XTB Shares Climb as Investors Focus on Client Growth and New Trading Features

Shares of Polish fintech broker XTB rose nearly 12% on Friday, closing at 84.8 zlotys in their strongest single-day gain in five years, as investors looked past a sharp drop in annual profit and instead focused on accelerating client growth and an expanded product roadmap.

The rally came despite XTB reporting a 25% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to 643.8 million zlotys. Operating profit fell 15.4% to 834.3 million zlotys, weighed down by rising costs and lower profitability per trading lot. Operating expenses climbed to 1.31 billion zlotys, driven mainly by higher marketing spending and increased personnel costs, and the company warned that expenses could rise by as much as 30% in 2026.

Market sentiment, however, centered on the broker’s rapid expansion of its client base. XTB added 864,000 new clients in 2025, a 73% increase from the previous year, bringing the number of active clients close to 1.2 million. The company has set a target of at least one million new clients in 2026, with early figures showing more than 117,000 sign-ups in the first 28 days of January.

Growth was particularly strong in Poland, where 442,000 new accounts were opened in 2025, largely linked to IKE and IKZE tax-advantaged retirement products. Increased interest in long-term investing has intensified competition among local brokers, with rivals announcing plans to enter the same segment.

XTB’s shares broke through technical resistance levels at 78 and 82 zlotys during Friday’s session, and have gained about 18% since the start of 2026, outperforming both the broader WIG index and the WIG20. The stock is now approaching its all-time highs of 90–92 zlotys last seen in May 2025.

Investors are also assessing XTB’s plans to roll out new services. The company is preparing to launch margin trading, which allows clients to trade with borrowed funds, and is securing financing partners to support the offering. In addition, XTB plans to introduce extended trading hours, starting with 24-hour access to U.S. markets five days a week, with European markets expected to follow later in the year.

“XTB has repeatedly emphasized it’s focused on clients, not just hard data, and the market is starting to understand that when it acquires clients this quickly and the product roadmap looks this ambitious,” said Arkadiusz Jóżwiak, editor-in-chief at Comparic.pl, in comments to FinanceMagnates.com.

The company’s longer-term strategy also includes launching new savings accounts in Poland, expanding retirement products across Europe, and developing a new version of its investment plans. At the same time, XTB continues to shift away from its historical reliance on CFDs. Only 7% of new clients now begin with CFDs, compared with 80% in 2019, a transition that has supported user growth but reduced revenue per active client to 1,800 zlotys from 2,700 zlotys a year earlier.

Analysts have previously highlighted the potential for XTB to return to profit growth over the medium term, but rising acquisition costs and intensifying competition across Europe remain key risks as the broker scales its ambitions.