Performance showdown among 25 brokerages! The highest net profit surged over 405%, with only one experiencing a revenue decline! Plus, these highlights

Listed brokerages’ 2025 annual reports are being released one after another. As of April 2, 25 brokerages have completed disclosure, accounting for more than half of the total.

Against the backdrop of steady growth in activity in the capital markets, the highlights of listed brokerages’ 2025 annual reports are plentiful. Except for Western Securities, whose revenue declined, the other 24 brokerages all saw both revenue and net profit grow. Year-over-year growth in attributable net profit ranges from as high as 405.49% to as low as 6.72%.

Wealth management businesses have flourished across the board: 70% of brokerages saw year-over-year growth of more than 30% in net brokerage fee income; investment banking business has rebounded after bottoming out—20 brokerages achieved positive growth; proprietary trading has seen the strong get stronger—CITIC Securities’ proprietary trading business income is nearing RMB 39 billion; asset management business, meanwhile, has diverged significantly, with only 13 brokerages recording growth in net fee income from asset management.

Nine leading brokerages account for 80% of overall net profit

Among the 25 brokerages, Western Securities is currently the only one with declining revenue. In 2025, it reported revenue of RMB 5.985 billion, down 10.84% year over year; attributable net profit was RMB 1.754 billion, up 24.97%. When discussing the revenue decline, the company said it was due to a year-over-year decrease in revenue and costs from its commodity trading business.

Whether measured by revenue or attributable net profit, the other 24 listed brokerages all grew compared with the previous year. Among them, 11 brokerages saw growth in attributable net profit of more than 50%; and the two brokerages that “topped the list” in growth are those that completed mergers and restructuring—Guolian Minsheng and Guotai Junan.

Guolian Minsheng achieved revenue of RMB 7.673 billion, up 185.99%; attributable net profit of RMB 2.009 billion, up 405.49%. Guotai Junan achieved revenue of RMB 63.107 billion, up 87.40%; attributable net profit of RMB 27.809 billion, up 113.52%.

The growth rates in attributable net profit of Central China Securities, Founder Securities, Guohai Securities, CICC, Oriental Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, Hongta Securities, Zhongtai Securities, and Southwest Securities were also all above 50%. Among them, Guohai Securities’ year-over-year revenue growth was only 7%, which is not particularly notable among the 25 brokerages, but its year-over-year growth in attributable net profit was 79.57%.

By contrast, Capital Securities and Huatai Securities had slightly more subdued growth in both revenue and net profit. However, viewed longitudinally, Capital Securities has already set a historical high for the company’s operating performance. Huatai Securities’ growth in attributable net profit was 6.72%; this was mainly due to one-off gains related to the disposal of subsidiaries in 2024 that disrupted results. After excluding non-recurring items, attributable net profit’s year-over-year growth reached 80%.

In terms of net profit, the rankings among the top 10 brokerages have already become relatively clear. CITIC Securities stands out at the top, with revenue of RMB 74.854 billion, up 28.79%; attributable net profit exceeded the RMB 30 billion mark, up 38.58%. Guotai Junan ranked second, with differences of RMB 11.7 billion and RMB 2.3 billion versus CITIC Securities in revenue and attributable net profit, respectively.

Brokerages with attributable net profit above RMB 10 billion also include Huatai Securities (RMB 16.383 billion), GF Securities (RMB 13.702 billion), China Galaxy (RMB 12.52 billion), China Merchants Securities (RMB 12.35 billion), and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (RMB 10.363 billion). CICC and CITIC Jian投, respectively, followed closely with net profit of RMB 9.791 billion and RMB 9.439 billion.

The net profit of these nine brokerages already accounted for 81% of the total among the 25 brokerages, showing clearly that the “Matthew effect” pattern in the brokerage industry is pronounced. Among the remaining 16 brokerages, only Oriental Securities had net profit above RMB 5 billion; the rest were between RMB 0.4 billion and RMB 4 billion.

Seventy percent of brokerages saw growth of more than 30% in net brokerage fee income from brokerage services

The surge in performance of listed brokerages in 2025 is basically related to boosts from wealth management, proprietary trading, investment banking, and other businesses. Especially in wealth management, benefited by active market trading and interactions—many brokerages saw growth in metrics such as new account openings, trading commissions, and product distribution scale.

According to statistics by China Securities Journal reporter from Eastmoney Choice data, the net brokerage fee income from brokerage services of all 25 listed brokerages increased. Seventy percent of them recorded growth of 30% or more, mainly among leading brokerages. The lowest growth rate was also 16%, for Oriental Securities, whose net brokerage fee income collected was more than RMB 2.9 billion.

Guotai Junan and CITIC Securities are the only two brokerages with net brokerage fee income from brokerage services exceeding RMB 10 billion. The former is RMB 385 million higher than the latter, with growth rates of 93% and 38%, respectively. GF Securities, Huatai Securities, China Merchants Securities, and China Galaxy also recorded impressive year-over-year growth in net brokerage fee income from brokerage services, even though it did not reach RMB 10 billion. All were above 40%, and they greatly boosted performance, contributing more than a quarter of operating income.

Among mid-sized and small brokerages, Western Securities matched multiple top brokerages with a growth rate of 44%, and its net brokerage fee income from brokerage services was RMB 1.361 billion. Growth at Industrial Securities, Founder Securities, Hu an Securities, and Hualin Securities also exceeded 35%. Especially for Founder Securities, its net brokerage fee income from brokerage services was RMB 5.578 billion, already accounting for “half of the territory” of total operating income.

Only five brokerages saw declines in fee net income from investment banking

Among fee-based businesses, 20 brokerages also saw growth in net fee income from their investment banking businesses. Compared with 2024, investment banking income generally faced a downward trend, so the number of brokerages that achieved growth was limited.

Overall, mid-sized and small brokerages showed greater elasticity. Among the eight brokerages whose net fee income from investment banking grew by more than 50% year over year in 2025, five are mid-sized and small brokerages—such as Hu an Securities, Southwest Securities, and Guohai Securities—accounting for five seats. Even Yunnan Hongta Securities’ growth rate exceeded twofold.

Among leading brokerages, CICC recorded the highest growth rate at 63%, significantly improving its overall performance. The annual report shows that in 2025, CICC’s investment banking business income was RMB 5.031 billion, with a year-over-year growth rate that was the highest among all segment businesses, accounting for 16% of total operating income.

CITIC Securities’ growth rate was not as high as CICC’s, but with net fee income from investment banking of RMB 6.336 billion, it ranked first in the industry. Among the top five brokerages by this performance indicator were also Guotai Junan (RMB 4.657 billion), CITIC Construction and Investment (RMB 3.129 billion), and Huatai Securities (RMB 3.099 billion). They clearly widened the gap versus the other brokerages.

Only five brokerages—Founder Securities, Everbright Securities, Industrial Securities, Zhongtai Securities, and Zhongyuan Securities—saw declines in net fee income from investment banking. The largest decline was at Zhongyuan Securities, whose collected net fee income was RMB 0.24 billion, down 57% year over year.

CITIC Securities’ proprietary trading income is nearing RMB 39 billion

In 2025, A-shares achieved double-digit returns for two consecutive years. In major overseas markets, U.S. stocks and key European indices rose, while Hong Kong equities performed especially well. In China’s bond market, major indices fluctuated throughout the year. Long-end yields rose somewhat from historical lows, and most bond net price indices fell. Against this backdrop, some brokerages seized opportunities, adjusted investment strategies, and delivered substantial returns from proprietary trading.

China Securities Journal reporter calculated based on the formula “proprietary trading business income = investment income + fair value changes - investment income from equity-accounted investments/joint ventures.” Of the 25 brokerages, 20 recorded income growth. The growth at Guolian Minsheng, Zhongyuan Securities, Guotai Junan, GF Securities, Hongta Securities, and Cinda Securities was all above 50%. Brokerages with stronger investment capabilities also include Founder Securities, CITIC Securities, Capital Securities, Zhongtai Securities, and CICC, whose proprietary trading income growth was above 40%.

Compared with 2024, the five brokerages that saw a decline in proprietary trading income were Western Securities, Hualin Securities, Huatai Securities, Everbright Securities, and Guohai Securities. Among them, besides Guohai Securities with a 33% year-over-year decline, the other four had declines of within 10%. Also, after removing one-off investment gains brought about by the sale of subsidiaries in 2024, Huatai Securities’ investment income actually increased.

As a capital-intensive business, proprietary trading at brokerages tests investment capability and is also a contest of capital strength. In terms of income scale, CITIC Securities widened a large gap versus other brokerages. In 2025, its proprietary trading income was RMB 38.604 billion—RMB 13.2 billion more than second-place Guotai Junan.

In its annual report, CITIC Securities disclosed that its equity and alternative investment business targets a high-capacity, multi-strategy, low-volatility approach to build a platform-based system, gradually optimizing equity market asset allocation. It adheres to focusing on the fundamentals of listed companies. By systematically allocating to large-cap blue-chip companies across the Shanghai/Shenzhen/Hong Kong markets, and also aligning with industry trends to strengthen allocations to the industries driving new quality productivity, it aims to enhance investment returns. Artificial intelligence technologies have also gradually been integrated into the strategy system, and an initial cross-border investment platform for Hong Kong has been established.

Brokerages with proprietary trading income above RMB 10 billion also include CICC (RMB 14.201 billion), Shenwan Hongyuan (RMB 14.041 billion; here is group-level), Huatai Securities (RMB 13.829 billion), China Galaxy (RMB 13.116 billion), and GF Securities (RMB 12.378 billion). Mid-sized and small brokerages’ proprietary trading income is generally below RMB 5 billion.

Some brokerages saw declines in net fee income from asset management

Compared with the aforementioned businesses, asset management revenue is not as strong, and the results diverged significantly. Among the 25 listed brokerages, 13 recorded growth in net fee income from asset management, while 12 saw declines.

Eight brokerages saw growth of more than 10% in net fee income from asset management. Among them, Guotai Junan and Guolian Minsheng benefited from the consolidation effect, with growth of 64% and 19%, respectively. CICC and China Merchants Securities also recorded relatively leading growth rates of 31% and 22%.

Among the 12 brokerages whose net fee income from asset management declined year over year, some had declines of more than 20%, including Southwest Securities, Dongxing Securities, Hualin Securities, Capital Securities, Huatai Securities, and Hongta Securities.

According to annual reports, including Huatai Securities, brokerages’ asset management scale has actually increased steadily. However, influenced by market conditions and other factors, income declined. For example, Capital Securities, which is known for its asset management business, stated that due to conditions in the bond market, the company’s excess performance fees for its asset management products declined, and business income fell back.

By scale, the “top-end effect” in brokerages’ asset management business is extremely evident. Among the 25 brokerages, only eight had net fee income from asset management exceeding RMB 1 billion. CITIC Securities is the only one that crossed the “RMB 10 billion” threshold: in 2025 it collected RMB 12.177 billion, up 16% year over year. GF Securities and Guotai Junan ranked next, with RMB 7.703 billion and RMB 6.393 billion, respectively. Zhongtai Securities, while surrounded by other top brokerages, also stands out: its net fee income from asset management in 2025 was RMB 2.362 billion, higher than Huatai Securities, CICC, and others.

Among the remaining 17 brokerages, six such as China Galaxy were between RMB 0.5 billion and RMB 1 billion; four brokerages such as Zhongyuan Securities were still below RMB 0.1 billion.

As Huatai Securities said in its annual report, behind the continuous growth in market scale for asset management lie optimization of product structure, improvement in investment capabilities, and intensifying market competition. This places comprehensive, higher-level requirements on the business logic and operations of asset management institutions. In a market environment characterized by “low interest rates and high volatility,” asset management institutions need to return to serving the core purpose, expand via innovation in long-term products, develop stable asset management products, strengthen research and investment capabilities, deepen client service capabilities, improve smart-and-digitalized operational efficiency, and enhance clients’ investment experience—helping to promote both the expansion of domestic demand and wealth appreciation through a two-way relationship.

Layout: Wang Yunpeng

Proofreading: Pan Da