Brokerages’ Pretax Profits Near $115 Billion in 2025

FINRA-registered broker-dealers reported nearly $115 billion in pretax profits in 2025, an increase of more than one-third from 2024, according to FINRA’s 2026 Industry Snapshot. The totals reflect data from broker-dealers’ required FOCUS reports.

FINRA attributed the revenue gain mainly to higher asset values and increased trading activity. Transactions in exchange-listed equities reached $828 billion in 2025, a record level reported by the regulator.

The average pretax profit margin across FINRA member firms was about 15% in 2025. Publicly traded wealth management firms commonly report higher margins, and a separate report found advisory practices posted roughly a 39% net margin in 2025.

Employment numbers rose for the fourth consecutive year. About 40,000 new registered representatives joined the industry in 2025, bringing the total number of FINRA-registered reps to roughly 639,723, a 4% increase over five years.

Registration patterns shifted again in 2025. That year, 11,294 brokerage-only representatives added an RIA registration to become dual registrants. At the same time, 3,545 dually registered reps moved to RIA-only status, and 1,291 RIA-only reps became dually registered.

The number of RIA-only representatives has more than doubled over the past 15 years to roughly 104,000. When SEC-registered RIAs and state-registered RIAs are combined, the total count of registered firms rose about 8% over the past decade, even as mergers and acquisitions reduced the number of brokerage firms.

Branch networks continued to shrink. Between 11% and 15% of branch locations closed each year since 2015, with 2024 the only year in that span when branch openings outpaced closures. FINRA filings also show firms directing more marketing resources to their websites; filings for business-related stationery totaled eight last year.

Eric Amar, founder and CEO of Accelerated Wealth and former chief growth officer at Focus Financial Partners, noted that investors and private equity backers focus on firm quality and growth patterns rather than regulatory registration. “As the investor, we don’t solve for regulatory regime — we solve for, is it a good company in terms of the quality of the work that they do and their growth patterns?” he said in comments included with the snapshot.

FINRA’s chief economist Jonathan Sokobin wrote that the report reflects an industry “growing in professionals, a concentration in firms and evolving in how and when investors trade,” and that those developments present opportunities and challenges for investors, member firms and market participants.

The snapshot provides a set of data points on 2025 profits, trading volumes, staffing, registration moves, branch counts and marketing practices for FINRA-registered broker-dealers.