XTB’s preliminary Q3 profit rises as CFD volume falls

XTB reported preliminary third-quarter net profit of PLN 213.7 million on 28 October, up 301.4% year on year. Revenue rose about 66%, while operating costs increased more slowly, widening the gap available to cover tax and other items.[2]

CFD volume fell 18.3%, yet the net result per lot nearly doubled. Quantity alone therefore cannot explain revenue. The per-lot figure measures XTB’s result, not its clients’ investment returns.[1]

The annual improvement also starts from a weak comparator. Profit was 56.6% below Q2 2026’s PLN 492.2 million, calculated from the filing. The quarter therefore represents a recovery against the previous year alongside a sequential slowdown.[1]

Profit exceeded survey forecasts while revenue fell short

The outcome against expectations was mixed. Puls Biznesu reported average forecasts of PLN 201 million for net profit and PLN 661 million for revenue, using estimates from six brokerage houses. XTB exceeded the profit average by about 6%, while revenue was about 6% below it. These are comparisons with that publication’s survey, rather than a claim about every analyst following the stock.[4]

Erste analyst Łukasz Jańczak told the publication that XTB’s profit was 3% above his own forecast, mainly because of a lower effective corporate tax rate; pretax profit matched his expectation. That separates an earnings surprise from a stronger-than-expected revenue outcome and helps explain why a broad description of the results as an analyst beat would be incomplete.[4]

Client assets and revenue have different compositions

Commodity CFDs produced 70.8% of the gross result on financial instruments, according to XTB’s commentary. That percentage describes a particular trading-result measure, rather than the whole revenue line or the composition of client holdings.[2]

The holdings picture is different: shares and ETFs accounted for more than 86% of client assets at the quarter-end. XTB also said only 15.6% of new clients began with CFDs, while more than 30% began with ETFs during the first nine months. This supports the company’s diversification narrative, but the revenue breakdown still shows a substantial contribution from commodity derivatives.[2]

The group added more than 335,000 clients during the quarter, taking additions over the first nine months above one million. That acquisition pace broadens the potential customer base; it does not specify how much each customer trades or contributes to earnings.[2]

Active clients reached 1.57 million, up 70.3%. XTB’s definition also includes clients holding an open position or interest-bearing free cash. The total therefore extends beyond people placing fresh trades, an important boundary when comparing account growth with transaction volumes.[1]

The next report will firm up the comparison

XTB’s disclosure is a preliminary selection of consolidated financial and operating data. The company has scheduled its full third-quarter report for 20 November. Until then, these figures establish the direction of the quarter without turning the release into a final financial statement.[3]

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