Futu Reports Record Q4 Trading Volume, Profit Jumps 113%

Futu Holdings’ Q4 profit surged 113% as trading volume hit a record high, driven by AI and crypto stock investments.

Key Points: 

• Futu’s Q4 net income soared 113% to HK$1.87B, with revenue up 86.8%.
• AI and cryptocurrency stocks fueled a trading volume surge to HK$2.89T.

Futu Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: FUTU) more than doubled its fourth-quarter net income as trading volume surged to an all-time high, driven by heightened investor interest in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency stocks. The company’s latest earnings report, released today, highlighted substantial growth across all business segments.

The tech-driven online brokerage reported a net income of HK$1.87 billion (US$240.7 million) for the quarter ending December 31, 2024, marking a 113.3% increase from the previous year. Revenue soared 86.8% to HK$4.43 billion (US$570.6 million), reinforcing Futu’s rapid expansion.

Futu Reports Record Q4 Trading Volume, Profit Jumps 113%

“In 2024, we added over 701,000 paying clients, bringing our total to 2.4 million, reflecting a 41.0% year-over-year increase,” said Leaf Hua Li, Futu’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Looking ahead, the company aims to add 800,000 net new paying clients in 2025, signaling strong confidence in sustained growth.

Total trading volume skyrocketed to HK$2.89 trillion in the fourth quarter, more than tripling from a year earlier and rising 51.5% from the third quarter. The surge was fueled by increased trading in AI and cryptocurrency-related stocks, which outperformed during the period.

Surging U.S. and Hong Kong Stock Trading

“Several AI stocks that were relatively unknown to our clients emerged as some of the most-traded U.S. stocks on our platform in 2024,” Li noted.

U.S. stock trading volume climbed 36.1% sequentially to HK$2.08 trillion, while Hong Kong stock trading volume more than doubled quarter-over-quarter to HK$754.5 billion. Investors flocked to technology stocks and leveraged ETFs, driving the surge in trading activity.

Futu’s expansion in Hong Kong led to it becoming the top contributor of new paying clients. Singapore also demonstrated strong client growth with higher-quality acquisitions, while Malaysia expanded its market presence with localized products and increased brand awareness.

Wealth Management and Operating Expenses

The company’s wealth management business saw total client assets surge by 92.6% year-over-year to HK$110.9 billion, now representing 15% of total client assets. Money market funds continued to attract substantial inflows despite lower yields, while Futu expanded its structured product offerings in Hong Kong and Singapore to better serve high-net-worth clients.

Operating expenses rose 57.1% to HK$1.44 billion (US$185.3 million), with selling and marketing expenses more than doubling due to increased client acquisition efforts. Despite rising costs, the operating margin improved to 50.0% from 43.1% a year earlier, reflecting strong revenue growth and operational efficiency.

For the full year 2024, Futu’s net income jumped 27.0% to HK$5.43 billion (US$699.4 million) on revenue of HK$13.59 billion (US$1.75 billion), marking a 35.8% increase from 2023.

The company’s margin financing and securities lending balance reached an all-time high of HK$50.9 billion, a 53.7% year-over-year increase, as investors adopted a “risk-on” approach.

Futu also reinforced its leadership in the IPO underwriting business, underwriting 40 Hong Kong IPOs in 2024. According to Wind data, the company ranked first among all brokers for the third consecutive year.

“We swiftly adjusted our IPO subscription process in response to market changes and saw a meaningful increase in market share for recent Hong Kong IPOs,” the CEO concluded.

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