After a record start to the year with two strong (and fairly similar) quarters in Q1 and Q2, Poland-based Retail FX and CFDs broker XTB SA (WSE:XTB) reported a sharp decline in both revenue and profit for Q3 2025.
XTB Q3 2025 Revenue and Earnings
XTB’s revenue for Q3 2025 was PLN 375.3 million (US$103 million), down by more than a third (35%) from $160 million in each of Q1 and Q2. The top Q3 result was the lowest in XTB since Q3 2023, two years ago.
Net profit at XTB amounted to PLN 53.2 million ($15 million) in the third quarter of 2025, down 75% from $60 million in the second quarter – the lowest quarterly result since 2022.
Reasons for the third quarter revenue decline
In the third quarter of 2025, XTB generated PLN 375.8 million in revenue (down 20% YoY and 35% YoY). The most important factor affecting the level of revenue was the reducing the profitability of CFD derivatives trading. Profitability per batch and profitability per USD 1 million in nominal turnover decreased to PLN 152 (Q3 2024: PLN 272, Q2 2025: PLN 229).
The decrease in profitability was a consequence of it low activity seen in financial and commodity markets in the third quarter of this year. For most instruments that are most popular among customers, a more predictable trend was observed, with the the market moves within a limited price range. This led to market trends that were more predictable than in the case of larger directional market movements, creating favorable conditions for trades executed within a narrow range of prices (so-called range trades). In such cases, a higher number of profitable trades for the client is usually observed, which in turn leads to a decrease in the market trading result or even to the appearance of losses from trading activities.
The third quarter of 2025 was also very quiet in the equity index market. The German index moved in a very narrow sideways trend, despite hitting consecutive highs. In the case of US indices, the range of movements was wider, although still rather limited. A rally in gold began in September, driving the metal to consecutive record highs. However, the previous two months were characterized by relative market stagnation.
XTB trading volumes Q3 2025
Despite the adverse market environment during the period, which limited XTB’s ability to fully realize the potential of its customer base, The number of active customers increased by 71.5% year-on-year. This was accompanied by a high level of trading activity, reflected, inter alia, in the number of CFD contracts entered into in batches (up 28.6% year-on-year) and the nominal value of CFD derivatives trades in USD million (up 60.8% year-on-year).
As a result, the trading volume in derivatives amounted to 2 094.3 thousand lots (Q3 2024: 1 628.0 thousand lots, 2Q 2025: 2 321.6 thousand lots) and USD 1 118.3 billion in nominal value (Q3 2024: 2 million USD 2024: 69. 144.6 billion).
Trading volume on XTB averaged $373 billion per month in Q3 2025down slightly from record $382 billion monthly in Q2 2025
XTB client acquisition Q3 2025
In the third quarter of 2025, XTB substantially continued to implement its strategy, focusing on building its customer base. As a result, the Group acquired a record nearly 222 thousand new customers, representing an increase of 105.1% year-on-year (y-o-y). Consequently, the total number of customers exceeded 1.9 million, marking an increase of 56.9% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The number of active customers also reached a record level, increasing by 75.9% year-on-year – from 522.9 thousand to 920.0 thousand.
XTB Asset Classes Trading Q3 2025
Looking at the structure of revenue generated by instrument categories, in the third quarter of 2025 the dominant position was held by Commodity based CFDs. Their share in the total revenue structure amounted to 48.5% (Q3 2024: 38.2%). This is due to the high profitability of trading in CFD instruments based on the prices of gold, natural gas, silver and cocoa.
The second most profitable asset class included CFD instruments based on stock indices, the share of which in the revenue structure reached 32.4%, against 44.9% a year earlier. This was due, among other factors, to the strong profitability of CFD instruments linked to the US 100 index, the volatility index (VIX) and the US 500 index. Revenue from currency-based CFD instruments represented 10.8% of total revenue, compared to 14.6% a year earlier. In this category, the most profitable financial instruments were CFDs based on cryptocurrencies – Ethereum, Bitcoin and Ripple.
XTB expenses Q3 2025
Operating expenses in the third quarter of 2025 amounted to PLN 322.7 million, representing an increase of PLN 114.1 million compared to the corresponding period of the previous year (Q3 2024: PLN 208.5 million). The most significant changes occurred in:
- marketing costsan increase of PLN 69.9 million mainly due to higher spending on online and offline marketing campaigns;
- wages and employee benefit costs, up PLN 26.1 million, mainly due to employment growth;
- Other external services increased by PLN 14.2 million, mainly due to: (i) higher costs for IT systems and licenses (up by PLN 9.5 million year-on-year); (ii) market data services (increase of PLN 1.6 million year-on-year); and (iii) legal and consulting services (increase of PLN 1.5 million year-on-year)
Quarter-on-quarter (q/q), operating expenses increased by PLN 29.7 million and were mainly affected by the PLN 18.2 million increase in marketing expenses, both offline and online. Then there was a PLN 7.5m increase in employee compensation and benefits costs, mainly as a result of higher employment levels, as well as a PLN 2.3m increase in other external services, mainly due to higher costs for IT systems and licences. These expenses are gradually increasing and the activities for which the Company allocates them are closely related to the achievement of strategic goals.
As a result of XTB’s rapid growth, the Board of Directors estimates that at Total operating expenses in 2025 could be about 40% higher than in 2024. The Board’s priority is to continue to grow its customer base and build its global brand. As a consequence of the measures implemented, marketing spend could increase by around 80% compared to 2024, while we assume that average customer acquisition costs should be comparable to what we observed in 2023-2024.
More highlights from XTB’s Q3 2025 results follow below.
