Plus500 Q3 2025 Update: US Futures Segregated Funds Surpass $1bn Milestone

Plus500 Q3 2025: steady core, futures milestone, and guidance intact

Plus500 has posted a tidy Q3 2025 update with a clear strategic thread: grow beyond OTC trading, deepen customer quality, and build market infrastructure. The headline is big – customer segregated funds in the US futures business topped $1.2bn at the end of September, up from approximately $350m at 31 December 2024 and just c.$70m when acquired in 2021. Guidance for FY 2025 remains in line with market expectations.

Before we dive in, quick jargon check: OTC means over-the-counter contracts for difference (CFDs). Non-OTC is the futures and share dealing side. Customer Income is the underlying revenue from spreads, financing and commissions. EBITDA is a cash profit proxy before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. ARPU is average revenue per user. AUAC is average user acquisition cost. Customer Trading Performance is the company’s net result from customer positions – expected to be broadly neutral over time.

Key Q3 and year-to-date numbers investors should know

Metric	YTD 2025	YTD 2024	Q3 2025	Q3 2024
Revenue	$597.8m	$585.5m	$182.7m	$187.3m
EBITDA	$267.8m	$266.1m	$82.7m	$82.2m
EBITDA margin	45%	45%	45%	44%
New Customers	78,809	81,681	22,644	24,922
Active Customers	209,842	210,565	115,327	120,968
ARPU	$2,849	$2,781	$1,584	$1,548
AUAC	$1,268	$1,501	$1,344	$1,527
Average deposit per Active Customer	c.$22,850	c.$10,600	c.$14,700	c.$6,150

Customer Income rose 8% YTD to $536.7m. Q3 revenue edged down 2% to $182.7m on lower trading income, partially offset by higher interest income ($21.1m versus $14.1m). Total customer trades were 14.9m in Q3 and 50.4m YTD, up around 23% year-on-year.

Why the $1.2bn US futures funds milestone matters

This is the stand-out achievement. Segregated funds are a proxy for client assets held at the futures clearing firm. Tripling this year to approximately $1.2bn suggests growing institutional and retail trust, deeper penetration, and a bigger base to monetise via commissions and fees.

Plus500 also secured ICE Clear Europe membership, adding to ICE Clear US from January 2025. That broadens clearing access across asset classes and geographies – a key piece of the “market infrastructure” puzzle. Non-OTC now accounts for approximately 15% of group revenue and about 18% of new customers for Q3 2025, up from approximately 10% and approximately 15% in FY 2024 respectively. Directionally, that is the diversification investors have been asking for.

Customer quality up, volumes resilient, new sign-ups softer

The deliberate pivot to higher value customers is showing through. Average deposit per Active Customer leapt to c.$14,700 in Q3 2025 from c.$6,150 a year ago, and has more than doubled YTD to c.$22,850. Around 48% of OTC revenue YTD came from customers trading with Plus500 for more than five years, double the FY 2022 level of 24%.

On the flip side, New Customers declined 9% in Q3 and 4% YTD – a trade-off when you tighten acquisition to improve ROI. The positive here is efficiency: AUAC fell 12% in Q3 and 16% YTD, while ARPU nudged higher.

Customer Trading Performance was ($3.6m) in Q3 and $10.4m YTD. Management reiterates this should be broadly neutral over time, which is what you want to hear in a brokerage model.

Profitability and cash still do the heavy lifting

EBITDA margin held at a robust 45% in Q3 and YTD, even in quieter markets. Revenue mix helped – interest income increased year-on-year – and the cost base remains flexible. Cash balances were over $815m at 30 September 2025 after returning c.$90m via a July dividend and c.$65m through Q3 buybacks.

On buybacks, the company repurchased 1,508,613 shares at an average price of £31.87 in Q3, with 70,133,617 ordinary shares in issue at period end. Shares bought back are held in treasury and do not receive dividends or votes.

Regulatory expansion into Canada and first foothold in Colombia

Plus500 secured a new licence from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, taking its global licence count to 15 and opening a well-established, highly regulated market. In Latin America, authorisation to establish a representative office in Colombia gives Plus500 a local base to build tailored OTC services and relationships.

Management signposts further expansion in Latin America and Asia through the rest of 2025 and beyond. This strategy aligns with the shift to higher-value cohorts and a more geographically diversified revenue base.

Guidance reiterated: what “in line” means in numbers

The Board expects FY 2025 revenue and EBITDA to be in line with current market expectations. Per the company’s compiled consensus, that is $749.5m of revenue and $343.0m of EBITDA. With $597.8m revenue and $267.8m EBITDA delivered YTD, Q4 needs to be decent but not heroic.

My take: strengths, watch-outs, and the investment angle

• Positive – structural progress: The US futures milestone and ICE clearing memberships validate Plus500’s pivot from pure OTC to broader market infrastructure. That should smooth cyclicality over time.
• Positive – customer quality: Higher average deposits, better ARPU, and increased longevity – nearly half of OTC revenue from 5-year-plus customers – speak to stickier, more profitable cohorts.
• Positive – margins and cash: A 45% EBITDA margin and $815m of cash after returns support both organic investment and bolt-on M&A, as flagged by management.
• Neutral to slightly negative – topline cadence: Q3 revenue dipped 2% year-on-year as trading income softened in quieter markets, partly offset by interest income. Not alarming, but a reminder of volatility sensitivity.
• Watch-out – acquisition pace: New Customers fell 9% in Q3. It is deliberate, but the non-OTC growth engine will need to keep pulling to offset a leaner intake.

What to watch next quarter

• Non-OTC mix: Does non-OTC stay around or above 15% of revenue and 18% of new customers as the futures business scales further.
• Segregated funds trajectory: Whether US futures funds hold above $1.2bn – a proxy for momentum with both institutional and retail clients.
• Customer quality vs quantity: Can Plus500 keep ARPU rising and AUAC falling while stabilising New Customers.
• Interest income run-rate: Q3 was $21.1m vs $14.1m a year ago – useful cushion in quieter trading conditions.
• Capital returns: Ongoing buybacks alongside potential bolt-on acquisitions, given the strong balance sheet.

Bottom line

This is a quietly confident update. Operationally, Plus500 is doing the right things – building infrastructure, widening product reach, and upgrading customer quality – while holding margins and cash generation. Q3 revenue softness is hardly shocking given market conditions, and guidance is reiterated with clear visibility on the exit run-rate.

If management keeps compounding the non-OTC franchise and deepening regulated market access, the business should become more durable through the cycle. For now, the numbers back the strategy, and the $1.2bn US futures funds milestone is a genuine marker of progress.