Is 9F Group profitable in 2026?

9F Inc. reported net income of RMB163.6 million in FY2025, up about 236% year over year per Tipranks (2026-07-11), but this followed net losses in 2021-2023 and revenue fell 6.5% YoY to RMB289.9 million in 2025, meaning the 2025 profit reflects one-off gains rather than core business recovery.

Could AI replace 9F Group's brokerage and risk-scoring business?

9F's Technology Empowerment (risk scoring) and brokerage segments face direct AI-native competition: Waton Financial launched its MoTA Alpha AI trading-agent marketplace in July 2026, and Forthright Securities launched an AI Investment Terminal the same month, while 9F has shipped no comparable dated AI product since 2019 marketing claims.

Who is 9F Group's biggest competitor?

In Hong Kong brokerage, Futu Holdings (Nasdaq: FUTU) dwarfs 9F with a market cap over $13 billion as of July 2026, versus 9F's roughly $25-27 million. In mainland fintech lending, Ping An-backed Lufax Holding operates at far greater scale.

Is 9F Group at risk of Nasdaq delisting?

9F received a Nasdaq minimum-bid-price deficiency notice on 2022-08-18 and a late-filing deficiency notice in May 2025 for its Form 20-F, filed late on 2025-08-08. Its FY2025 20-F also flags HFCAA-related delisting risk tied to PCAOB China audit access.

What does 9F Group actually do now?

As of mid-2026, 9F operates three shrinking segments: E-Commerce Services, Technology Empowerment (risk modeling for banks/insurers), and Wealth Management via its Hong Kong-licensed brokerage (SFC Type 1/4/5/9), after winding down its original peer-to-peer lending business.

Has 9F Group's revenue been growing or shrinking?

9F's revenue declined every year from RMB761.5 million in 2021 to RMB289.9 million in 2025, a roughly 62% cumulative drop, per StockAnalysis data dated 2026-07-10, with management attributing part of the decline to shrinking institutional-partner and e-commerce volumes.

Payments companies · China

9F Group

ir.9fbank.com ↗

Nasdaq-listed Chinese fintech lending and wealth platform now a shrinking nano-cap.

Little protection left

Assessed 26 July 2026 · Evidence as of 26 July 2026

Not much stands between this business and its pressures.

On the recordSince 26 July 2026 · Checkable from H1 2026 filing · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Next 20-F and half-year 6-K filing showing whether core revenue stops declining or any AI product ships

The call

Revenue, headcount, and market cap have all fallen for years while rivals ship real AI trading tools, and 9F has not shown either a business or a product to answer them.

9F Group is a Hong Kong-regulated brokerage and lending platform that has been shrinking for years: revenue fell from about $107 million in 2021 to $41 million in 2025, and the company laid off over 90% of its staff. Bigger competitors like Futu (worth $13 billion) and Lufax already offer better trading and lending products, and new AI-powered trading platforms like Waton and Forthright launched in 2026 with smarter tools that 9F cannot easily match. The only thing that could turn this around is proof in the company's next financial report that its core business has stopped shrinking and that it has shipped a real AI product to compete.

Why

AI pressure: Waton Financial (MoTA Alpha) and Forthright Securities AI Investment Terminal. Rival AI trading-agent products are live and taking retail flow while 9F still markets old 'AI-powered' claims with no shipped product. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Futu Holdings and Lufax Holding. Futu's brokerage platform and Lufax's larger lending scale already serve the same customers 9F is losing. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. HK SFC Type 1/4/5/9 licenses let it keep operating, but competitors hold the same licenses so this blocks nobody.

What would change this call

9F's next 20-F/6-K shows core (non-one-off) revenue rising for two straight periods. Would show the multi-year revenue collapse is actually reversing, not just one-off gains.
9F ships a live AI brokerage product with disclosed users or retention data. Would show it can match Waton/Forthright instead of only marketing 'AI-powered' branding since 2019.
Nasdaq issues a new listing-deficiency notice or delisting action for JFU. Would confirm the HFCAA/compliance overhang is materializing rather than being resolved.

Key numbers

H1 2024 revenue fell 45.1% YoY on shrinking institutional partners (2024-09-27)
Headcount fell from ~1,946 (2019) to ~185-200 (2025) (2025)
Market cap now ~$25-27M (2026-07-17)

Named risks

HFCAA/PCAOB audit-access delisting risk disclosed in FY2025 20-F. Severity: high
Continuous multi-year revenue decline (RMB761.5M in 2021 to RMB289.9M in 2025) with no core-business inflection. Severity: high
Ongoing securities class-action litigation (Holland v. 9F Inc.) and insurance-counterparty fee dispute. Severity: medium
Nano-cap sub-$3 share price with prior Nasdaq bid-price and late-filing deficiency notices. Severity: high
No shipped AI product versus AI-native brokerage rivals despite years of AI marketing claims. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Futu Holdings	losing to	Futu market cap exceeds $13B vs 9F's ~$25-27M as of 2026-07-09
Waton Financial	losing to	Launched AI trading-agent marketplace MoTA Alpha in July 2026 while 9F has no shipped AI product
Forthright Securities	losing to	Launched AI Investment Terminal and Hong Kong AI hub in July 2026
Lufax Holding	losing to	Operates fintech lending at far greater scale than 9F's shrinking RMB289.9M FY2025 revenue

Questions people ask

Is 9F Group profitable in 2026?: 9F Inc. reported net income of RMB163.6 million in FY2025, up about 236% year over year per Tipranks (2026-07-11), but this followed net losses in 2021-2023 and revenue fell 6.5% YoY to RMB289.9 million in 2025, meaning the 2025 profit reflects one-off gains rather than core business recovery.
Could AI replace 9F Group's brokerage and risk-scoring business?: 9F's Technology Empowerment (risk scoring) and brokerage segments face direct AI-native competition: Waton Financial launched its MoTA Alpha AI trading-agent marketplace in July 2026, and Forthright Securities launched an AI Investment Terminal the same month, while 9F has shipped no comparable dated AI product since 2019 marketing claims.
Who is 9F Group's biggest competitor?: In Hong Kong brokerage, Futu Holdings (Nasdaq: FUTU) dwarfs 9F with a market cap over $13 billion as of July 2026, versus 9F's roughly $25-27 million. In mainland fintech lending, Ping An-backed Lufax Holding operates at far greater scale.
Is 9F Group at risk of Nasdaq delisting?: 9F received a Nasdaq minimum-bid-price deficiency notice on 2022-08-18 and a late-filing deficiency notice in May 2025 for its Form 20-F, filed late on 2025-08-08. Its FY2025 20-F also flags HFCAA-related delisting risk tied to PCAOB China audit access.
What does 9F Group actually do now?: As of mid-2026, 9F operates three shrinking segments: E-Commerce Services, Technology Empowerment (risk modeling for banks/insurers), and Wealth Management via its Hong Kong-licensed brokerage (SFC Type 1/4/5/9), after winding down its original peer-to-peer lending business.
Has 9F Group's revenue been growing or shrinking?: 9F's revenue declined every year from RMB761.5 million in 2021 to RMB289.9 million in 2025, a roughly 62% cumulative drop, per StockAnalysis data dated 2026-07-10, with management attributing part of the decline to shrinking institutional-partner and e-commerce volumes.

Timeline

2026-06-01Closed HKD101M entrustment loan-receivables deal with China CITIC Financial Asset Management subsidiary
2025-08-08Filed delayed FY2024 Form 20-F after Nasdaq late-filing notice
2025-05-30Received Nasdaq notice for late filing of Form 20-F
2024-09-27Reported H1 2024 revenue down 45.1% YoY, cited institutional-partner and e-commerce declines
2022-08-18Received Nasdaq minimum bid price deficiency notice
2021-08-30Announced transformation into HK-licensed digital blockchain securities brokerage
2019-08-15IPO'd on Nasdaq under ticker JFU, raised $84.55 million
2014-06Renamed from JIUFU Financial Technology Service to 9F Inc.
2006-08Company founded in Beijing as 9fbank

Revision history

26 July 2026

First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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