Shares in trading platform Plus500 (LON:PLUS) fell as much as 14%, despite the firm posting record H1 customer income. The reaction came as investors and analysts expressed concern about a visible slowdown in growth in Q2 compared with Q1.
Marked Q2 slowdown
In a trading update covering the six months to June, the Israel-based company said it had enjoyed the strongest customer income in five years. It also saw the highest group revenue in three years, ‘reflecting the quality of our customer base, the power of our proprietary technology, and the growing breadth of our global platforms’ said CEO David Zruia.
However, investors and analysts were unhappy with the marked slowdown in revenue growth to 5% in Q2 from 18% in Q1. The slowdown occurred in spite of a 2% increase in ARPU (average revenue per user) compared with a 3% decrease in Q1.
| H1 2026 | H1 Growth | Q1 Growth | Q2 Growth | |
| Revenue ($m) | 463 | 12% | 18% | 5% |
| EBITDA ($m) | 187 | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| ARPU ($) | 2,346 | 2% | -3% | 2% |
Source: Plus500
Investors were also non-plussed by the slowdown in EBITDA growth in Q2. The firm insisted both revenue and EBITDA would meet its FY targets after several upgrades this year.
Plus500 has been quick to adapt to changing customer preferences and to introduce new products. It launched a prediction markets offering in February and recently introduced sport events based contracts, the highest-engagement category in prediction markets.
Like the market, we are surprised at the evident slowdown in growth at Plus500 in the latest quarter. The firm makes no suggestion Q2 2025 was exceptional or that it faced a tough comparison.
Looking at the half-year numbers, new customers grew 17% to 65,723 in Q1 but fell by 12% to just 25,856 in Q2. Similarly, ‘active’ customers rose 10% to 197,294 in Q1 but fell 1% to 131,214 in Q2.
Today’s reaction is probably a function of the fact the shares have gained 60% since November last year. After that kind of gain, no firm can afford to post disappointing figures or for the market to question the growth outlook.
Read the press release here: https://investors.plus500.com/
