XTB Stocks Overtake CFDs as Retail Trading Evolves

XTB stocks overtake CFDs as clients shift toward long-term investing, reshaping portfolios, revenue mix, and broker’s strategy. XTB has disclosed a major shift in how its customers allocate capital, according to preliminary 2025 results published. By nominal value, equities have become the largest asset class on the platform, surpassing contracts for difference (CFDs), which had underpinned the firm’s business model for much of the past decade.

XTB Stocks Overtake CFDs in Trading Transformation

Client-held equity positions totaled 15.1 billion zlotys (approximately $3.8 billion) at the end of the year, almost doubling from 7.9 billion zlotys a year earlier. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) expanded even more rapidly, rising 110% to 12.1 billion zlotys. Together, stocks and ETFs now make up 60% of total client assets, reflecting a clear preference for longer-term investment products.

CFD holdings increased by a more modest 26% to 12.7 billion zlotys, slipping to third place in the asset mix. This marks a notable turnaround for a product that generated the bulk of XTB’s revenues through 2023 and once dominated client portfolios.

These figures were included in XTB’s preliminary 2025 results, which showed a mixed performance: profits declined by 24%, while management outlined ambitious plans for product expansion in 2026. Market reaction suggested investors were more focused on future growth than on the earnings decline, particularly as the results exceeded analysts’ median expectations.

First Trades Highlight the Trend

The change is even more evident when examining the behavior of new clients. In 2019, 80% of new EU customers placed their first trade in CFDs. By 2025, that proportion had fallen sharply to just 7%.

“The transformation of XTB from a CFD broker to a modern FinTech entity providing a universal investment application has been progressing in recent years,” the fintech commented in the statement. “This transformation will continue into 2026 and beyond.”

Last year, stocks accounted for 38% of first trades, followed by investment plans at 28% and ETFs at 27%. This momentum built on developments in 2023, when CFDs still represented 13% of initial trades.

Since 2024, XTB has accelerated this strategic shift by introducing tax-advantaged retirement products in Poland (IKE and IKZE), the UK (ISA), and France (PEA). The platform now oversees more than 174,000 such long-term savings accounts, compared with virtually none two years ago.

Derivative Revenues Still Dominate

Despite the shift toward long-term investing, derivatives remain central to trading activity. Gold-related CFDs made up 38% of all derivative trading volume in 2025, followed by the Nasdaq 100 index at 28%.

Total client assets under custody rose 67% year-on-year to 45.8 billion zlotys. Cash balances increased 56% to 5.9 billion zlotys, indicating that clients are holding larger sums on the platform between trades.

In 2025, XTB processed 53 million transactions in stocks, ETFs, and investment plans—nearly three times the volume recorded the previous year. By comparison, the broker executed 8.9 million CFD contracts, measured in lots using its standardized unit.

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