Interactive Brokers Group NASDAQ: IBKR reported record first-quarter 2026 net revenues as rising client activity and continued account growth helped offset a market pullback during the period, executives said on the company’s earnings call.
Nancy Stuebe, director of investor relations, described a quarter that began with strength in January but saw global indices fall in February and March. She noted the S&P 500 ended the quarter down 5%, with the “Magnificent Seven” technology stocks declining by more than the broader market. Despite that backdrop, Stuebe said Interactive Brokers continued to see “strong interest from both institutional and individual investors globally in opening and funding accounts,” while client engagement and trading activity increased.
Key client metrics and trading activity
Stuebe said the company “continued to set records across key metrics, including net revenue, total accounts, and account adds.” She added that growth in new accounts contributed to higher client uninvested cash balances, which rose 35% year-over-year to a record $169 billion. Client equity increased 38% to $789 billion and was up 1% sequentially, which Stuebe attributed to continued account funding that offset market declines.
Across products, Stuebe said stocks, options, and futures all posted double-digit year-over-year growth, highlighting that futures contract volumes rose 20% to a quarterly record amid higher volatility and increased hedging demand.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Brody provided additional operating detail, stating that total customer DARTs were 4.4 million trades per day in the quarter, up 24% from the prior year. He also said options contract volumes increased 16%, futures contract volumes rose 20% to a new quarterly record, and stock share volumes were up 25%.
Brody noted that stock share volumes rose as clients “gravitated to larger, higher quality names” and traded relatively less in pink sheet and other very low-priced stocks, adding that growth in the notional dollar value of shares traded was “significantly higher” than the growth in share volumes.
Financial results: commissions, net interest income, and margins
Brody said the company delivered “record net revenues and strong results in our key operating metrics.” Commission revenue rose 19% versus the year-ago quarter to more than $600 million for the first time, which he attributed to robust trading volumes from a growing base of active customers across stocks, options, and futures.
Net interest income rose 17% year-over-year to $904 million, driven by higher balances and partially offset by lower benchmark interest rates, Brody said. He pointed to strength from margin borrowing and the segregated cash portfolio, partially offset by interest paid on customer cash balances.
Other fees and services were $86 million, up 10%, driven primarily by higher market data and FDIC sweep fees, as well as higher payments for order flow from options exchange-mandated programs, according to Brody. He added that “other income” includes gains and losses on investments, a currency diversification strategy, and principal transactions, and said that excluding non-core items (which are excluded in adjusted earnings), other income was $77 million.
On profitability, Brody said pre-tax profit margin was 77% for the quarter “as reported and as adjusted,” marking the sixth consecutive quarter with margins above 70%, a point also emphasized in Stuebe’s prepared remarks.
Expenses, SEC fee changes, and balance sheet strength
Execution, clearing, and distribution costs were $106 million, down 12% year-over-year, which Brody attributed to lower SEC regulatory fees. He said execution and clearing costs were higher than the fourth quarter due to exchange fees on greater futures trading volumes, and noted these are largely passed through, increasing both commission revenue and execution costs. He said execution and clearing costs were 13% of commission revenues, translating to an 87% gross transactional profit margin when excluding $24 million of non-transaction-based costs that were predominantly market data fees.
Brody also flagged an upcoming change in SEC fee rates: “for the upcoming quarters, the SEC raised its fee rate for securities from $0 to $20.60 per million, effective April fourth.” He reiterated these fees are a pass-through, increasing both commission revenue and execution and clearing expense equally, with no impact on income earned.
Compensation and benefits expense was $167 million, and the ratio to adjusted net revenues was 10%, down slightly from 11% last year, Brody said. Headcount was 3,232 as of March 31. General and administrative expenses were $68 million, up from the year-ago quarter “mainly on expansion of advertising,” he added.
On the balance sheet, Brody said total assets were up 39% year-over-year to $219 billion, driven by higher margin lending and segregated cash and securities balances. The company had no long-term debt, and firm equity increased 22% to $21.3 billion.
Brody said that strength supported a dividend increase, echoing Stuebe’s earlier comments. The company raised its dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per year, returning capital to shareholders while maintaining “an ample capital base for the current business and future opportunities,” he said.
Strategy updates: AI, crypto expansion, prediction markets, and marketing
Stuebe outlined the firm’s expanding use of artificial intelligence, including investment “themes and connections” tools, enhancements to the “Ask IBKR” portfolio query tool, and expanded AI-based news summarization. She also said the company’s AI-powered client service chatbot is addressing a growing share of inquiries in multiple languages and that AI is being applied to automate processes such as onboarding and compliance.
Interactive Brokers also discussed several product launches and expansions. Stuebe said the company expanded cryptocurrency offerings to clients in the EEA, introduced crypto transfer-in capabilities, and added access to the Coinbase Derivatives Exchange for nano-sized crypto contracts and perpetual futures. In Q&A, executives said crypto transfer-in had been released only “a couple of weeks” earlier, with incoming amounts primarily from the U.S., and that the European offering had been in a “soft release” with client email notifications but not yet externally marketed.
Management said additional crypto-related priorities include expanding geographic coverage—citing Singapore—and adding staking capabilities through partner Zero Hash once available.
On prediction markets, Stuebe said the company’s markets are live and trading 24/7, and that Interactive Brokers introduced “Election Board” ahead of expected interest leading into the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. In Q&A, management said ForecastEx has received increasing inquiries from prospective participants who previously said they would not enter prediction markets.
Founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy addressed marketing spend, saying the firm is “hell-bent on trying to increase our marketing spend” but is strict about meeting required minimum returns on incremental dollars, which has made the pace of increases “very slowly.” He said the company is working to find additional marketing outlets that could support more spend.
Peterffy also commented on the emergence of AI-enabled cash optimization tools discussed elsewhere in the industry. He said the company is “not happy about these tools” because Interactive Brokers has historically paid close to market rates, and if competitors are pushed to do the same, it could increase competition.
Separately, executives responded to questions about the SEC’s elimination of the Pattern Day Trader rule. Management said it welcomes the change, describing the shift as replacing trade-counting and an arbitrary equity threshold with a “risk-based system” using real-time intra-day margin requirements. Management said it expects broader retail access and higher engagement, and said it could be an opportunity given the company’s large base of individual accounts, including many smaller accounts that could trade more frequently.
Looking ahead, Brody said the company’s strategy remains focused on automating brokerage functions, expanding offerings, and minimizing customer costs. “We started the year with another financially strong quarter,” he said, pointing to continued customer base growth and the company’s ability to scale.
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.
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Interactive Brokers Group, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Interactive Brokers Group wasn't on the list.
While Interactive Brokers Group currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
A forward-looking investment report spotlighting the seven space companies best positioned to benefit from accelerating commercialization in 2026. It explores key industry trends, major growth catalysts, and the stocks shaping the next phase of the space economy—from launch leaders and satellite networks to data, defense, and in-space infrastructure.
Get This Free Report
