XTB’s Revenue Mix Shifts From USD and Gold as Index CFDs Dominate Q1 2025 Results ⋅ Crypto World Echo

Polish retailbrokerage XTB reported a significant shift in its revenue composition duringthe first quarter of 2025, with index-based CFDs emerging as the dominantcontributor while commodity and currency CFDs declined in relative importance.

Index CFDs Drive RevenueShift as Client Base Expands

The publiclylisted company’s preliminary financial results (WSE: XTB), released yesterday(Tuesday), revealed that index CFDs accounted for 52.3% of total revenue, upfrom 41.9% in the same period last year. This change represents a substantialrealignment in XTB’s revenue structure as client trading preferences evolve.

“Thefirst quarter of 2025, in terms of market characteristics, particularly thepresence of long and distinct trends, was similar to the fourth and thirdquarters of 2024,” XTB stated in its report. The company noted that GermanDAX (DE40), US 100, and US 500 index CFDs were particularly profitable duringthe period.

Meanwhile,commodity-based CFDs saw their contribution shrink to 29.1% of revenue, downfrom 48.7% a year earlier, despite strong performance in natural gas, gold, andcoffee contracts. Currency-based CFDs similarly declined to 13.5% of revenuefrom 23.2% in Q1 2024.

As aresult, CFD revenues accounted for over 97% of all income generated by thefintech.

Q2 alsostarted with record-breaking activity. As Filip Kaczmarzyk, Head of Trading anda member of XTB’s Management Board, told FinanceMagnates.com, “At its peakon Monday, April 7, the number of active users was threetimes higher than what we observed during the announcement of the COVID-19pandemic.”

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Client Behavior vs. The Reallocation

XTB’sclient base continued to expandrapidly, growing by 49.8%, while active clients jumped 76.5%. The brokeragenoted increased trading volumes across asset classes, but a disproportionateshare of client activity appears to be concentrated in equity index markets.

“In thefirst quarter of 2025, CFDs based on indices were the leading contributor,” XTBadded.

Transactionvolumes in CFDs rose 24.9% in lots and61.2% in nominal USD value, yet profitability per lot declined to PLN 277, fromPLN 344 a year earlier. This may indicate margin compression fromhigh-frequency or range-bound trading, especially in commodities and forex.

XTB’s risingreliance on index CFDs may signal a strategic tilt toward equity-driven tradingactivity — a shift that could prove vulnerable if equity markets stabilize orvolatility declines. The broker’s income model is sensitive to macroconditions, with profitability closely tied to market activity and directionaltrends.

“TheGroup’s operating income and profitability may decline in periods of lowactivity on the financial and commodity markets,” the company said, adding thatrange-bound trading environments tend to generate more profitable trades forclients, reducing broker-side gains​.

The report was met with strong optimism by the market,and XTB shares are currently up nearly 6%, testing the level of PLN 83.80 andsetting new all-time highs.

XTB Reports Record ClientGrowth but Profit Slides

XTBreported total operating income of PLN 580.3 million ($143.4 million) for thequarter, a 4.4% increase year-over-year. However, net profit fell to PLN 193.9million from PLN 302.7 million in Q1 2024, primarily due to a 54.1% surge inoperating expenses to PLN 315.8 million.

The companycontinued its aggressive client acquisition strategy, adding a record 194,304new customers in Q1. Active clients grew to 735,389.

“Theconsolidated net profit achieved in the first quarter 2025 was mainlyinfluenced by the record level of operating revenue, which resulted from theexpansion of the customer base, combined with the anticipated increase inoperating costs related to the dynamic growth of the XTB Group and theintensification of marketing activities,” the company explained.

Marketingexpenses jumped 73.9% year-over-year to PLN 141 million as the company expandedadvertising campaigns acrossmultiple European markets. XTB’s management expects marketing expendituresfor the full year 2025 to increase by approximately 80% compared to 2024.

The companycontinues its transformation from a CFD broker into a comprehensive fintechplatform, launching new services like the eWallet and specialized investmentaccounts. Theshift is particularly visible in the French market, where only about 30,000individuals are interested in CFDs, while over 7 million investors hold PEAinvestment accounts.

XTB alsoannounced plansto introduce cryptocurrency trading and options in the future.

Lookingahead, management aims to acquire between 150,000 and 210,000 new clients perquarter in 2025 and has proposed a dividend of PLN 5.45 per share from its 2024profits, representing a total payout of PLN 640.8 million.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.