Free Up to a Hundred Thousand EurosThin moat

XTB (XTB) — moat facet

XTB bought a 43 billion złoty custody book by declining to charge for the transaction that creates one.

XTB's headline terms on cash equities are no commission on shares and exchange-traded funds up to 100 000 euros of turnover a month, no withdrawal fee, and access to more than 1 900 funds plus fractional shares.1 Above the threshold a commission applies. For the overwhelming majority of retail accounts, buying a share at XTB is free.

Stock and ETF turnover, USD million2019202020212022202320242025No commission below EUR 100 000 of monthly turnover, no withdrawal fee, 1 900+ ETFs
A custody book bought by refusing to charge for the transaction that creates it.

That is a deliberate loss leader, and it worked. Stock and exchange-traded fund turnover went from 179 million dollars in 2019 to 21 813 million in 2025, and the assets those purchases left behind went from nothing to 43 364 million złoty.2 XTB bought a custody book by declining to charge for the transaction that creates one.

The strategic logic is sound and familiar. A client who holds shares at XTB opens the app for a reason unconnected to leverage, sees the rest of the product, keeps cash there, and is available when a contract for difference looks appealing. Every large consumer financial platform has run some version of this trade.

The question it raises is what the assets are eventually for. Free share dealing produces custody without revenue, and the revenue has to come later — from a fee on assets XTB has promised not to charge, from currency conversion on the trades, from interest on the cash beside them, or from the derivative book the client came to avoid.

Gross gain on shares and funds was 11 million złoty in 2023, 31 million in 2024 and 78 million in 2025.3 Growing quickly, and still 3,8 per cent of the total.4

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Free dealing up to 100 000 euros of turnover has been the offer for years and has not been widened or narrowed. It is doing its job - stock and fund turnover reached 21 813 million dollars in 2025 - and it is not a position that can be improved without giving away more.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Stock and ETF turnover
21 813 million dollars in 2025, from 179 million in 2019

XTB charges no commission on shares and exchange-traded funds up to 100 000 euros of turnover a month, no withdrawal fee, and offers fractional shares and more than 1 900 funds. Turnover in cash shares and funds went from 179 million dollars in 2019 to 21 813 million in 2025, a factor of 122, and left behind a custody book of 43 364 million złoty. XTB bought that book by declining to charge for the transaction that creates one.

Source: XTB Group consolidated annual report for 2025 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Free Is Not a Price Floor
The floor is set by whoever has the most other ways to make money, and XTB's other way is the one regulators keep narrowing.
References
  1. ReportedXTB's headline terms on cash equities are no commission on shares and exchange-traded funds up to 100 000 euros of turnover a month, no withdrawal fee, and access to more than 1 900 funds plus fractional shares.
    XTB Group Management Board report on activities in 2025, business model and competitive landscape - the model "combines the features of an agency model with a market maker model, in which the Company is a party to transactions concluded and initiated by clients"; "XTB operates as a market-maker, meaning it is the counterparty to a client's transaction"; "XTB executes all transactions in shares, ETFs, and CFDs based on these assets directly on regulated markets or alternative trading systems. XTB is not a market maker for this class of instruments"; the competitive environment divided into trading platform providers (eToro, Trading 212, Robinhood), fintech companies (Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Revolut) and CFD-only brokers (Plus500, IG Group, CMC Markets, Saxo Bank), with Polish bank-affiliated brokerages named as mBank Biuro Maklerskie, Santander Biuro Maklerskie, Dom Maklerski Banku Ochrony Srodowiska (BOSSA), PKO BP Biuro Maklerskie, ING Securities and Bank Pekao S.A. Biuro Maklerskie, and XTB described as a market leader in Poland; the planned European ban on the payment-for-order-flow model from 2026; key competitive advantages listed as a wide product range including stocks, ETFs, Investment Plans and CFDs plus interest on free funds, an eWallet with a multi-currency card and long-term savings accounts IKE (Poland), ISA (United Kingdom) and PEA (France); the proprietary xStation platform and XTB mobile app; no commissions up to EUR 100 000 turnover on stocks and ETFs and no withdrawal fees; operations in over 15 countries; regulation by nine financial authorities including the FCA and KNF; client fund segregation; 24/5 support; and the XTB Academy. Brand ambassadors Mads Mikkelsen (2016-2018), Conor McGregor and Iker Casillas (2022-2024) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2024-2026); nearly PLN 585 million allocated to marketing in 2025, up 69,6%, including the largest campaign in the group's history launched in September 2025 across 13 markets including Poland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, the Middle East and Indonesia, and sponsorship at Roland Garros and Wimbledon; the XTB brand dating from 2009 and the word "trading" replaced by "investing" in 2023 — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedStock and exchange-traded fund turnover went from 179 million dollars in 2019 to 21 813 million in 2025, and the assets those purchases left behind went from nothing to 43 364 million złoty.
    XTB Group half-year report for the first half of 2026, notes - nominal value of derivative financial instruments at 30 June 2026 and 31 December 2025: Index CFDs 3 642 905 and 3 933 252; Commodity CFDs 3 967 775 and 6 216 958; Currency CFDs 2 204 780 and 3 284 496; Stock and ETF CFDs 1 767 315 and 1 615 397; Bond CFDs 4 118 and 1 553; Options 125 478 and nil; total 11 712 371 and 15 051 656, and as at 30 June 2026 transactions with brokers represent 8% of the total nominal value of instruments against 16% at 31 December 2025; clients' financial instruments at 30 June 2026 and 31 December 2025: listed stocks and rights to stocks 23 345 382 and 15 138 542; ETFs 20 018 050 and 12 144 808; other securities 207 and 207; total 43 363 639 and 27 283 557; amounts due to clients: retail 7 023 586 and 6 428 875, institutional 100 955 and 99 348, total 7 124 541 and 6 528 223; contributions to the compensation scheme with a closing balance of 28 338 against 23 981; total employment at 30 June 2026 of 1 548 people against 1 516 at 31 December 2025; XXZW Investment Group S.A. holding 42 067 329 shares or 35,78% at 30 June 2026; XTB Lithuania UAB incorporated with no operations yet; dividends of 478 507 thousand złoty paid in the period — H1 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedGross gain on shares and funds was 11 million złoty in 2023, 31 million in 2024 and 78 million in 2025.
    XTB Group consolidated annual report for 2024 - result of operations in financial instruments for the twelve months ended 31 December 2024 and 31 December 2023: Commodity CFDs 896 672 and 650 847; Index CFDs 622 728 and 781 285; Currency CFDs 272 276 and 165 161; Stock and ETP CFDs 44 762 and 24 261; Bond CFDs 735 and 1 079; total CFDs 1 837 173 and 1 622 633; Stocks and ETPs 30 654 and 11 050; gross gain on transactions in financial instruments 1 867 827 and 1 633 683; bonuses and discounts paid to customers (12 629) and (9 428); commission paid to cooperating brokers (54 623) and (49 764); net gain 1 800 575 and 1 574 491; operating income by geography for 2024 and 2023: Central and Eastern Europe 1 196 513 and 983 343 including Poland 956 542 and 756 104; Western Europe 355 868 and 369 588; Latin America 117 930 and 147 695; Middle East 203 117 and 117 759; total operating income 1 873 436 and 1 618 385, with Poland at 51,1% of revenue in 2024 and 46,7% in 2023; total employment at 31 December 2024 of 1 245 people against 1 054 at 31 December 2023 — FY2023-FY2024 · publ. June 2025 · source ↗
  4. Moat Explorer calcGrowing quickly, and still 3,8 per cent of the total.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026