Aug 19, 2026 earnings call — PDT rule removal drove record quarter
Record revenue of $198.8 million, up 51% year-over-year, driven by asset growth and higher trading volumes after the PDT rule change.
Revenue $0.2B (est $0.2B) · EPS $0.07 (est $0.04)
Key quotes
"From the moment the rule change took effect, Webull's advanced technology platform enabled every qualified customer to place unlimited day trades with the full benefit of our zero-commission model behind them."
"During the quarter, we further enhanced our position within the agentic stack with our MCP server being connected to leading AI models, enabling users to use natural language to conduct research, build tools and execute trades through the Webull platform."
"We recently announced the acquisition of Pi Securities in Thailand, which is expected to close at the end of August."
Analyst Q&A 6
PDT removal and APAC expansion
Q (Noah Katz · Citizens Bank): Is the post-PDT activity from existing accounts trading more or from asset transfers and consolidation? What will show the change is durable? Also, how is retail activity in APAC and how will the Pi Securities deal help bring your technology to local customers?
A: Management said the PDT boost came from both: they targeted active traders who had multiple accounts and saw new deposits rather than ACAT transfers. They view the PDT removal as permanent, note more smaller day trades and higher take rates, and said APAC is a strategic growth area with 35 licenses in 18 markets; the Pi Securities deal adds funded active accounts in Thailand and grows APAC AUM.
"I truly believe that removal of PDT is the standard going forward." — Anthony Michael Denier (CEO)
Dormant accounts, marketing, crypto
Q (Edward Engel · Compass Point): What do you mean by addressing dormant accounts and when will that roll off? Also, why were marketing costs lower and how should marketing shape the rest of the year? Finally, where does crypto stand now and what about coin-in/coin-out?
A: Management explained dormant accounts were often tiny GameStop-era accounts with about $10 to $15 AUM that did not trade, and removing them improves account quality. They said much of the current marketing expense reflected last year’s asset-match promotions being amortized into 2026 and that they reduced those promotions starting in Q1. On crypto, they reported about $2.25 million revenue in Q2 (just over 1% of revenue) and said they are gray scaling coin-in/coin-out now.
"So the results of those asset matching promotions that you saw last year was primarily reflected in the net deposits in Q4, but the spend was still being amortized well into 2026." — H. Wang (CFO)
Market sensitivity and PDT effects
Q (Christopher Brendler · Rosenblatt): Is your business less market sensitive now, or is PDT supporting July option volumes? Also, were the smaller, multiple trades after PDT expected and is the medium-term uplift already realized?
A: They said Webull is somewhat more insulated because of a high share of active traders; volatility can cause short-term spikes but longer bear markets can reduce volumes and shift trading to ETFs. On PDT, they see sustainable momentum: they abated over 50,000 margin calls on June 4, observed behavioral change to more frequent smaller trades, and view the medium-term uplift as already unfolding.
Agentic AI product and margin trends
Q (Elias Abboud · BofA): How does your new agentic AI differ from peers and how much volume comes from it? Also, how did margin balances trend in July and so far in August and what is client risk appetite now?
A: They said they are early in Phase 1 of agentic AI, focused on portfolio building, research and trade analysis rather than algorithmic execution, and plan more execution features later in the year. For margins, management said balances fluctuate with AUM, July saw deleveraging in a choppy month, but longer term margin balances and margin usage have been steadily increasing and August trading looks healthy.
"Right now, we are very, very early in Phase 1, where most of the interactions with our MCP server is based around portfolio building, research and trade analysis." — Anthony Michael Denier (CEO)
Marketing spend and overseas strategy
Q (Mike Grondahl · Northland): Why did marketing drop about $15 million sequentially and how much of Q1/Q2 was related to 2025 promotions? Will marketing stay lower for H2? What are current marketing priorities? How is the Meritz institutional effort progressing? Any revenue detail for prediction markets?
A: They said about 40% of Q1 marketing and less of Q2 related to last year’s promotions, and going forward spend should normalize to be similar to the first half absent market changes. Marketing focus is brand building, quality account acquisition and international growth. The Meritz institutional push has taken longer than expected but they hope to scale by end of August. Prediction markets are up 71% sequentially and they estimate prediction market activity around $5 million to $6 million per quarter.
"I think it's about 40% of the marketing expenses in Q1 and to a lesser extent in Q2 is related to last year." — H. Wang (CFO)
PDT adoption breadth and first-mover edge
Q (Brian Vieten · Siebert): How broad-based is the PDT-driven volume increase across customers versus a few heavy users? Does adoption ramp through the year? Is there a first-mover advantage for you versus peers?
A: They said the change is broad-based: Webull’s average customer age is 34 and many newer, younger users didn’t face PDT limits, so options adoption rose and trading frequency increased across many users. They expect the ramp to continue as behavior evolves and said their early public education gave them large media exposure, though the change benefits the whole industry.
"But if you -- like if you take every article that was published that talks about the removal of the PDT rule, Webull was mentioned in almost 90% of them, right?" — Anthony Michael Denier (CEO)