Plus500 H1 2026 results: $182.5 million returns as revenue hits three-year high

Plus500 Limited has reported a strong first half of 2026, with revenue reaching a three-year high and Customer Income hitting its best six-month level for five years.

The trading platform operator also announced another $182.5 million of shareholder returns through dividends and share buybacks. That takes returns announced during 2026 to $370.0 million and the total since its 2013 flotation to approximately $3.1 billion.

The headline numbers are impressive, but investors should also note the slower growth in EBITDA, a lower profit margin and softer customer acquisition during the second quarter.

Plus500 H1 2026 results at a glance

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Revenue	$462.9 million	$415.1 million	12%
Customer Income	$460.8 million	$371.5 million	24%
Trading income	$441.8 million	$385.5 million	15%
EBITDA	$187.5 million	$185.1 million	1%
EBITDA margin	41%	45%	Down 4 percentage points
Net profit	$151.9 million	$149.6 million	2%
Basic earnings per share	$2.17	$2.05	6%
Active Customers	197,294	179,931	10%
New Customers	65,723	56,165	17%
Cash and cash equivalents	$861.3 million	$938.1 million	Down 8%

Revenue increased by 12% to $462.9 million, while trading income rose by 15% to $441.8 million. This more than offset the decline in interest income from $29.6 million to $21.1 million as global interest rates fell.

That mix matters. Plus500 is generating more of its revenue from customer trading activity rather than interest earned on cash balances, which management views as an improvement in earnings quality.

The relationship between earnings and valuation is explored further in Record High, Lower P/E: How Earnings Can Catch Up With the Market.

Customer activity provided the main growth engine

Customer Income increased by 24% to $460.8 million. This measure includes customer spreads and overnight charges from Plus500's over-the-counter, or OTC, business, alongside commissions from futures, options and share dealing.

OTC products are traded directly between Plus500 and its customers rather than through a central exchange. The group's OTC offering includes contracts for difference, commonly known as CFDs, which allow customers to speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset.

Active Customers increased by 10% to 197,294, while the number of New Customers rose by 17% to 65,723.

Average revenue per user, or ARPU, increased by 2% to $2,346. Average user acquisition cost, or AUAC, decreased by 1% to $1,230. Rising customer value alongside a broadly stable acquisition cost is an encouraging combination.

The customer base also appears to be generating revenue across different stages of its lifecycle. Customers who had traded with Plus500 for up to one year produced 20% of OTC revenue, up from 16%. Meanwhile, customers trading for more than five years generated 50%, up from 47%.

There was some softness in the quarterly figures, however. Q2 Active Customers decreased by 1% year-on-year and New Customers fell by 12%, even though quarterly ARPU increased by 7%.

Why EBITDA growth lagged revenue

EBITDA increased by only 1% to $187.5 million despite the double-digit revenue increase. The EBITDA margin consequently declined from 45% to 41%.

Total selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 20% to $278.5 million. Plus500 identified several reasons:

• Higher investment in acquiring customers
• Revenue-linked costs from the expanding non-OTC business
• Continued research and development spending
• Operating costs in newer markets, including India, Canada and Colombia
• A stronger Israeli Shekel against the US Dollar

Marketing technology investment rose from $69.5 million to $80.9 million, including approximately $16 million of incremental spending intended to accelerate customer acquisition.

Commissions and fees increased by 34% to $44.6 million as the US and wider non-OTC operations scaled. Employee-related expenses rose by 27% to $94.4 million, partly reflecting the currency headwind.

Management describes these costs as deliberate growth investment, and approximately 70% of the cost base remained variable. Even so, investors will want to see revenue from newer products and markets grow quickly enough to prevent further margin dilution.

US expansion is becoming financially meaningful

Plus500's non-OTC business includes futures, prediction markets and share dealing. Its revenue increased by approximately 30% and represented around 15% of group revenue, compared with approximately 13% in H1 2025.

The business is on track to generate annualised revenue of approximately $140 million during 2026.

In the US, Plus500 launched a regulated business-to-consumer prediction markets offering in February, followed by sports event-based contracts in June. Single stock futures were introduced shortly after the period ended.

The company is also expanding its business-to-business infrastructure relationships. New partnerships with Wealthsimple and Nelogica were announced shortly after the period, adding to existing relationships involving CME Group, FanDuel and Topstep.

Plus500 completed its acquisition of Mehta Equities in India during February. The acquisition provides local regulatory credentials and access to what the company describes as one of the world's largest futures markets.

This diversification could make group earnings less reliant on the original CFD business. However, prediction markets, new institutional partnerships and the Indian operation still require investment and successful execution before their full financial value becomes clear.

Dividends and buybacks remain central to the investment case

Plus500 announced $182.5 million of shareholder returns alongside the results:

Return	Amount
Interim share buyback	$35.3 million
Special share buyback	$64.7 million
Interim dividend	$35.3 million
Special dividend	$47.2 million
Total	$182.5 million

The total dividend is $1.2001 per share, comprising an interim dividend of $0.5135 and a special dividend of $0.6866. The shares are due to trade ex-dividend on 20 August 2026, with payment scheduled for 11 November 2026.

Operating cash conversion was 99%, while the balance sheet contained $861.3 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of June. Plus500 also remained debt-free.

The large buyback is particularly significant because repurchased shares are held in treasury and do not receive dividends or voting rights. At the end of June, Plus500 held 45,527,921 shares in treasury, representing approximately 40% of issued share capital.

Outlook remains in line with upgraded expectations

The board expects full-year 2026 revenue and EBITDA to be in line with current market expectations following several upgrades earlier in the year.

Those expectations are $811.5 million of revenue and $365.1 million of EBITDA. Plus500 also said the second half had started positively.

The main positives are the 24% increase in Customer Income, core trading income growth, customer expansion and the increasing contribution from non-OTC operations. The cash position and further capital returns provide additional support.

The main concern is that costs are currently rising faster than revenue, reducing the EBITDA margin. The weaker Q2 customer acquisition figures also deserve attention, particularly after the step-up in marketing investment.

For investors, the next test is whether Plus500 can turn its spending on the US, India and customer acquisition into sustained earnings growth while protecting its historically strong profitability and cash generation.

The full figures and accompanying notes are available in the original company announcement.