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Introduction & Market Context
flatexDEGIRO AG (XETRA:FTK) presented its Q1 2025 Interim Management Statement on April 29, 2025, revealing what the company described as its strongest quarter in history in terms of revenues and earnings. The online broker benefited significantly from increased market volatility, particularly in April when the VIX index crossed the 50 mark, driving exceptional trading activity among its customer base.
The company’s stock closed at €21.70 on April 28, 2025, near its 52-week high of €22.38, reflecting investor optimism about the company’s performance and strategic direction.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
flatexDEGIRO reported impressive growth across key metrics for Q1 2025. The company added 139,000 gross new customers (+15% QoQ, +13% YoY), bringing significant new assets to the platform. Assets under Custody reached €75.8 billion, representing a 6% increase quarter-over-quarter and a substantial 31% increase year-over-year.
As shown in the following chart of commercial performance metrics:
Settled transactions reached 19.5 million in Q1 2025, increasing 16% from the previous quarter and 21% compared to the same period last year. This surge in trading activity was a key driver of the company’s financial performance, with five days in April 2025 ranking among the top 10 highest trade volume days in flatexDEGIRO’s history.
The company’s revenue composition showed strength in commission income, which offset slight weakness in interest income:
Total (EPA:TTEF) revenues reached €146 million (+15% QoQ, +19% YoY), with commission income surging to €98 million (+27% QoQ, +31% YoY). Interest income declined slightly to €43 million (-3% QoQ, -1% YoY), though the company noted this decline was less than expected due to increased cash holdings.
Notably, the company improved its monetization, with commission per transaction rising to €5.02 (+8% QoQ, +10% YoY), reflecting effective pricing strategies and potentially a more favorable product mix.
The profitability metrics showed substantial improvement, as illustrated in this chart:
EBITDA reached €69 million, representing a 37% increase year-over-year, while net income grew to €42 million, up 40% from Q1 2024. These figures underscore the operational leverage in flatexDEGIRO’s business model, with revenue growth outpacing cost increases.
On the cost side, the company reported personnel expenses of €32.0 million, marketing expenses of €12.0 million, and other administrative expenses of €11.7 million. The personnel expenses include both current costs and variable long-term compensation, which was elevated by strong share price performance.
Strategic Initiatives
flatexDEGIRO highlighted several strategic developments during the quarter. The company completed the full divestment of its real estate credit loan portfolio, which it described as a non-core activity initially built during the negative ECB rate environment. This divestment is expected to significantly improve the company’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) Ratio.
The company’s expansion into cryptocurrency trading represents a major strategic initiative, as shown in this rollout timeline:
After launching crypto trading in Germany in December 2024, flatexDEGIRO received its European MiCAR license in April 2025, enabling expansion to additional markets. The company plans to extend crypto trading to the Netherlands, Austria, France, and Spain in Q2 2025, making the service available to over 2 million customers. The company emphasized that its crypto offering has set new standards in terms of total costs and price transparency in Germany.
flatexDEGIRO also highlighted its continued recognition for platform excellence, with flatex being awarded "Broker of the Year" and DEGIRO winning the "Gouden Stier" award for the second consecutive year:
Forward-Looking Statements
Despite the record-breaking Q1 performance, flatexDEGIRO provided a cautious outlook for the remainder of 2025, acknowledging that the "unusually strong activity is unlikely to continue in the future and might reverse."
The company’s 2025 guidance projects:
For the full year 2025, flatexDEGIRO expects revenues between approximately €455 million and €505 million (-5% to +5% YoY) and net income between approximately €106 million and €123 million (-5% to +10% YoY).
The company anticipates commission income growth to continue, though likely at a normalized pace after the exceptional performance in early 2025. Interest income is expected to decline, partially due to higher cash positions resulting from asset sales in declining markets and further anticipated ECB rate cuts.
On the cost side, flatexDEGIRO aims to reduce its overall cost base below 2024 levels, with administrative expenses expected to decrease by up to approximately €10 million. Marketing expenses are projected to remain stable, with customer acquisition costs maintained at approximately €75 per new customer.
The company continues to see strong net cash inflows, averaging approximately €1.0 billion per month in Q1 2025, with existing customers contributing approximately 80% of these inflows. This steady influx of capital provides flatexDEGIRO with a solid foundation for future growth, even as trading activity potentially normalizes from the exceptional levels seen in early 2025.
Full presentation:
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