42 and 3,93. XTB's 2025 operating income of 2 146,056 million złoty converts to 570,9 million dollars at the National Bank of Poland's 2025 average rate of 3,7588, giving 480 dollars per active client across 1 189 397 active clients against Plus500's 3 268 dollars across 242 440, a ratio of 6,8 times, while Plus500's revenue of 792,4 million dollars is 39 per cent more than XTB's. Client instruments of 43 363 639 thousand złoty across 2 825 700 clients is 15 346 złoty each, against 12 603 at 31 December 2025 and 10 048 at 31 December 2024; 43 363 639 thousand złoty converts to 8,6 billion pounds at 5,03 złoty to the pound, or 3 051 pounds a client, against Trading 212's 25 billion pounds across 4,5 million funded accounts, or 5 556 each. Gross gain on stocks and ETPs as a share of gross gain on CFDs is 0,7 per cent for 2023 (11 050 over 1 622 633), 1,7 per cent for 2024 (30 654 over 1 837 173) and 3,8 per cent for 2025 (78 310 over 2 035 006); as a share of client instruments held, 78 310 over 27 283 557 is 29 basis points. Marketing divided by salaries is 0,44 in 2019 (37 716 over 86 024), 1,42 in 2025 (584 898 over 413 019) and 1,76 in the first half of 2026 (435 510 over 246 964). Revenue per employee is 1,54 million złoty for 2023 (1 618 385 over 1 054), 1,51 million for 2024 (1 873 436 over 1 245), 1,42 million for 2025 (2 146 056 over 1 516) and 2,70 million annualised for the first half of 2026 (4 172 648 over 1 548). Poland's share of operating income is 46,7 per cent in 2023, 52,7 in 2024, 54,4 in 2025 and 57,4 per cent in the first half of 2026 (1 197 033 over 2 086 324). Net interest income is 3,1 per cent of 2024 revenue and 3,6 per cent of 2025 revenue; the share of interest kept is 78 per cent of 140,1 million less 62,1 million, or 56 per cent. Institutional revenue is 2,0 per cent of 2025 operating income (42 524 over 2 146 056) and was 8,7 per cent in 2019 (20 847 over 239 304). Second-quarter 2026 net profit of 1 027 240 less 535 042 is 492 198 against 216 129 a year earlier, a rise of 127,7 per cent, while the sequential fall from 535 042 is 8,0 per cent. The 2018 to 2019 declines are 17,0 per cent in operating income and 43,1 per cent in net profit — FY2019-H1 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
5. ReportedPlus500 earned 39 per cent more money than XTB from a fifth as many people.
   Plus500 Ltd preliminary unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2025 - revenue up 3% to 792,4 million US dollars, EBITDA up 2% to 348,1 million, Active Customers of 242 440 against 254 138 in FY2024, and average revenue per user up 8% year on year to a record annual level of 3 268 dollars, with the non-OTC business generating more than 100 million dollars of revenue for the first time; Plus500 is a CFD-focused brokerage platform founded in 2008, operating in over 50 countries and listed on the London Stock Exchange — FY2025 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
6. ReportedAverage revenue per active customer was 3 268 dollars at Plus500, a record and up 8 per cent on the year, against 480 dollars at XTB, which was down from the equivalent of nearly 2 000 dollars five years earlier.
   Plus500 Ltd preliminary unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2025 - revenue up 3% to 792,4 million US dollars, EBITDA up 2% to 348,1 million, Active Customers of 242 440 against 254 138 in FY2024, and average revenue per user up 8% year on year to a record annual level of 3 268 dollars, with the non-OTC business generating more than 100 million dollars of revenue for the first time; Plus500 is a CFD-focused brokerage platform founded in 2008, operating in over 50 countries and listed on the London Stock Exchange — FY2025 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
7. Moat Explorer calcThe gap is close to seven times.
   Moat Explorer calculations from XTB's published figures. Correlations across the eight quarters from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 between operating income (470 234, 465 416, 580 294, 580 597, 375 821, 609 344, 1 094 018 and 992 558 thousand złoty) and, first, CFD turnover in lots (1 627 978, 1 657 390, 1 907 974, 2 321 584, 2 094 296, 2 542 526, 2 323 204 and 1 831 627) giving 0,25, second, CFD notional in dollars (695 315, 727 854, 937 867, 1 144 554, 1 118 278, 1 605 005, 1 333 410 and 1 029 179 million) giving 0,37, and third, profitability per lot (272, 253, 277, 229, 152, 208, 439 and 484 złoty) giving 0,92; the ranges over those quarters are 1,56 times for lots, 2,31 times for notional, 3,18 times for profitability per lot and 2,91 times for operating income. Annually from 2019 to 2025 the correlation between CFD turnover in lots and operating income is 0,96. Market capitalisation of 16 970 million złoty is 144,34 złoty multiplied by 117 569 251 shares, which against trailing twelve-month revenue of 3 071,5 million złoty (2 146,056 less 1 160,891 plus 2 086,324) gives 5,53 times sales, and against trailing net profit of 1 261,4 million (644,199 less 410,052 plus 1 027,240) gives 13,45 times earnings and earnings per share of 10,73. Historic price-earnings ratios are year-end share price multiplied by 117,569 million shares divided by net profit: 8,15, 5,23, 8,31, 4,76, 5,62, 9,66 and 13,10 for 2019 to 2025, with price-to-sales of 1,97, 2,64, 3,16, 2,51, 2,75, 4,42 and 3,93. XTB's 2025 operating income of 2 146,056 million złoty converts to 570,9 million dollars at the National Bank of Poland's 2025 average rate of 3,7588, giving 480 dollars per active client across 1 189 397 active clients against Plus500's 3 268 dollars across 242 440, a ratio of 6,8 times, while Plus500's revenue of 792,4 million dollars is 39 per cent more than XTB's. Client instruments of 43 363 639 thousand złoty across 2 825 700 clients is 15 346 złoty each, against 12 603 at 31 December 2025 and 10 048 at 31 December 2024; 43 363 639 thousand złoty converts to 8,6 billion pounds at 5,03 złoty to the pound, or 3 051 pounds a client, against Trading 212's 25 billion pounds across 4,5 million funded accounts, or 5 556 each. Gross gain on stocks and ETPs as a share of gross gain on CFDs is 0,7 per cent for 2023 (11 050 over 1 622 633), 1,7 per cent for 2024 (30 654 over 1 837 173) and 3,8 per cent for 2025 (78 310 over 2 035 006); as a share of client instruments held, 78 310 over 27 283 557 is 29 basis points. Marketing divided by salaries is 0,44 in 2019 (37 716 over 86 024), 1,42 in 2025 (584 898 over 413 019) and 1,76 in the first half of 2026 (435 510 over 246 964). Revenue per employee is 1,54 million złoty for 2023 (1 618 385 over 1 054), 1,51 million for 2024 (1 873 436 over 1 245), 1,42 million for 2025 (2 146 056 over 1 516) and 2,70 million annualised for the first half of 2026 (4 172 648 over 1 548). Poland's share of operating income is 46,7 per cent in 2023, 52,7 in 2024, 54,4 in 2025 and 57,4 per cent in the first half of 2026 (1 197 033 over 2 086 324). Net interest income is 3,1 per cent of 2024 revenue and 3,6 per cent of 2025 revenue; the share of interest kept is 78 per cent of 140,1 million less 62,1 million, or 56 per cent. Institutional revenue is 2,0 per cent of 2025 operating income (42 524 over 2 146 056) and was 8,7 per cent in 2019 (20 847 over 239 304). Second-quarter 2026 net profit of 1 027 240 less 535 042 is 492 198 against 216 129 a year earlier, a rise of 127,7 per cent, while the sequential fall from 535 042 is 8,0 per cent. The 2018 to 2019 declines are 17,0 per cent in operating income and 43,1 per cent in net profit — FY2019-H1 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
8. ReportedWhat differs is the choice: Plus500 optimises for revenue per customer and its customer count fell slightly, from 254 138 to 242 440.
   Plus500 Ltd preliminary unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2025 - revenue up 3% to 792,4 million US dollars, EBITDA up 2% to 348,1 million, Active Customers of 242 440 against 254 138 in FY2024, and average revenue per user up 8% year on year to a record annual level of 3 268 dollars, with the non-OTC business generating more than 100 million dollars of revenue for the first time; Plus500 is a CFD-focused brokerage platform founded in 2008, operating in over 50 countries and listed on the London Stock Exchange — FY2025 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
9. ReportedXTB optimises for customer count and its revenue per customer has fallen every year but one since 2020.
   XTB Group Management Board report on activities in 2025, synthetic summary of data for 2019-2025 (values for 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 in that order): market value of the Company's shares at period end 71,8, 70,4, 37,8, 31,0, 16,8, 17,9 and 4,0 złoty; earnings per share 5,5, 7,3, 6,7, 6,5, 2,0, 3,4 and 0,5; equity 2 000,5, 2 003,6, 1 734,7, 1 506,1, 915,6, 888,3 and 490,7 million złoty; group total capital ratio 186,0, 192,3, 188,7, 218,1, 200,1, 200,1 and 165,8 per cent; EBITDA 857,8, 1 006,6, 941,4, 897,7, 285,7, 523,5 and 72,2 million złoty; EBITDA margin 40,0, 53,7, 58,2, 62,2, 45,7, 65,6 and 30,2 per cent; net profit margin 30,0, 45,7, 48,9, 53,0, 38,0, 50,4 and 24,1 per cent; return on equity 32,2, 45,8, 48,8, 63,3, 26,4, 58,3 and 12,2 per cent; return on assets 8,2, 15,1, 18,0, 21,1, 8,8, 23,5 and 5,5 per cent; new clients 864,3, 498,4, 312,0, 196,9, 189,2, 112,0 and 36,6 thousand; total clients 2 164,9, 1 361,6, 897,6, 614,9, 429,2, 255,8 and 149,3 thousand; active clients 1 189,4, 701,1, 418,4, 270,6, 193,2, 108,3 and 49,6 thousand; net deposits 14 672,3, 8 607,3, 3 793,7, 3 423,2, 2 933,4, 1 961,2 and 409,4 million złoty; average operating revenue per active client 1,8, 2,7, 3,9, 5,4, 3,2, 7,4 and 5,1 thousand złoty; average client acquisition cost 0,7, 0,7, 0,8, 1,1, 0,6, 0,8 and 1,0 thousand złoty; turnover in CFD derivative instruments 8 866,4, 6 274,2, 6 779,8, 6 592,9, 4 045,9, 3 113,4 and 1 638,6 thousand lots; profitability per lot 215, 275, 227, 212, 144, 249 and 140 złoty; stock and ETF volume in nominal value 21 812,5, 9 574,1, 4 512,7, 3 336,3, 4 437,3, 1 643,3 and 178,8 million dollars; turnover in CFD derivatives in notional value 4 805,7, 2 626,6, 2 285,9, 2 259,6, 1 737,4, 1 021,8 and 541,5 million dollars; standalone operating income 1 908,4 and net profit 638,9 million złoty; balance sheet total 9 086,7 million złoty — FY2019-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
10. Moat Explorer calcXTB's was 1 800 złoty in 2025 and 1 400 annualised in the first half of 2026, and it has not risen since 2022.
    Moat Explorer calculations from XTB's published figures. Correlations across the eight quarters from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 between operating income (470 234, 465 416, 580 294, 580 597, 375 821, 609 344, 1 094 018 and 992 558 thousand złoty) and, first, CFD turnover in lots (1 627 978, 1 657 390, 1 907 974, 2 321 584, 2 094 296, 2 542 526, 2 323 204 and 1 831 627) giving 0,25, second, CFD notional in dollars (695 315, 727 854, 937 867, 1 144 554, 1 118 278, 1 605 005, 1 333 410 and 1 029 179 million) giving 0,37, and third, profitability per lot (272, 253, 277, 229, 152, 208, 439 and 484 złoty) giving 0,92; the ranges over those quarters are 1,56 times for lots, 2,31 times for notional, 3,18 times for profitability per lot and 2,91 times for operating income. Annually from 2019 to 2025 the correlation between CFD turnover in lots and operating income is 0,96. Market capitalisation of 16 970 million złoty is 144,34 złoty multiplied by 117 569 251 shares, which against trailing twelve-month revenue of 3 071,5 million złoty (2 146,056 less 1 160,891 plus 2 086,324) gives 5,53 times sales, and against trailing net profit of 1 261,4 million (644,199 less 410,052 plus 1 027,240) gives 13,45 times earnings and earnings per share of 10,73. Historic price-earnings ratios are year-end share price multiplied by 117,569 million shares divided by net profit: 8,15, 5,23, 8,31, 4,76, 5,62, 9,66 and 13,10 for 2019 to 2025, with price-to-sales of 1,97, 2,64, 3,16, 2,51, 2,75, 4,42 and 3,93. XTB's 2025 operating income of 2 146,056 million złoty converts to 570,9 million dollars at the National Bank of Poland's 2025 average rate of 3,7588, giving 480 dollars per active client across 1 189 397 active clients against Plus500's 3 268 dollars across 242 440, a ratio of 6,8 times, while Plus500's revenue of 792,4 million dollars is 39 per cent more than XTB's. Client instruments of 43 363 639 thousand złoty across 2 825 700 clients is 15 346 złoty each, against 12 603 at 31 December 2025 and 10 048 at 31 December 2024; 43 363 639 thousand złoty converts to 8,6 billion pounds at 5,03 złoty to the pound, or 3 051 pounds a client, against Trading 212's 25 billion pounds across 4,5 million funded accounts, or 5 556 each. Gross gain on stocks and ETPs as a share of gross gain on CFDs is 0,7 per cent for 2023 (11 050 over 1 622 633), 1,7 per cent for 2024 (30 654 over 1 837 173) and 3,8 per cent for 2025 (78 310 over 2 035 006); as a share of client instruments held, 78 310 over 27 283 557 is 29 basis points. Marketing divided by salaries is 0,44 in 2019 (37 716 over 86 024), 1,42 in 2025 (584 898 over 413 019) and 1,76 in the first half of 2026 (435 510 over 246 964). Revenue per employee is 1,54 million złoty for 2023 (1 618 385 over 1 054), 1,51 million for 2024 (1 873 436 over 1 245), 1,42 million for 2025 (2 146 056 over 1 516) and 2,70 million annualised for the first half of 2026 (4 172 648 over 1 548). Poland's share of operating income is 46,7 per cent in 2023, 52,7 in 2024, 54,4 in 2025 and 57,4 per cent in the first half of 2026 (1 197 033 over 2 086 324). Net interest income is 3,1 per cent of 2024 revenue and 3,6 per cent of 2025 revenue; the share of interest kept is 78 per cent of 140,1 million less 62,1 million, or 56 per cent. Institutional revenue is 2,0 per cent of 2025 operating income (42 524 over 2 146 056) and was 8,7 per cent in 2019 (20 847 over 239 304). Second-quarter 2026 net profit of 1 027 240 less 535 042 is 492 198 against 216 129 a year earlier, a rise of 127,7 per cent, while the sequential fall from 535 042 is 8,0 per cent. The 2018 to 2019 declines are 17,0 per cent in operating income and 43,1 per cent in net profit — FY2019-H1 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗

• XTB Group consolidated annual report for 2025
• Plus500 Ltd preliminary results for FY2025