More than half of the 25 listed brokerages have disclosed annual reports; 11 companies saw net profit growth of over 50%, with CITIC earning a full 30 billion.

Securities Times reporter Ma Jing

As of April 2, 2025, 25 listed securities firms have disclosed their annual reports, accounting for more than half. Against the backdrop of a rebound in the capital market, the annual reports of these listed securities firms are full of highlights.

According to statistics, except for West China Securities, whose revenue declined, the other 24 firms all achieved growth in both revenue and net profit year over year. The highest year-over-year increase in attributable net profit was 405.49%, while the lowest was 6.72%.

Overall, wealth management performed remarkably well: 70% of firms saw their net income from brokerage commissions increase by more than 30%. Investment banking bottomed out and rebounded—20 securities firms achieved positive growth. The proprietary trading pattern continued to concentrate among leading firms: CITIC Securities’ proprietary trading income approached 39 billion yuan. Asset management showed significant divergence: only 13 firms’ asset management fee net income increased year over year.

Nine leading securities firms

Net profit accounts for 80%

Among these 25 firms, West China Securities is currently the only one with declining revenue. In 2025, it recorded revenue of 5.985 billion yuan, down 10.84% year over year. The company stated that the main reason was a significant decrease in income and costs from bulk commodity trading.

Looking at attributable net profit, 11 firms grew by more than 50%. The top performers are two firms that completed mergers and acquisitions—Guolian Minsheng and Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong)—with growth rates of 405.49% and 113.52%, respectively. The growth rates of Central Plains Securities, Founder Securities, Guohai Securities, CICC, Orient Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, Hongta Securities, Zhongtai Securities, and Southwest Securities also exceeded 50%.

Among the firms with the largest net profit scale, CITIC Securities ranks first, and Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong) ranks second. Specifically, CITIC Securities achieved revenue of 74.854 billion yuan, up 28.80% year over year, and its attributable net profit surpassed 30 billion yuan, an increase of 38.58%. Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong)’s revenue and attributable net profit are lower than CITIC Securities by 11.7 billion yuan and 2.3 billion yuan, respectively. Firms with attributable net profit exceeding 10 billion yuan also include Huatai Securities, GF Securities, China Galaxy Securities, China Merchants Securities, and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. CICC and China Securities JianTou follow closely with net profits of 9.791 billion yuan and 9.439 billion yuan.

These nine firms’ net profits already account for 81% of the total of the 25 firms above, highlighting the industry’s “Matthew effect.” Among the remaining 16 firms, only Orient Securities has net profit above 5 billion yuan; the others range between 400 million and 4 billion yuan.

Seventy percent of securities firms

Brokerage revenue growth exceeds 30%

The strong performance of listed securities firms in 2025 is mainly driven by boosts in wealth management, proprietary trading, investment banking, and other businesses. Especially wealth management: benefiting from active market trading, many firms saw growth in new account openings, trading commissions, and product distribution volumes.

Based on data from Eastmoney’s Choice platform, Securities Times reporter calculated that all 25 listed securities firms mentioned above saw increases in net fee income from brokerage business, with 70% exceeding 30% growth, mostly among leading firms.

Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong) and CITIC Securities are the only two firms with brokerage fee net income exceeding 10 billion yuan, with growth rates of 93% and 38%, respectively. GF Securities, Huatai Securities, China Merchants Securities, and China Galaxy Securities’ brokerage fee net income, while not reaching 10 billion yuan, also grew significantly—each over 40%—greatly boosting performance and contributing more than a quarter of operating revenue.

Among small- and medium-sized firms, West China Securities, with a 44% increase, ranks alongside many leading firms, with brokerage fee net income of 1.361 billion yuan. Industrial Securities, Founder Securities, Hu’an Securities, and Hualin Securities also saw growth rates exceeding 35%. Notably, Founder Securities’ brokerage fee net income was 5.578 billion yuan, accounting for “half of the total revenue.”

In fee-based businesses, 20 firms achieved positive growth in investment banking fee net income. Among these, smaller firms showed higher elasticity: of the eight firms with year-over-year increases over 50%, five—such as Hu’an Securities, Southwest Securities, and Guohai Securities—held seats, with Hongta Securities’ growth exceeding double.

Within leading firms, CICC had the highest growth rate in investment banking fee net income at 63%. Although CITIC Securities’ growth was lower, at 63.36 billion yuan, it ranked first by scale. The top five firms in this metric also include Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong) (4.657 billion yuan), China Securities JianTou (3.129 billion yuan), and Huatai Securities (3.099 billion yuan), with clear gaps compared to others.

Some companies

Proprietary trading income remains substantial

With the rebound of China’s A-share market in 2025, some securities firms seized opportunities and optimized investment strategies, achieving considerable profits from proprietary trading.

Based on the “proprietary trading income = investment income + fair value changes – investment income from associates/joint ventures” calculation, 20 of these 25 firms saw income growth, with Guolian Minsheng, Central Plains Securities, Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong), GF Securities, Hongta Securities, and Cinda Securities each exceeding 50%.

The five firms with year-over-year declines in proprietary trading income in 2025 are West China Securities, Hualin Securities, Huatai Securities, Everbright Securities, and Guohai Securities. Except for Guohai Securities’ 33% decrease, the other four declined by less than 10%. Notably, excluding one-time investment gains from the sale of subsidiaries in 2024, Huatai Securities’ actual investment income in 2025 increased year over year.

As a capital-intensive business, proprietary trading tests a firm’s investment ability and capital strength. From revenue scale, CITIC Securities widened the gap with others: in 2025, its proprietary trading income was 38.604 billion yuan, 13.2 billion more than the second-place Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong).

In its annual report, CITIC Securities disclosed that its equity and alternative investment businesses aim for high capacity, multi-strategy, and low volatility, building a platform-based system and gradually optimizing asset allocation in the equity market. It remains focused on the fundamentals of listed companies, systematically allocating to large blue-chip firms across Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong markets, aligning with industry trends to strengthen deployment in new quality productive industries, enhancing investment returns. Artificial intelligence technology is also gradually integrated into its strategy system, and a cross-border investment platform in Hong Kong has been initially established.

Compared to these businesses, asset management income is less robust and shows clear divergence. Among the 25 listed firms, 13 achieved growth in asset management fee net income, while 12 experienced declines. Of these, eight firms’ asset management fee net income increased by over 10%, with Guotai Huarong (Guotai Haitong) and Guolian Minsheng benefiting from integration effects, with growth rates of 64% and 19%, respectively. The growth at CICC and China Merchants Securities is also relatively leading, at 31% and 22%.