Driven by vibrant market trading and deeper capital market reforms, the securities industry delivered a stellar performance in the first half of the year. Data from Choice shows that as of August 29th, 40 listed brokerages had released their interim reports, with 38 reporting growth in both revenue and net profit. The number of firms with net profits exceeding 10 billion yuan expanded from two in the same period last year to five, solidifying the "strong get stronger" dynamic among leading players.

CITIC Securities and Guotai Haitong Securities each posted net profits surpassing 20 billion yuan, setting new industry records. Brokerage services acted as a crucial stabilizer, while investment banking displayed significant divergence, with a focus on technology reshaping the competitive landscape. This wave of profitability has dramatically enlarged the "100 Billion Club".

The "100 Billion Club" for broker net profits saw major expansion in the first half. CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong Securities, Huatai Securities, GF Securities, and China Merchants Securities all broke the 10 billion yuan barrier in net profit, compared to just two firms a year earlier. The top ten list for net profits underwent a major reshuffle compared to the same period in 2025, with a deep realignment among the leading ranks.

The top spot changed hands once again. In the first half of 2025, the newly merged Guotai Haitong Securities overtook CITIC Securities in net profit with its first financial report. In the first half of 2026, CITIC Securities reclaimed the top position with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 23.343 billion yuan. Huatai Securities and GF Securities secured their places in the 10 billion yuan club with net profits of 11.692 billion yuan and 11.652 billion yuan, up 54.87% and 80.1% year-on-year, respectively, keeping their profit scales remarkably close.

China Merchants Securities recorded the fastest growth among the top ten, with net profit jumping 104.87% year-on-year, propelling its ranking from seventh to fifth. CICC saw its net profit surge 89.35% to 8.199 billion yuan, climbing from tenth to sixth place. Some established large brokerages saw their rankings slip. China Galaxy Securities dropped from fourth to seventh with a net profit of 7.797 billion yuan, up 20.18%, while Guosen Securities fell from sixth to tenth with a net profit of 5.732 billion yuan, a modest 6.79% increase. CSC Financial and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities took eighth and ninth places, with net profits of 7.639 billion yuan and 6.001 billion yuan, respectively. In total, the top ten brokerages generated about 112.9 billion yuan in combined net profits, representing roughly 74.2% of the total profits from the 40 listed firms, underscoring a high level of industry concentration. The core drivers of this strong performance were the dual engines of proprietary trading and brokerage operations, supplemented by the release of synergies from post-merger integrations.

The "stabilizer" role of brokerage services was prominent, with margin financing contributing to growth. Trading activity in the A-share market continued to climb in the first half of 2026, directly benefiting broker and margin financing businesses. Data shows that net fee income from brokerage operations grew broadly across the 40 listed firms, with intense competition at the top. Guotai Haitong Securities led the field with 9.942 billion yuan, a 73.41% increase, closely followed by CITIC Securities at 9.856 billion yuan. The gap between the two was less than 100 million yuan, creating a "two-horse race" in brokerage. GF Securities, Huatai Securities, and Guosen Securities occupied third through fifth places, with year-on-year growth of 67.16%, 66.89%, and 60.84%, respectively, achieving rapid growth from a high base. China Galaxy Securities, China Merchants Securities, CSC Financial, and CICC also maintained steady growth.

Mid-sized and smaller brokerages also benefited from active market conditions. Western Securities saw its net brokerage fee income grow 84.43% year-on-year to 1.013 billion yuan, the fastest growth rate among the 40 listed firms. The company stated that it focused on both retail and institutional clients in its wealth management business, with new effective accounts up 34.94% and client assets under management increasing 20.50% in the first half. In the credit business, rising market margin balances benefited brokerages. Guotai Haitong Securities added 48,400 new margin trading clients, up 83.1% year-on-year, and its margin balance reached 296.111 billion yuan by the end of the period, a 20.3% increase from the end of 2025. CSC Financial opened 12,500 new margin accounts, up 40.94%, with its period-end balance at 108.614 billion yuan, up 27.61% from the end of 2025.

Investment banking showed marked divergence, with a focus on technology reshaping the competitive field. In the first half, the 40 listed brokerages generated a combined 18.58 billion yuan in net investment banking fees, but with significant internal disparity. Exactly half of the firms, 20, saw year-on-year growth, while the other 20 experienced declines, highlighting the "strong get stronger" trend and pressure on smaller players. CITIC Securities led with 3.023 billion yuan in net investment banking fees, up 44.07%. CICC followed with 2.931 billion yuan, a 75.73% increase, and Guotai Haitong Securities was third with 2.224 billion yuan, up 59.82%. These top three firms together accounted for 8.178 billion yuan, or about 44% of the total investment banking income from the 40 firms. Concurrently, 20 brokerages saw their investment banking fees decline, with 14 firms earning less than 100 million yuan. Declines were most pronounced at firms like Hua'an Securities, Sealand Securities, Guosheng Securities, and Dongxing Securities. While Hualin Securities and Zhongyuan Securities showed dramatic growth, their bases were low.

Supported by policies like the "STAR Market Eight Measures," IPOs from tech enterprises continued to be active. Leading brokerages leveraged their comprehensive service capabilities and access to quality project resources to further consolidate market share. Gao Chao, chief analyst for non-bank finance at Kaiyuan Securities, believes that continued regulatory support for eligible "hard tech" companies to utilize the capital market for growth, along with an improved supply of quality tech assets, is likely to drive significant revenue growth across brokerages' investment banking chains.