On Wednesday, renowned Polish online broker XTB marked a significant milestone, celebrating ten years since its listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. At the close of trading, the share price held steady at approximately 102 PLN. Compared to the IPO issuance price of 11.50 PLN on May 6, 2016, the stock has appreciated by nearly 800% over the decade. The shares previously touched a historical high of 114 PLN in mid-April this year. Currently, the company's market capitalization stands at around 12.1 billion PLN, equivalent to roughly $3.2 billion USD.
Looking back ten years, XTB was not only the largest initial public offering on the Warsaw Exchange that year but also successfully raised 189 million PLN based on a valuation of 1.35 billion PLN. Founder Jakub Zabłocki sold a portion of his shares near the lower end of the offering range at the time, with the first-day closing price rising slightly to 12.05 PLN. Over the decade following its listing, the company adhered to a dividend policy allocating between half and all of its net profits to shareholders, a strategy that significantly bolstered investor confidence. Data indicates that including reinvested dividends, XTB shareholders achieved a total return of 819% over the past five years, whereas the MSCI World Index returned only 57% during the same period.
From a financial perspective, the listed company disclosed in its latest annual report that revenue for 2025 reached 2.15 billion PLN, representing a year-over-year growth of 14.6%. However, net profit declined by 25% to 644 million PLN due to a substantial increase in expenses. Despite this, preliminary results for the first quarter of this year demonstrated strong recovery momentum, with single-quarter net profit surging 176% year-on-year to 535 million PLN. Revenue exceeded 1.09 billion PLN, and the firm acquired 370,000 new customers. XTB stated that it has transformed from a traditional broker into a global investment application platform, serving a user base exceeding 2.5 million.
In a comparison among the world's four major listed CFD brokers, while all achieved positive returns, the gap was significant. Plus500, which listed three years prior to XTB, recorded the most impressive cumulative gain driven by large-scale stock buybacks. IG Group and CMC Markets performed relatively poorly; notably, CMC experienced significant post-listing volatility due to tightened UK regulations, with cumulative gains barely exceeding 50% to date. XTB's own stock journey was not without challenges; a regulatory fine in late 2018 triggered a single-day crash, followed by a bottoming out in 2019. Trading enthusiasm during the pandemic fueled its recovery, and despite facing new regulatory fines in April this year, market sentiment continued to drive the stock to new highs.
Looking toward the next decade, XTB CEO Omar Anaout indicated that spot cryptocurrency trading and options would be key focus areas. The company plans to continue expanding into emerging markets such as Latin America, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates, targeting an addition of 2 million new customers annually. However, competition in the European retail market is intensifying, with international giants like Robinhood and Trade Republic increasing their footprint. Meanwhile, industry peers such as Plus500 and IG are venturing into U.S. futures and equity trading to reduce reliance on CFD business, signaling profound shifts in the industry landscape.
