Is Interactive Brokers profitable in 2025?

Yes. Interactive Brokers reported net income available to common stockholders of $984 million for full-year 2025, up from $755 million in 2024 and $600 million in 2023, on total net revenue of $6.205 billion, a roughly 20% YoY increase, as of December 31, 2025.

Could AI replace Interactive Brokers?

Unlikely to replace it outright. As of June 22, 2026, IBKR integrated Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok via an MCP-server architecture so AI can generate research and trade ideas, but IBKR retains login authentication, custody, and broker-dealer licensure, positioning itself as the regulated rails beneath AI agents rather than being disintermediated.

Who owns Interactive Brokers?

Founder Thomas Peterffy retains control through IBG Holdings LLC, which holds all Class B shares and about 74.2% of voting power as of March 31, 2025, and owns 73.7% of IBG LLC membership interests as of December 31, 2025; public shareholders hold the remaining minority stake.

Is Interactive Brokers laying off employees?

No layoffs are evident. IBKR's own fact sheet reports 3,230-plus employees globally as of June 30, 2026, with Wikipedia citing 3,182 employees at end-2025, up about 6.14% YoY, reflecting continued modest headcount growth alongside much faster revenue and account growth.

Is it safe to keep money at Interactive Brokers given its regulatory history?

IBKR has faced enforcement actions, including an $11.8 million OFAC sanctions settlement in 2025 for 2016-2021 violations and a December 2025 Nasdaq censure and fine, but it remains a highly capitalized, S&P 500 company (joined August 28, 2025) with $780 billion in client equity as of end-2025.

Who is Interactive Brokers' biggest competitor?

Charles Schwab and Fidelity are the largest incumbent brokers by total client assets, but both face structural conflicts protecting higher-margin advisory and sweep businesses. Robinhood's push upmarket into futures and pro-trader tools is viewed as the more immediate tactical competitive risk to IBKR as of mid-2026.

Insurance companies · United States

Interactive Brokers Group

interactivebrokers.com ↗

Global electronic broker offering low cost trading across stocks, options, futures, and currencies.

Hard to displace

Assessed 20 July 2026 · Evidence as of 20 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 20 July 2026 · Checkable from July 21, 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings report

The call

IBKR keeps adding accounts and client money faster than rivals can copy its licensing footprint or its execution costs.

Interactive Brokers lets people trade stocks, options, and futures with very low fees by operating its own clearing system and connecting directly to 170+ trading venues worldwide. Rivals like Schwab and Fidelity make more money from advisory services and wealth management, so they cannot afford to match IBKR's ultra-low prices without hurting their other businesses; newer competitors like Robinhood lack IBKR's regulatory licenses across 200+ countries and global infrastructure. AI tools like ChatGPT can help traders research ideas, but they cannot replace the actual broker-dealer license, custody systems, or clearing operations that took decades to build. The main risk to watch is whether falling interest rates will shrink IBKR's profits, since it currently makes money from holding customer cash; if rate cuts persist, the company would need to prove that growth in trading commissions can make up the difference.

Why

AI pressure: Frontier AI labs (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok) via MCP integrations. AI models plug into IBKR as a research layer for trade ideas, but IBKR keeps the account, custody, and execution rails. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Charles Schwab and Fidelity. Both run cheaper commission books than before but their advisory fee businesses discourage matching IBKR pricing and global reach. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Broker dealer, FCM, and SIPC licenses across roughly 200 jurisdictions plus direct connections into 170+ trading venues that took decades to build.

What would change this call

Q2 2026 earnings (July 21, 2026) show net interest income trend vs commission growth. Whether rate cuts are compressing earnings faster than account/commission growth compensates.
OCC National Trust Bank charter application outcome. Whether IBKR expands regulatory scope and product range further widening its licensure moat.
Futu Holdings SDNY class action and China CSRC enforcement developments (lead-plaintiff deadline Aug 25, 2026). Whether cross-border broker peers face client attrition that could redirect assets toward IBKR.

Key numbers

Net revenue $6.205B in 2025, up 20% YoY (2025-12-31)
4.399M accounts, over 1M net new in 2025 (2025-12-31)
Client equity $779.9B, up 37% YoY (2025-12-31)

Named risks

Net interest income compression from Fed rate-cut cycle pressuring a top revenue line. Severity: high
Active federal litigation including Alharthi and Jackson putative class actions in 2026. Severity: medium
Regulatory enforcement history: $11.8M OFAC settlement and December 2025 Nasdaq censure. Severity: medium
Named as bystander venue in SEC-driven account freeze tied to Susquehanna insider-trading probe, July 2026. Severity: low
AI agents (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok) could shift research/idea-generation layer away from IBKR's own tools. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Charles Schwab	gaining on	IBKR added 1M+ net new accounts in 2025 while Schwab faces PFOF/sweep margin conflicts
Fidelity	gaining on	Client equity grew 37% YoY to $779.9B by end-2025 versus Fidelity's higher-margin advisory model
Robinhood	contesting	Robinhood's move upmarket into futures/pro tooling flagged as near-term tactical risk as of mid-2026
Futu Holdings	gaining on	Futu faces SDNY class action, lead-plaintiff deadline Aug 25, 2026, amid China CSRC crackdown
Up Fintech (Tiger Brokers)	gaining on	Named alongside IBKR in July 2026 account freeze order tied to Susquehanna SEC probe, but faces added CSRC scrutiny

Questions people ask

Is Interactive Brokers profitable in 2025?: Yes. Interactive Brokers reported net income available to common stockholders of $984 million for full-year 2025, up from $755 million in 2024 and $600 million in 2023, on total net revenue of $6.205 billion, a roughly 20% YoY increase, as of December 31, 2025.
Could AI replace Interactive Brokers?: Unlikely to replace it outright. As of June 22, 2026, IBKR integrated Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok via an MCP-server architecture so AI can generate research and trade ideas, but IBKR retains login authentication, custody, and broker-dealer licensure, positioning itself as the regulated rails beneath AI agents rather than being disintermediated.
Who owns Interactive Brokers?: Founder Thomas Peterffy retains control through IBG Holdings LLC, which holds all Class B shares and about 74.2% of voting power as of March 31, 2025, and owns 73.7% of IBG LLC membership interests as of December 31, 2025; public shareholders hold the remaining minority stake.
Is Interactive Brokers laying off employees?: No layoffs are evident. IBKR's own fact sheet reports 3,230-plus employees globally as of June 30, 2026, with Wikipedia citing 3,182 employees at end-2025, up about 6.14% YoY, reflecting continued modest headcount growth alongside much faster revenue and account growth.
Is it safe to keep money at Interactive Brokers given its regulatory history?: IBKR has faced enforcement actions, including an $11.8 million OFAC sanctions settlement in 2025 for 2016-2021 violations and a December 2025 Nasdaq censure and fine, but it remains a highly capitalized, S&P 500 company (joined August 28, 2025) with $780 billion in client equity as of end-2025.
Who is Interactive Brokers' biggest competitor?: Charles Schwab and Fidelity are the largest incumbent brokers by total client assets, but both face structural conflicts protecting higher-margin advisory and sweep businesses. Robinhood's push upmarket into futures and pro-trader tools is viewed as the more immediate tactical competitive risk to IBKR as of mid-2026.

Timeline

2026-07-14Expanded stablecoin funding to 12 crypto assets including USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD plus external wallet transfers
2026-06-22Added ChatGPT and Grok AI trading connectors alongside existing Claude integration via MCP server
2026-05-14Launched IBKR Prediction Markets unifying Kalshi, CME Group and ForecastEx access
2026-03-31Client equity reached $789.4 billion; Q1 2026 revenue $1.68 billion, up 17% YoY
2026-01-21Q4 2025 earnings call disclosed record 1 million-plus net new accounts for the year
2025-12-31FY2025 net revenue hit $6.205 billion; net income $984 million; client equity $779.9 billion
2025-12Nasdaq censure and fine issued against Interactive Brokers
2025-08-28Interactive Brokers Group joined the S&P 500 index
2025IBKR paid $11.8 million OFAC settlement for 2016-2021 sanctions violations

Revision history

20 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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