Currently, all 42 listed brokerage firms have released their 2025 interim reports, with all showing year-over-year growth in performance. Two firms achieved high growth rates of nearly 1200%, while 7 firms plan to distribute cash dividends exceeding 1 billion yuan. Additionally, multiple institutions believe that brokerage sector valuations remain at low levels with significant institutional underweighting.

**Brokerage Interim Reports Released, Two Firms Achieve High Growth of Nearly 1200%**

According to Choice Financial Terminal data, as of September 1st, all 42 listed brokerage firms have released their 2025 interim reports, showing across-the-board growth in performance. Among them, 24 brokerage firms reported net profit attributable to shareholders exceeding 1 billion yuan, with approximately 10 firms achieving growth rates over 100%.

In terms of performance growth, Huaxi Securities Co.,Ltd. (002926.SZ) and Guolian Minsheng Securities Company Limited (601456.SH) led significantly in year-over-year growth of net profit attributable to shareholders in the first half of 2025, both approaching 1200%.

Huaxi Securities Co.,Ltd. reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 512 million yuan in the first half of 2025, a substantial increase of 1195.02% year-over-year, with operating revenue of 2.073 billion yuan, up 46.72% year-over-year. The company noted that in the first half, it achieved brokerage and wealth management business revenue of 1.139 billion yuan, an increase of 35.25% compared to the same period last year, mainly due to the company seizing opportunities from market recovery, with daily average stock and fund trading volume growth leading to corresponding increases in brokerage and wealth management business revenue.

Guolian Minsheng Securities Company Limited reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.127 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, a massive increase of 1185.19% year-over-year, with operating revenue of 4.011 billion yuan, up 269.40% year-over-year. The company's significant performance growth was partly due to the consolidation of Minsheng Securities in the first quarter, and partly due to achieving higher investment returns in the second quarter, with returns significantly outperforming the CSI 300 Index.

Due to the consolidation of Minsheng Securities, Guolian Minsheng Securities Company Limited achieved investment banking revenue of 530 million yuan in the first half of 2025, up 214.1% year-over-year. At the end of the reporting period, equity underwriting scale reached 1.31 billion yuan, up 160.2% year-over-year, while bond underwriting scale reached 42.4 billion yuan, up 57.1% year-over-year.

In asset management business, the company achieved asset management revenue of 360 million yuan in the first half of 2025, up 14.4% year-over-year. As of the end of June 2025, assets under management totaled 296.5 billion yuan, up 137.5% year-over-year.

In brokerage business, the company achieved brokerage revenue of 900 million yuan in the first half of 2025, up 223.8% year-over-year, accounting for 22.6% of operating revenue (excluding other business income). As of the end of June 2025, the company's fund investment advisory assets under management reached 9.708 billion yuan, up 40% year-over-year.

**Generous Dividend Distributions**

With improving performance, multiple brokerage firms are generous with dividends. Currently, 28 listed brokerage firms have disclosed their 2025 interim profit distribution plans, all involving cash dividends.

Among them, Citic Securities Company Limited (600030.SH), Guotai Haitong Securities Co., Ltd. (601211.SH), China Galaxy Securities Co., Ltd. (601881.SH), Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. (601688.SH), China Securities Co., Ltd. (601066.SH), China Merchants Securities Co.,Ltd. (600999.SH), and Orient Securities Company Limited (600958.SH) plan to distribute cash dividends (including tax) totaling over 1 billion yuan each, approximately 4.298 billion yuan, 2.627 billion yuan, 1.367 billion yuan, 1.354 billion yuan, 1.280 billion yuan, 1.035 billion yuan, and 1.012 billion yuan respectively, representing approximately 31.33%, 16.69%, 21.07%, 17.94%, 31.82%, 19.96%, and 29.23% of their respective net profits attributable to shareholders.

**Moving Away from "Scale Competition," Brokerage Performance Expected to Further Improve, Valuations Still Have Room?**

On August 22nd, the CSRC released decisions on amending the "Securities Company Classification Supervision Regulations," marking an important improvement five years after the 2020 revision. The new regulations eliminate bonus points for total operating revenue rankings, increase ROE bonus points, weaken scale orientation, guide industry intensive development, and encourage differentiated development for small and medium institutions. Additionally, new bonus categories include wealth management and equity proprietary investment indicators.

As mentioned earlier, wealth management and equity proprietary investment businesses were the main drivers of high performance growth for Huaxi Securities Co.,Ltd. and Guolian Minsheng Securities Company Limited.

Multiple institutions believe that with significantly increased market trading activity, brokerage and proprietary trading, the two core businesses, have become the main sources driving brokerage performance growth. Brokerage performance will further improve, and currently brokerage sector valuations remain at low levels with obvious institutional underweighting.

Research shows that the brokerage index continuously reached new yearly highs in the first half of August, but did not accelerate upward following market risk appetite improvement in the second half, showing some weakness in short-term trends. The sector's average price-to-book ratio (P/B) recovered from around 1.50 times in early August to above 1.65 times by month-end, standing above the sector's average valuation of 1.55 times since 2016 for the first time since Q4 last year.

Benefiting from index-driven upward trends, the securities industry's overall operating environment continues to improve. In the short to medium term, if equity markets further expand upward space, the brokerage index is expected to maintain steady recovery and oscillating upward overall trends, with the brokerage sector potentially gradually approaching the nearly decade-high valuation limit of 2 times P/B.

Research indicates that brokerages have historically served as "bull market flagbearers" with rapid market movements. However, this year's sustained "slow bull" market has seen both the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices break through Q4 2024 stage highs, while the brokerage index has remained relatively stable, not yet breaking through November 2024 previous highs.

Additionally, while A-share and H-share brokerage movements have historically started synchronously, Hong Kong market sentiment has continued improving since the beginning of this year, with IPO scale and trading volume recovery driving H-share brokerage performance ahead of A-shares. The AH premium ratio average has continuously declined from about 120% at end-April to around 50%, with H-share brokerage recovery preceding A-shares.

**Leading Brokerages "Sprint" in H-Share Business**

In terms of net profit attributable to shareholders, Guotai Haitong Securities Co., Ltd. tops the list. The company achieved operating revenue of 23.872 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, up 77.71% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 15.737 billion yuan, up 213.74% year-over-year.

In the first half, the company's domestic securities underwriting reached 708.182 billion yuan, up 18.7% year-over-year. Specifically, equity underwriting reached 125.316 billion yuan, up 1315.8% year-over-year. The company served as lead underwriter for 7 IPOs with total underwriting amount of 4.797 billion yuan, playing important roles in A-share additional offerings for Bank of Communications, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank.

For bonds, the company's bond underwriting reached 582.866 billion yuan, with corporate bond underwriting of 257.943 billion yuan, up 13.2% year-over-year. Additionally, the company completed 19 financial advisory (FA) projects including China Telecom acquisitions, with 4 merger and acquisition projects under review.

In Hong Kong markets, the company completed two H-share IPO sponsorship projects in the first half, completed 14 refinancing deals, and had 39 H-share IPO filing projects.

Citic Securities Company Limited performance closely followed Guotai Haitong Securities Co., Ltd.. The company achieved operating revenue of 33.039 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, up 20.44% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 13.719 billion yuan, up 29.8% year-over-year.

In the first half of 2025, the company completed equity underwriting scale of approximately 26.1 billion yuan for STAR Market, ChiNext, and NEEQ, helping innovative technology companies like Arashi Vision Inc. (688775.SH), Suzhou Sepax Technologies Co.,Ltd. (688758.SH), and Jiangsu Hanbon Science And Technology Co.,Ltd. (688755.SH) list on capital markets.

In Hong Kong markets, the company completed 18 IPO projects and 9 refinancing projects in the first half, with underwriting scale of 2.885 billion USD, including 2025's first A-share company H-share IPO - Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining, and projects like Ying En Biological IPO.

Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. ranked third in performance scale. The company achieved operating revenue of 16.219 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, up 31.01% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 7.549 billion yuan, up 42.16% year-over-year.

In the first half, the company continued focusing on technological innovation, actively serving high-tech enterprises listing on capital markets to support new quality productive forces development. The company sponsored 2 of the top 10 A-share IPO projects and participated in 2 of the top 10 refinancing projects.

Additionally, the company participated in 4 of the top 5 H-share IPO projects. Subsidiary Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited completed 9 H-share IPO sponsorship projects. The Singapore subsidiary obtained Singapore Exchange main board sponsor qualification during the reporting period, gaining eligibility for main board IPO project undertaking and management.