Listed securities firms delivered strong performance in 2025, with over 90% achieving year-on-year growth in net profit. Seven brokerages reported net profits exceeding 10 billion yuan. Driven by brokerage and proprietary trading businesses, alongside a synchronized recovery in investment banking and asset management operations, the sector's overall recovery has become evident. In the first quarter of 2026, nearly 70% of listed securities companies continued to show growth in both revenue and net profit. Data from East Money Choice shows that 16 listed brokerages achieved annual revenues surpassing 100 billion yuan in 2025. Among them, CITIC SEC and Guotai Haitong led with revenues of 74.854 billion yuan and 63.107 billion yuan, respectively. On the evening of April 27, both Guolian MinSheng and GF Securities disclosed impressive first-quarter results for 2026. China Securities Co., Ltd. reported a first-quarter attributable net profit of 3.667 billion yuan, an increase of 99.03% year-on-year. China Merchants Securities reported a first-quarter attributable net profit of 3.271 billion yuan, up 41.73% year-on-year. CICC reported a first-quarter attributable net profit of 3.577 billion yuan, a rise of 75.19% compared to the same period last year.

However, despite the robust earnings, the market performance of the brokerage sector has shown a significant divergence. The proportion of holdings in the brokerage sector by public funds fell to 0.38% in the first quarter. Many securities analysts believe that the current valuation of the brokerage sector is at a historical low, while the industry's fundamentals continue to improve, suggesting a timing opportunity for early positioning. Kaiyuan Securities pointed out that low valuations, better-than-expected first-quarter results, and enhanced growth prospects are the core rationale for being optimistic about leading brokerages. Market concerns over capital constraints and refinancing pressures for the sector are already fully reflected in valuations, which remain persistently low historically. Meanwhile, Return on Equity (ROE) continues to show improvement. The firm believes the divergence between fundamentals and valuation cannot be sustained long-term. It currently emphasizes the opportunity within the brokerage sector, particularly recommending leading securities firms. Related Hong Kong-listed stocks in the Chinese brokerage sector include Guolian MinSheng, GF Securities, HTSC, CITIC SEC, and CICC.