⚠ The App Store Sits in the MiddleModerate threat

XTB (XTB) — threat to the moat

A mobile-first broker distributes through two companies with no particular commitment to leveraged products.

Sixty-one per cent of XTB's trading volume arrives through software distributed by Apple and Google, and neither of them has any particular commitment to financial applications that involve leverage.1

Average client acquisition cost, PLN thousand2019202020212022202320242025H1 26A sustained rise would mean the channel repriced, and XTB does not own the channel
Six hundred złoty a client, held for four years, through somebody else's store.

The exposure is not the commission — a broker takes no in-app payment, so the platform toll that dominates Apple's economics elsewhere in this collection does not apply.2 It is discovery and permission. Both stores maintain specific review policies for financial and trading applications and both have periodically tightened them, and a firm whose acquisition machine depends on paid installs is subject to advertising policies set by the same two companies plus the social platforms that carry most of the creative. XTB spent 585 million złoty on marketing in 2025 and a significant part of that spend converts through channels it does not own.3

There is a subtler version. Platform-level privacy changes have repeatedly reduced the precision of advertising targeting across every industry, and the effect lands hardest on businesses acquiring large volumes of low-value customers, which is precisely what XTB has become. An acquisition cost that has held at 600 to 700 złoty for four years is the number that would move first.4

The company can build any feature it likes into its own app. What it cannot build is the route by which a Polish or Spanish saver finds the app in the first place.

Average client acquisition cost was 1 000 złoty in 2019, fell to 600 by 2021, and has sat between 600 and 800 ever since.5 A sustained rise would mean the channel has repriced, and XTB does not own the channel.

References
  1. ReportedSixty-one per cent of XTB's trading volume arrives through software distributed by Apple and Google, and neither of them has any particular commitment to financial applications that involve leverage.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, operational data - quarterly series for Q2 2026, Q1 2026, Q4 2025, Q3 2025, Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q4 2024 and Q3 2024 in that order: total operating income 992 558, 1 094 018, 609 344, 375 821, 580 597, 580 294, 465 416 and 470 234 thousand złoty; transaction volume in CFD instruments in nominal value 1 029 179, 1 333 410, 1 605 005, 1 118 278, 1 144 554, 937 867, 727 854 and 695 315 million dollars; profitability for USD 1 million of transaction volume 238, 216, 93, 84, 128, 144, 147 and 167 dollars; transaction volume in CFD instruments 1 831 627, 2 323 204, 2 542 526, 2 094 296, 2 321 584, 1 907 974, 1 657 390 and 1 627 978 lots; profitability per lot 484, 439, 208, 152, 229, 277, 253 and 272 złoty; marketing expenses 200 081, 235 429, 179 195, 141 495, 123 322, 141 034, 116 855 and 71 613 thousand złoty with client acquisition cost 0,7, 0,9, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7 and 0,6 thousand złoty; structure of the gross result in H1 2026 Commodity CFDs 75,3%, Index CFDs 13,9%, Currency CFDs 5,0% and other 5,8%, against H1 2025 Index CFDs 46,3%, Commodity CFDs 33,1%, Currency CFDs 15,6% and other 5,0%; share of CFD turnover by trading platform for the same eight quarters: xStation 30, 29, 29, 27, 35, 37, 36 and 38 per cent, xStation Mobile 61, 60, 64, 62, 59, 56, 56 and 57 per cent and MT4 9, 11, 7, 11, 6, 7, 9 and 8 per cent; own cash 2 934 090 at 30 June 2026 against 1 994 027 at 31 December 2025, up 47,1%, with no bonds; dividend per share of 1,5 for 2021, 4,86 for 2022, 5,02 for 2023, 5,45 for 2024 and 4,07 for 2025, the 2025 dividend being PLN 478,5 million or 75% of standalone net profit with a record date of 15 June 2026 and payment on 24 June 2026 — Q3 2024 - Q2 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe exposure is not the commission — a broker takes no in-app payment, so the platform toll that dominates Apple's economics elsewhere in this collection does not apply.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, operational data - quarterly series for Q2 2026, Q1 2026, Q4 2025, Q3 2025, Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q4 2024 and Q3 2024 in that order: total operating income 992 558, 1 094 018, 609 344, 375 821, 580 597, 580 294, 465 416 and 470 234 thousand złoty; transaction volume in CFD instruments in nominal value 1 029 179, 1 333 410, 1 605 005, 1 118 278, 1 144 554, 937 867, 727 854 and 695 315 million dollars; profitability for USD 1 million of transaction volume 238, 216, 93, 84, 128, 144, 147 and 167 dollars; transaction volume in CFD instruments 1 831 627, 2 323 204, 2 542 526, 2 094 296, 2 321 584, 1 907 974, 1 657 390 and 1 627 978 lots; profitability per lot 484, 439, 208, 152, 229, 277, 253 and 272 złoty; marketing expenses 200 081, 235 429, 179 195, 141 495, 123 322, 141 034, 116 855 and 71 613 thousand złoty with client acquisition cost 0,7, 0,9, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7 and 0,6 thousand złoty; structure of the gross result in H1 2026 Commodity CFDs 75,3%, Index CFDs 13,9%, Currency CFDs 5,0% and other 5,8%, against H1 2025 Index CFDs 46,3%, Commodity CFDs 33,1%, Currency CFDs 15,6% and other 5,0%; share of CFD turnover by trading platform for the same eight quarters: xStation 30, 29, 29, 27, 35, 37, 36 and 38 per cent, xStation Mobile 61, 60, 64, 62, 59, 56, 56 and 57 per cent and MT4 9, 11, 7, 11, 6, 7, 9 and 8 per cent; own cash 2 934 090 at 30 June 2026 against 1 994 027 at 31 December 2025, up 47,1%, with no bonds; dividend per share of 1,5 for 2021, 4,86 for 2022, 5,02 for 2023, 5,45 for 2024 and 4,07 for 2025, the 2025 dividend being PLN 478,5 million or 75% of standalone net profit with a record date of 15 June 2026 and payment on 24 June 2026 — Q3 2024 - Q2 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedXTB spent 585 million złoty on marketing in 2025 and a significant part of that spend converts through channels it does not own.
    XTB Group consolidated financial statements for 2025, comprehensive income statement and revenue notes - total operating income 2 146 056 against 1 873 436; income from fees and charges 20 287 against 12 291; other income 3 198; marketing (584 898) against (344 808); salaries and employee benefits (413 019) against (311 574); commission expenses (107 415) against (97 289); other external services (132 846) against (79 226); amortisation and depreciation (25 405) against (19 905); taxes and fees (15 955) against (13 109); costs of maintenance and lease of buildings (10 559) against (7 999); other costs (23 580) against (12 791); total operating expenses (1 313 677) against (886 701); profit on operating activities 832 379 against 986 735; finance income 39 603 against 62 845 including interest income on financial instruments at amortized cost 26 538 and income on bonds 12 744 against 26 138 and foreign exchange gains of nil against 10 307; finance costs (94 594) against (1 129), of which foreign exchange losses (93 125) against nil, relating to unrealised differences on the measurement of balance sheet items denominated in a currency other than the functional currency; profit before tax 777 388 against 1 048 451; income tax (133 189) against (191 595); net profit 644 199 against 856 856; basic earnings per share 5,48 against 7,29. Result of operations in financial instruments by class for 2025 and 2024: Commodity CFDs 923 714 and 896 672; Index CFDs 760 736 and 622 728; Currency CFDs 290 408 and 272 276; Stock and ETP CFDs 60 047 and 44 762; Bond CFDs 101 and 735; total CFDs 2 035 006 and 1 837 173; Stocks and ETPs 78 310 and 30 654; gross gain on transactions in financial instruments 2 113 316 and 1 867 827; bonuses and discounts paid to customers (17 328) and (12 629); commission paid to cooperating brokers (51 406) and (54 623); net gain on transactions in financial instruments 2 044 582 and 1 800 575; interest income on client funds 140 129 and interest paid to clients (62 140), giving net interest income of 77 989 and 58 989 — FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedAn acquisition cost that has held at 600 to 700 złoty for four years is the number that would move first.
    XTB results presentation for the first half of 2026, operational data - quarterly series for Q2 2026, Q1 2026, Q4 2025, Q3 2025, Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q4 2024 and Q3 2024 in that order: total operating income 992 558, 1 094 018, 609 344, 375 821, 580 597, 580 294, 465 416 and 470 234 thousand złoty; transaction volume in CFD instruments in nominal value 1 029 179, 1 333 410, 1 605 005, 1 118 278, 1 144 554, 937 867, 727 854 and 695 315 million dollars; profitability for USD 1 million of transaction volume 238, 216, 93, 84, 128, 144, 147 and 167 dollars; transaction volume in CFD instruments 1 831 627, 2 323 204, 2 542 526, 2 094 296, 2 321 584, 1 907 974, 1 657 390 and 1 627 978 lots; profitability per lot 484, 439, 208, 152, 229, 277, 253 and 272 złoty; marketing expenses 200 081, 235 429, 179 195, 141 495, 123 322, 141 034, 116 855 and 71 613 thousand złoty with client acquisition cost 0,7, 0,9, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7, 0,7 and 0,6 thousand złoty; structure of the gross result in H1 2026 Commodity CFDs 75,3%, Index CFDs 13,9%, Currency CFDs 5,0% and other 5,8%, against H1 2025 Index CFDs 46,3%, Commodity CFDs 33,1%, Currency CFDs 15,6% and other 5,0%; share of CFD turnover by trading platform for the same eight quarters: xStation 30, 29, 29, 27, 35, 37, 36 and 38 per cent, xStation Mobile 61, 60, 64, 62, 59, 56, 56 and 57 per cent and MT4 9, 11, 7, 11, 6, 7, 9 and 8 per cent; own cash 2 934 090 at 30 June 2026 against 1 994 027 at 31 December 2025, up 47,1%, with no bonds; dividend per share of 1,5 for 2021, 4,86 for 2022, 5,02 for 2023, 5,45 for 2024 and 4,07 for 2025, the 2025 dividend being PLN 478,5 million or 75% of standalone net profit with a record date of 15 June 2026 and payment on 24 June 2026 — Q3 2024 - Q2 2026 · publ. 28 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAverage client acquisition cost was 1 000 złoty in 2019, fell to 600 by 2021, and has sat between 600 and 800 ever since.
    X-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski S.A. Group annual report for 2019 - financial highlights for the twelve months ended 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2018: total operating income 239 304 and 288 301; profit on operating activities 65 412 and 115 809; profit before tax 69 436 and 124 671; net profit 57 701 and 101 471; net profit per share 0,49 and 0,86 złoty; total assets 1 138 900 and 970 074; salaries and employee benefits (86 024) and (78 478); marketing (37 716) and (33 322); other external services (24 638) and (24 909); total operating expenses (173 892) and (172 492); segment results for 2019 with retail operations producing total operating income of 218 457 and operating profit of 49 021 against institutional operations at 20 847 and 16 391; the average number of employees in the Group was 434 persons in 2019 and 391 persons in 2018 — FY2018-FY2019 · publ. 2020 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026