# Interactive Brokers (IBKR): Q3 profit per share up 17% to $0.69 as client accounts jump 35% and dividend rises 71%

> Interactive Brokers, the online broker that lets customers trade shares, options and futures in many countries, reported third-quarter sales of…

- URL: https://centiview.com/post/interactive-brokers-ibkr-q3-profit-per-share-up-17-to-0-69-as-client-accounts-jump-35-and-dividend-rises-71
- Published: 2026-10-18T11:30:00.000Z
- Sectors: Financials
- Region: US
- Ticker: IBKR
- Sentiment (opinion, not a recommendation): bullish
- Publisher: Centiview (Persie Ltd, London)
- General information only, not financial advice

Interactive Brokers, the online broker that lets customers trade shares, options and futures in many countries, reported third-quarter sales of $1.91bn on 15 October 2026, up 16% from a year ago. Profit per share rose 17% to $0.69 and the company lifted its quarterly dividend by 71%, even though customers traded about 11% less often than in the previous quarter.

## What happened

On Thursday 15 October 2026 Interactive Brokers Group published results for the three months to 30 September. Net revenues, the company's sales after interest paid out, were $1,914m, against $1,655m a year earlier. Profit before tax was $1,496m, up from $1,312m. The firm also raised its quarterly cash dividend from $0.0875 to $0.15 per share, payable on 14 December 2026 to shareholders on the register at 1 December. Customers held 5.58 million accounts, 35% more than a year ago, and their combined equity (the value of their cash and investments at the broker) reached $964.7bn, up 27%.

Activity slowed from an unusually busy second quarter. Customers made an average of 4.27 million trades a day, known as DARTs (daily average revenue trades, the trades that earn the broker a commission). That is 18% more than a year ago but 11% fewer than the 4.82 million of the second quarter. Within the year-on-year figures, futures volume rose 13%, options volume slipped 1% and share volume fell 24%. The company also reports an adjusted basis, which differs from the GAAP figures; on that measure revenue was $1.87bn and profit per share $0.67.

## The numbers, explained

Interactive Brokers earns money in two main ways. The first is commissions, the fees charged per trade, which rose 12% to $602m from $537m (602 divided by 537 is 1.121). The second, and larger, is net interest income: the interest it earns on customers' loans and cash, minus the interest it pays out. That rose 19% to $1,154m from $967m (1,154 divided by 967 is 1.193). Interest income was $2,433m and interest expense $1,279m, and the difference is the $1,154m. Together these two lines made up about 92% of net revenues ((602 plus 1,154) divided by 1,914).

The growth came from bigger balances rather than higher rates. Average customer margin loans, money customers borrow against their portfolios to buy more, were $104.0bn against $70.8bn, up 47%. Average interest-earning assets rose from $183.7bn to $237.2bn. Costs grew too: total non-interest expenses were $418m against $343m, up 22%, and execution, clearing and distribution fees rose 46% to $134m. The company says $30m of that increase comes from a higher regulatory fee that it passes on to customers. The pre-tax margin, profit as a share of net revenues, was 78% (1,496 divided by 1,914 is 78.2%) against 79% a year ago.

Two further figures need care. Diluted earnings per share, the profit attributable to each ordinary share after accounting for all shares in issue, were $0.69 on the US accounting basis (GAAP) against $0.59, a rise of 17% (0.69 divided by 0.59 is 1.169). Net income was $1,348m, but only $314m of it is available to the listed company's ordinary shareholders. The other $1,034m belongs to holders of the operating company's own membership interests, which are held by IBG Holdings LLC. The listed company owned 26.6% of that operating company at 30 September.

## Why it matters

Interactive Brokers is mainly a technology business that processes trades and lends against portfolios, and it serves both individual investors and professional clients. Its pitch is low prices and access to many markets, and the account growth of 35% suggests that pitch is still winning customers. Because interest on balances is now the biggest earner, its results depend on how much clients borrow and hold with it, not only on how often they trade. That makes it less sensitive to a quiet month on the stock market than a firm that lives on commissions alone.

The quarter also shows the limits. Customers traded fewer shares, and the number of trades per account per year, on the company's annualised measure, fell to 168 from 195, a drop of about 14% (168 divided by 195 is 0.862). Average commission per order slipped 4% to $2.59. Finance Magnates also reports that the net interest margin, what the firm keeps on each dollar of assets, narrowed to 1.99% from 2.16%. For rival online brokers, the lesson is that client numbers and borrowing can grow while trading intensity moves up and down from one quarter to the next. This is our commentary, not a company statement.

## What to watch next

The dividend of $0.15 per share is payable on 14 December 2026 to holders of record on 1 December 2026, which is $0.60 a year if the rate were unchanged, a figure we calculate and the company does not forecast. Interactive Brokers also publishes monthly brokerage statistics at the start of each month, as it did for September on 1 October 2026, giving client accounts, equity, margin loans and DARTs. The October figures are the next update. We make no forecast on trading volumes, interest rates or results.

- DARTs: daily average revenue trades, the number of customer trades per day that earn the broker a commission.
- Margin loan: money a customer borrows from the broker, secured by their investments, to buy more.
- Net interest income: interest earned on loans and cash held, minus interest paid out.

> **Why it matters** Interactive Brokers shows how an online broker can keep growing sales when customers trade less: more accounts and more borrowing lift interest income, while trading activity swings from quarter to quarter.

> **What we verified** From Interactive Brokers' SEC 8-K results exhibit (US GAAP, USD, quarter to 30 September 2026, released 15 October 2026): net revenues $1,914m vs $1,655m; commissions $602m vs $537m; net interest income $1,154m vs $967m; pre-tax income $1,496m vs $1,312m; diluted EPS $0.69 vs $0.59 (adjusted $0.67 vs $0.57); accounts 5.58m (+35%); client equity $964.7bn (+27%); DARTs 4.27m (+18%, -11% vs Q2); dividend $0.0875 to $0.15. Finance Magnates confirms revenue, commissions, interest income, pre-tax income, EPS, margin loans, DARTs and the dividend; FX News Group's September metrics confirm accounts, equity and margin loans. We recomputed every percentage ourselves. The 8-K does not list the adjustments behind the adjusted figures, so we cite only the totals.

### Sources
- [Interactive Brokers Group 3Q2026 results (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001381197/000138119726000154/ibkr-ex99_1.htm)
- [Interactive Brokers raises dividend 71% as net interest income offsets trading slowdown (Finance Magnates)](https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/interactive-brokers-raises-dividend-71-as-net-interest-income-offsets-trading-slowdown/)
- [Interactive Brokers registers 6% Y/Y increase in DARTs in Sep 2026 (FX News Group)](https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/retail-forex/interactive-brokers-registers-6-y-y-increase-in-darts-in-sep-2026/)