One Permit, Fifteen CountriesNarrow moat

XTB (XTB) — moat facet

One Polish authorisation serves fourteen other countries, which is why 703 333 clients in six months is physically possible for 1 516 people.

The single most valuable feature of the Polish permit is that it travels. Under the European Union's markets-in-financial-instruments regime, a firm authorised in one member state may serve clients in every other one, and XTB has done so through branches registered in the Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, France and Portugal, with offices in fifteen countries in total.1

Operating income by region, H1 2026 against H1 2025, PLN m1 524CEE757CEE prior402W Europe237W Eur prior100Mid East60LatAmLatin America fell 39 per cent, from 98,7m; Asia produced 25 thousand złoty
The passport delivered Western Europe. It has not yet delivered Latin America.

That is why a company headquartered on a Warsaw side street can advertise on French billboards and put its logo on tennis players at Roland Garros without applying to a single French regulator.2 The economics are unusual: the compliance cost of the fifteenth country is a fraction of the first, because the licence and the trading book and the platform are already built and shared.

It also explains the shape of the expansion. XTB does not buy local brokers. It incorporates a subsidiary, notifies the regulator, translates the app, hires a marketing team and starts spending. XTB Lithuania was incorporated on 1 June 2026 and had not yet begun operations at the half-year; the Chilean subsidiary obtained a securities agent licence in the same period; additional licences were obtained in the United Arab Emirates.3

The passport is what makes 703 333 new clients in six months physically possible for a company of 1 516 people.4

Western European revenue was 402 million złoty in the first half of 2026 against 237 million a year earlier.5 That is where the passport is supposed to pay, and it is the only place the answer will show.

Moat trajectory: Widening

XTB Lithuania was incorporated in June 2026, the Chilean subsidiary obtained a securities agent licence, and additional licences were obtained in the Emirates. Western European revenue rose from 237 million złoty to 402 million in a half-year. The passport is being used harder each year.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Western European revenue
402m zł in H1 2026, from 237m zł

Passporting turns one Polish authorisation into permission to serve fourteen other countries, through branches in the Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, France and Portugal. Western Europe produced 402 million złoty in the first half of 2026 against 237 million a year earlier. That line is where the passport is supposed to pay, and it is the only place a reader can check.

Source: XTB Group half-year report for the first half of 2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
A Passport Can Be Revalued
A single market delivers fifteen countries at once and a single point at which all fifteen can be changed together.
References
  1. ReportedUnder the European Union's markets-in-financial-instruments regime, a firm authorised in one member state may serve clients in every other one, and XTB has done so through branches registered in the Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, France and Portugal, with offices in fifteen countries in total.
    XTB Group consolidated financial statements for 2025, balance sheet, off-balance-sheet items, employment, capital and shareholders - nominal value of derivative financial instruments at 31 December 2025 and 31 December 2024: Index CFDs 3 933 252 and 3 766 277; Commodity CFDs 6 216 958 and 3 705 548; Currency CFDs 3 284 496 and 2 952 168; Stock and ETF CFDs 1 615 397 and 1 169 077; Bond CFDs 1 553 and 11 126; total 15 051 656 and 11 604 196, of which transactions with brokers represent 16% at 31 December 2025 and 14% at 31 December 2024; clients' financial instruments held in brokerage accounts: listed stocks and rights to stocks 15 138 542 and 7 907 437; ETFs 12 144 808 and 5 773 953; other securities 207 and 207; total 27 283 557 and 13 681 597; contributions made to the compensation scheme with an opening balance of 17 923 and a closing balance of 23 981; total employment in the Group at 31 December 2025 of 1 516 people against 1 245 at 31 December 2024, including persons under employment contract and other forms of civil law contract including B2B; the Parent Company supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority under a permit dated 8 November 2005, No. DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005, registered in the National Court Register under KRS 0000217580 with its seat at ul. Prosta 67, 00-838 Warszawa; foreign branches in the Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, France and Portugal; subsidiaries including XTB International Ltd (Belize), XTB MENA Limited and XTB Financial Services L.L.C (United Arab Emirates), PT XTB Indonesia Berjangka (90%), XTB Agente de Valores SpA (Chile), XTB Services Limited (Cyprus), X Open Hub Sp. z o.o. (Poland), XTB S.C. Limited (Seychelles), XTB Africa (PTY) Ltd (South Africa) and a Turkish entity in liquidation, with XTB Digital Ltd of Cyprus liquidated in September 2025; share capital of 117 383 635 series A shares and 185 616 series B shares of nominal value PLN 0,05, each carrying one vote with no preference; XXZW Investment Group S.A. of Luxembourg, controlled by Jakub Zablocki, holding 51 472 869 shares or 43,78% at 1 January 2025 and 42 067 329 shares or 35,78% at 31 December 2025, which gives the company control even though it holds less than 50%; dividends of 640 753 thousand złoty paid during 2025 — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThat is why a company headquartered on a Warsaw side street can advertise on French billboards and put its logo on tennis players at Roland Garros without applying to a single French regulator.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, activities and products - the Cash ISA for United Kingdom residents launched in Q1 2026 with flexible tax-free interest compounding, a GBP 20 000 annual contribution limit, the option to withdraw and re-deposit funds without losing the allowance, fee-free transactions and FSCS protection up to GBP 120 000; spot crypto trading launched for clients in Cyprus based on a CySEC licence and MiCA standards and expanded to Chile with access to 46 of the most popular cryptocurrencies; extended trading hours for nearly 1 000 key European stocks and ETFs from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM; an AI module for analyzing media sentiment; self-selection and closing of individual stock and ETF positions as an alternative to the automatic FIFO rule; full access to and management of IKE and IKZE retirement accounts from desktop computers; additional regulatory licences in the United Arab Emirates; the incorporation of XTB Lithuania UAB in Vilnius on 1 June 2026; a securities agent licence for the Chilean subsidiary; a global partnership with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as official sponsor of the men's and women's World Cups and title sponsor of the European Qualifiers; a partnership with SSC Napoli, XTB's first with a football club from Europe's top five leagues, running to the end of the 2026/2027 season and aimed at the Italian market; tennis player sponsorships at Roland Garros and Wimbledon; and a product roadmap with cryptoassets, an OKI account for clients in Poland, long-term investment products and margin trading in progress, and options, expansion of the pension account offering in other European countries and Investment Plans 2,0 planned — H1 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedXTB Lithuania was incorporated on 1 June 2026 and had not yet begun operations at the half-year; the Chilean subsidiary obtained a securities agent licence in the same period; additional licences were obtained in the United Arab Emirates.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, activities and products - the Cash ISA for United Kingdom residents launched in Q1 2026 with flexible tax-free interest compounding, a GBP 20 000 annual contribution limit, the option to withdraw and re-deposit funds without losing the allowance, fee-free transactions and FSCS protection up to GBP 120 000; spot crypto trading launched for clients in Cyprus based on a CySEC licence and MiCA standards and expanded to Chile with access to 46 of the most popular cryptocurrencies; extended trading hours for nearly 1 000 key European stocks and ETFs from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM; an AI module for analyzing media sentiment; self-selection and closing of individual stock and ETF positions as an alternative to the automatic FIFO rule; full access to and management of IKE and IKZE retirement accounts from desktop computers; additional regulatory licences in the United Arab Emirates; the incorporation of XTB Lithuania UAB in Vilnius on 1 June 2026; a securities agent licence for the Chilean subsidiary; a global partnership with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as official sponsor of the men's and women's World Cups and title sponsor of the European Qualifiers; a partnership with SSC Napoli, XTB's first with a football club from Europe's top five leagues, running to the end of the 2026/2027 season and aimed at the Italian market; tennis player sponsorships at Roland Garros and Wimbledon; and a product roadmap with cryptoassets, an OKI account for clients in Poland, long-term investment products and margin trading in progress, and options, expansion of the pension account offering in other European countries and Investment Plans 2,0 planned — H1 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe passport is what makes 703 333 new clients in six months physically possible for a company of 1 516 people.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, client key performance indicators - new clients 333 292 and 370 041 in the two quarters of 2026, 703 333 for the half against 361 643, up 94,5%; active clients 1 489 872 against 853 938, up 74,5%; clients in total 2 825 700 against 1 697 894, up 66,4%; net deposits 11 768 823 against 7 240 875, up 62,5%; average operating revenue per active client 1,4 in both halves and 0,7 in the second quarter against 0,9 in the first; average client acquisition cost 0,6 against 0,7; turnover of CFD instruments in lots 4 154 831 against 4 229 558, down 1,8% — H1 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedWestern European revenue was 402 million złoty in the first half of 2026 against 237 million a year earlier.
    XTB Group half-year report for the first half of 2026, income statement and geography - total operating income 2 086 324 against 1 160 891, up 79,7%, with the second quarter at 992 558 against the first quarter's 1 094 018, down 9,3%; profit on operating activities 1 202 271 against 552 163, up 117,7%; finance costs (607) against (85 087); profit before tax 1 255 368 against 495 343; income tax (228 128) against (85 291); net profit 1 027 240 against 410 052, up 150,5%, with the second quarter at 492 198; marketing (435 510) against (264 356), up 64,7%; salaries and employee benefits (246 964) against (192 700); total operating expenses (884 053) against (608 728), up 45,2%; operating income by geography for the six months to 30 June 2026 and 30 June 2025: Central and Eastern Europe 1 524 434 and 757 411, including Poland 1 197 033 and 605 985; Western Europe 402 163 and 237 381; Latin America 60 125 and 98 711; Middle East 99 577 and 67 388; Asia 25 and nil; the country from which the Group derives 20% and over of its revenue is Poland; net gain by class for the six months: CFD instruments 1 982 414 against 1 112 043 and other instruments 82 940 against 36 128, giving a gross result of 2 065 371 against 1 148 171; interest income on clients' cash 45 978 against 34 713; commission and fee income 15 975 against 9 520 — H1 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026