As the 2026 interim reporting season draws to a close, the definitive "scorecard" for brokerages' core business—proprietary trading investment returns—has been officially released. What was once a practice of "living off market conditions" has now transformed into a rigorous contest of active management capability. During the first half of this year, the proprietary trading desks of listed brokerages demonstrated a pattern of "winner-takes-all with intensifying divergence," with Changjiang Securities Company Limited leading the pack with a gain exceeding fivefold, while Guosen Securities Co., Ltd., Hongta Securities, and others suffered declines of over 50% or even 90%, triggering a fresh reshuffling of industry rankings.

From the perspective of absolute returns, concentration at the top of the proprietary trading sector has further intensified. CITIC Securities continued its reign at the top with proprietary trading investment income of RMB 24.571 billion, solidifying its status as the undisputed leader in brokerage proprietary operations. Guotai Haitong followed closely with RMB 23.117 billion, marking a substantial year-on-year surge of 92.89% and narrowing the gap with CITIC Securities to less than RMB 1.5 billion. Within the "billion-dollar club," GF Securities (RMB 12.381 billion), China Merchants Securities (RMB 12.357 billion), and Huatai Securities (RMB 12.324 billion) all posted returns near the RMB 12.3 billion mark, making their ranking competition fiercely competitive. Among them, China Merchants Securities delivered the most standout performance, leaping from RMB 3.853 billion in the same period last year to RMB 12.357 billion—an extraordinary growth rate of 220.61%—propelling it several places up the rankings to break into the top four. Additionally, CICC (RMB 7.968 billion) and CSC Financial (RMB 6.922 billion) secured the sixth and seventh positions, respectively, though they have clearly fallen behind the leading tier.

In terms of growth momentum, certain brokerages exhibited remarkable earnings elasticity, emerging as the biggest beneficiaries of the market's structural rallies. Changjiang Securities Company Limited emerged as the biggest "dark horse" of this interim reporting season. Its proprietary trading income skyrocketed from RMB 427 million in the same period last year to RMB 2.747 billion, representing a staggering year-on-year increase of 544.03%—the highest growth rate among all sampled brokerages. Furthermore, smaller and mid-sized firms such as Caida Securities (+134.83%), Southwest Securities (+53.75%), and Sealand Securities (+92.59%) also achieved significant earnings recoveries, demonstrating that smaller players can still "overtake on curves" through precise asset allocation.

Among the proprietary trading data from 47 brokerages, more than one-third experienced year-on-year declines in proprietary trading income, with several established firms facing cliff-like drops. Hongta Securities suffered the most severe downturn, with its proprietary trading income plummeting from RMB 1.458 billion to RMB 127 million—a catastrophic decline of 91.26%—placing it at the bottom of the rankings. The most unexpected development for the market, however, was the stumble of veteran large-cap broker Guosen Securities Co., Ltd. Its proprietary trading income shrank dramatically from RMB 5.504 billion to RMB 2.293 billion, a decline of 58.35%. Not only did it fall out of the "billion-dollar club," but it was even overtaken by numerous smaller peers, making it the most conspicuous case of "lagging behind" in the top tier. Additionally, Guolian Minsheng (formerly Guolian Securities, -60.92%), Great Wall Securities (-45.03%), Industrial Securities (-42.83%), and China Lin Securities (-83.24%) also faced significant performance pressures.

2026 Interim Brokerage Proprietary Trading Investment Income Rankings: Note: Data sourced from Wind Financial Terminal. Proprietary trading refers to the business activities where a securities company utilizes its own funds or lawfully raised funds to generate profits through the independent buying and selling of listed financial products such as exchange-traded securities.