Interactive Brokers reported a strong start to 2026, with January brokerage data showing sharp growth across client activity and balances.
Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) reached 4.411 million, up 27% from a year earlier and 30% higher than December.
Client equity rose to $814.3 billion, marking a 38% annual increase, while margin loan balances climbed 41% to $91.2 billion. Credit balances reached 2.6 billion, including .2 billion held in insured bank deposit sweep programmes.
Client accounts totalled 4.539 million, up 32% year on year. Average commission per cleared commissionable order stood at $2.62, with stock trades averaging $1.97.
The broker said the average U.S. Reg-NMS stock trade executed through its IBKR Pro tier carried an all-in cost of about 1.9 basis points in January, outperforming the 12-month rolling average of 2.6 basis points.
The company attributed the improvements to growing trading volumes across equities, options and futures, alongside increased client engagement.
January’s figures are said to have reflected stable performance in the firm’s GLOBAL currency basket, which rose 0.27% during the month.
Interactive Brokers said its execution statistics continue to demonstrate cost efficiency relative to industry benchmarks, citing average order sizes of 899 shares for U.S. stocks and 6.7 contracts for equity options.
The broker noted that the uptick in activity underscores strong demand from retail and professional clients seeking low execution costs, broad market access and margin flexibility.
