XTB has become a 10-bagger over the past five years, while growing its customer base at extraordinary rates and simultaneously cutting customer acquisition costs from around PLN 1,100 to PLN 600.
That immediately caught my attention.
The more I researched XTB, the more interesting the story became.
The company is increasingly attracting a new generation of European investors who use the platform to buy US and Polish stocks and ETFs. But underneath that growth sits a legacy CFD business that remains hugely profitable.
In 2025, XTB generated more than $4.8 billion in nominal CFD turnover, up more than 80% from the previous year. Commodity CFDs were particularly important, with gold, silver, oil and other commodities benefiting from the volatility created by geopolitical events, macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment.
And this is where I think the XTB story gets really interesting.
The company has a 93% gross margin and a 40% EBITDA margin — yet I don't think it has a traditional moat.
So how has it managed to grow this quickly?
My answer is its customer acquisition engine. XTB has become exceptionally good at getting European retail investors onto its platform and then monetising those customers through multiple products.
But there is a catch.
I think the next five years will be considerably harder than the last five. Customer acquisition costs could rise as competition from Interactive Brokers, Revolut, Trading 212 and others intensifies, while CFD revenue remains inherently cyclical.
That's why I rate XTB 7/10.
It's an impressive business with an exceptional growth story. But at today's valuation, I'm not convinced the next five years will deliver the same market-beating returns as the last five.
I've just published my full Deep Dive on XTB, where I break down the growth story, CFD business, moat, competition, valuation and three possible futures.
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