Strong Revenue Growth
Total revenue of $159.9M in Q1 2026, up 36% year-over-year, driven by high trading volumes across core asset classes.
Webull Corporation
· BULL
May 21st, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-05-21
- Change Since:
- +1.51%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-08-27
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe call emphasized strong top-line growth, record trading volumes, rapid year-over-year expansion in customer assets and clear progress on strategic initiatives (AI infrastructure, international expansion, institutional/B2B traction, and a self-clearing license). These positives were tempered by a sizable, deliberate increase in marketing-driven operating expenses (up ~64% YoY), resulting in compressed near-term margins and delayed benefits from some initiatives (crypto product rollouts and full self-clearing operations). On balance, execution, profitability continuity, and strategic momentum outweigh the near-term margin headwinds and timing-related delays.
Company Guidance
Management reiterated a growth-first stance and provided tangible operational signposts: Q1 revenue $159.9M (+36% YoY) with trading-related revenue $110.9M (+36%) and interest income $40.1M (+29%), adjusted operating expenses roughly $141–145M (+64% YoY), adjusted operating profit $14.8M (9.3% margin) and adjusted net income $9.2M (5.8% of revenue). Customer assets were $24B (+90% YoY) with $2.1B of net deposits (+90% YoY); equity notional volume was $261B (+104% YoY, +9.2% QoQ) and options volume 159M contracts (+31% YoY, +3.2% QoQ); futures grew 84% YoY (+27% QoQ) and institutional flow was 9.5% of equity volume. Key strategic and timing items included readiness for the June 4 PDT rule change (management expects a ~20% transactions uplift over time), US self‑clearing approval (expected to be operational by Q4), approval to operate in 22 additional EEA markets, a $100M share repurchase authorization, 27.6M registered users (+800k this quarter), 5.11M funded accounts (+80k, +8% YoY), 98.4% quarterly retention, and a commitment to publish monthly operating metrics.
Rapid AUM Expansion Year-over-Year
Customer assets reached $24B, a 90% increase year-over-year (noting a slight sequential decline attributed to market volatility).
Record Equity and Options Volumes
Equity notional volume of $261B, up 104% year-over-year and 9.2% sequentially; options volume of 159M contracts, up 31% year-over-year and 3.2% sequentially — all-time highs for the platform.
Futures and New Product Momentum
Futures volume grew 84% year-over-year and 27% sequentially, driven by commodity (notably oil) interest; prediction markets and crypto contributed incremental growth.
Institutional / B2B Traction
Institutional order flow reached 9.5% of total equity notional volume in Q1, reflecting meaningful early traction in the B2B/institutional business and nearly 200 institutional clients onboarded.
User and Funded Account Growth
Added ~800k registered users in Q1 and over 3M in the past year (27.6M total registered users); funded accounts rose to 5.11M (+8% year-over-year) with ~80k new funded accounts in the quarter and a record quarterly retention rate of 98.4%.
Profitability Maintained
Q1 marked the sixth consecutive quarter of adjusted operating profitability: adjusted operating profit of $14.8M (9.3% margin) and adjusted net income of $9.2M (5.8% of revenue).
Diversified Revenue Drivers
Trading-related revenues were $110.9M (up 36% YoY); interest-related income was $40.1M (up 29% YoY), supported by growth in margin loans and client cash balances.
Strategic Capital & Global Expansion
Announced share repurchase program up to $100M; received permission to operate in 22 additional EEA markets (now approved across Europe), expanded zero-commission offerings to seven markets beyond the U.S., and launched operations in Germany.
Technology and Regulatory Milestones
Received U.S. self-clearing license approval (enabling future in-house clearing/custody), released MCP server for AI agent integration, and announced readiness for SEC PDT rule elimination effective June 4.
Operator
Good day, and welcome to the Webull Corporation First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Carlos Questell, Head of Investor Relations for Webull. Please go ahead.
Carlos Questell
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, everyone. Welcome to Webull's first quarter 2026 conference call. Earlier today, we issued a press release detailing our first quarter financial results. A copy of the release can be found on our IR website at webullcorp.com under the Investor Relations tab. Please note that this call is being recorded and will be available for replay via our IR website. During the call, we'll be making forward-looking statements about the company's performance and business outlook. These statements are based on how we see things today and contain elements of uncertainty. For additional information concerning the factors that can cause actual results to differ materially please refer to the cautionary statement and risk factors contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and press release, both of which can be accessed via our website.
Today's presentation will include a discussion on adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating profit and adjusted net income, all non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparative GAAP measures are included in the press release that we issued today. It is important to note that although we believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful in...
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