As April arrives, securities firms have released their 2025 performance reports. These financial statements not only capture the industry's landscape at the end of 2025 but also summarize developments over the past five years. According to SAC data, the 150 securities companies in the industry achieved total operating revenue of 541.171 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 20.67% compared to 2020. The industry's total net profit reached 219.439 billion yuan, up 39.30% from 2020, indicating substantial overall achievements for the sector.
Performance among individual securities firms, however, varied significantly. As of April 3, 25 securities companies had published their annual reports. When ranked by the change in net profit market share over the past five years, the top three performers were Guotai Haitong (influenced by merger factors), CITIC Securities, and Founder Securities. The bottom three were Industrial Securities, China International Capital Corporation (CICC), and China Securities.
Excluding Guotai Haitong, which underwent a merger during the period, CITIC Securities recorded the largest increase in market share, rising by 1.57 percentage points over five years, far surpassing second-ranked Cinda Securities, which gained 0.80 percentage points. From a profit growth perspective, CITIC Securities’ net profit increased by 7.002 billion yuan over five years, also ranking first among non-merged securities firms and significantly exceeding second-ranked GF Securities, which grew by 2.897 billion yuan.
A breakdown of business segments shows that CITIC Securities’ growth over the past five years was primarily driven by proprietary trading. During this period, the firm’s brokerage revenue, investment banking revenue, asset management revenue, net interest income, and proprietary investment gains changed by 790 million yuan, -1.820 billion yuan, 475 million yuan, -3.707 billion yuan, and 15.921 billion yuan, respectively. The company’s total revenue growth, excluding other business income changes, was 10.639 billion yuan, with proprietary trading contributing 150% of this increase.
Proprietary trading has consistently served as a stabilizing force for CITIC Securities’ performance. Over the five-year period, its share of total revenue was 29.64%, 27.09%, 36.37%, 41.30%, and 51.57%, respectively. Even during the market downturn from 2022 to 2023, the segment delivered strong results, with its proportion of total revenue steadily increasing.
The success of CITIC Securities’ proprietary trading business in navigating market cycles can be attributed to its swift and precise market timing capabilities. In 2022, when secondary capital markets experienced a significant correction, the total proprietary trading income of all 43 listed securities firms fell by 53%, with seven firms reporting losses in this segment.
CITIC Securities responded promptly that year. On one hand, the company effectively used derivative financial instruments to hedge against asset price volatility. The notional amount of its derivative financial instruments increased by 51% year-on-year, driving a 75% rise in net investment income to 31.970 billion yuan, far offsetting the -13.660 billion yuan fair value change during the same period. On the other hand, the firm adjusted its proprietary trading positions, shifting its investment strategy from "increasing investment in emerging technology sectors" in 2021 to "focusing on reducing portfolio volatility and enhancing resilience against external macroeconomic shocks" in 2022. By the end of 2022, the fair value of its trading financial assets showed only minor single-digit declines relative to cost, with stocks and public fund investments outperforming other assets. Corresponding positions were increased rather than reduced, highlighting the segment’s resilience.
These measures helped CITIC Securities avoid the industry-wide halving of proprietary trading income, limiting its decline to just 22% that year. Subsequently, the A-share market entered a slow bear phase until the "September 24 rally" in the third quarter of 2024 reignited market sentiment and initiated a new bull cycle.
In the third quarter of 2024, CITIC Securities quickly increased its allocation to trading financial assets, adding 760.777 billion yuan in a single quarter, a nearly 20% increase from the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter, the company significantly raised its allocation to OCI equity assets. This expansion in financial investments continued throughout 2025. By the end of 2025, the firm’s financial investment scale had grown by 184.534 billion yuan over the previous six quarters, a cumulative increase of 24%. While other equity investments were reduced, trading financial assets and other equity instrument investments increased by 196.647 billion yuan, a cumulative rise of 28%.
Adjustments to the proprietary trading portfolio also boosted investment returns. In 2025, CITIC Securities’ investment return rate reached 4.03%, ranking first among listed securities firms with financial investment scales exceeding one trillion yuan and significantly outperforming the second-ranked firm, Shenwan Hongyuan, which achieved 3.52%.
In summary, over the past five years, CITIC Securities’ proprietary trading business successfully navigated downturns through derivatives strategies and investment theme adjustments. By expanding investment scale and optimizing asset allocations, the firm capitalized on market opportunities, achieving leading positions in both investment scale and returns by the end of the five-year period.
Meanwhile, CITIC Securities maintained its dominance in investment banking. Although investment banking revenue declined by 3.707 billion yuan over five years, a drop of 22.31%, this performance was strong relative to the industry and leading peers. In comparison, the industry-wide net revenue from securities underwriting and sponsorship fell by 48.17% over the same period, with China Securities and CICC declining by 44.43% and 28.50%, respectively.
Over the past five years, CITIC Securities consistently ranked first in both the number and value of A-share equity underwriting projects. In terms of project pipeline, among the 323 companies currently awaiting A-share listing, CITIC Securities serves as the exclusive sponsor for 36, with planned fundraising totaling 52.5 billion yuan, leading the industry.
The only segment where CITIC Securities’ dominance is challenged is brokerage, now led by Guotai Haitong. Following its merger completion in 2025, Guotai Haitong reported total assets of 2.11 trillion yuan and net assets attributable to parent company shareholders of 330.417 billion yuan in its first annual report. Its asset size slightly surpassed that of CITIC Securities, cementing a "two giants and multiple strong players" landscape in the securities industry.
Despite total revenue approaching that of CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong’s profitability remains relatively weaker, with adjusted net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 21.4 billion yuan, still significantly below CITIC Securities’ 30.3 billion yuan, partly due to historical issues such as real estate U.S. dollar bonds.
Notably, Guotai Haitong’s brokerage business has overtaken CITIC Securities to rank first in the industry. According to their annual reports, CITIC Securities reported brokerage revenue of 14.753 billion yuan in 2025, while Guotai Haitong reached 15.138 billion yuan.
In its annual report, Guotai Haitong emphasized its customer resources and channel advantages, including a strong client base of 39.33 million domestic customers and a stock and fund trading market share of 8.56%, both ranking first in the industry. It also highlighted extensive and efficient channels, with Junhong APP and Tongcai APP averaging 15.7 million monthly active users, supported by integrated online and offline customer reach capabilities.
In contrast, CITIC Securities reported 30.65 million securities accounts in its wealth management business at the end of 2025, trailing Guotai Haitong. In its annual report, CITIC Securities emphasized progress in brokerage transformation through branding and internationalization, highlighting the launch of the "Xin 100" brand and overseas product sales.
CITIC Securities’ wealth management business has long focused on high-net-worth and institutional clients, with growth driven by assets under management and per capita revenue. This model differs slightly from Guotai Haitong’s approach, reflecting a degree of differentiated competition in target client segments. In the current "two giants" landscape, which model will prove more successful remains to be seen.
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