Interactive Brokers review: December data highlights platform resilience

Traders Union
All News
Broker News
Interactive Brokers reports December stats

Trading activity slows as assets and accounts rise

According to Interactive Brokers’ December 2025 performance report, Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) totaled 3.384 million. This marked a 4% increase compared with the same period a year earlier, but a 21% decline from November, reflecting typical year-end moderation in trading activity.

Despite the pullback in volumes, the broker reported ending client equity of $779.9 billion, up 37% year over year and 1% higher than the prior month. Client margin loan balances rose to $90.2 billion, representing a 40% annual increase and an 8% monthly gain, signaling sustained leverage demand among active traders.

Client credit balances reached $160.1 billion, including $6.4 billion held in insured bank deposit sweep programs, up 34% from a year earlier. Total client accounts climbed to 4.399 million, a 32% year-over-year increase and 2% growth from November, highlighting continued global adoption of the platform.

Execution costs and market performance metrics

Interactive Brokers also disclosed detailed execution statistics under U.S. Reg-NMS standards for its PRO clients. In December, the average U.S. Reg-NMS stock trade size was $22,608, with total execution and clearing costs averaging about 3.0 basis points of trade value. Over the rolling 12-month period, the average all-in cost stood at 2.6 basis points, underscoring the firm’s emphasis on cost efficiency.

Average commissions per cleared order were reported at $1.85 for stocks, $3.69 for equity options, and $4.05 for futures contracts, inclusive of exchange and regulatory fees.

From a financial standpoint, the broker recorded a $0.6 million mark-to-market gain on its U.S. government securities portfolio during the quarter and $1.2 million for the full year. Its proprietary currency basket, GLOBAL, rose 0.28% in December and 2.049% year to date.

Outlook and platform positioning

Founded more than four decades ago, Interactive Brokers serves individual investors, hedge funds, financial advisers, and proprietary trading firms across more than 160 markets worldwide. The company’s focus on automation, low-cost execution, and advanced risk and portfolio management tools continues to attract a growing global client base.

Looking ahead, the December results suggest that while trading volumes may fluctuate with market cycles, Interactive Brokers’ expanding asset base and account growth position it to benefit from renewed market activity in 2026 as volatility and investor engagement evolve.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.