Interactive Brokers Lifts Dividend as Interest Income Climbs

The Greenwich, Connecticut broker ended its third quarter with more clients, more borrowing and a bigger check for shareholders. Diluted earnings came to $0.69 a share on net revenues of $1.91 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, against revenue of $1.66 billion a year earlier, the company said in its release. Adjusted earnings of $0.67 a share matched the analyst consensus while revenue topped forecasts, and the shares drifted lower in after-hours trading, one market report said. Pretax margin narrowed a touch from a year earlier but remained among the highest in the brokerage industry.

The dividend decision drew the most attention. The board lifted the quarterly dividend to $0.15 a share. Interactive Brokers has paid a quarterly dividend since 2011, though the payout has long been small relative to its earnings. Analysts on the call pressed on how the increase was sized and whether a falling share price could force a cut. Management said the firm follows a guideline of paying between 0.5% and 1% of its market value, had fallen behind and was catching up, and could not imagine a situation in which the dividend would be reduced, according to the call transcript.

Growth came less from trading and more from the money clients leave with the firm. The firm earned $1.15 billion in net interest income, 19% more than a year earlier, as clients borrowed more on margin and kept larger cash balances with it. Trading told a mixed story, with stock volumes down from a year earlier and futures volumes up, while customer accounts climbed to 5.58 million. Commission revenue was also flattered by a higher SEC transaction fee that the broker passes straight through to customers, lifting revenue and clearing expense in equal measure.

Interest rates are now moving in the firm's favor. Several central banks raised rates in September, and most of the effect of the Federal Reserve's mid-month increase will land in the fourth quarter, with each 25-basis-point move shifting annual net interest income by $83 million, executives said on the call. That estimate rests on customer balances as of September 30. The company has also begun inviting roughly 3,000 clients to test autonomous AI trading and now routes prediction-market orders to Kalshi and CME alongside its own ForecastEx exchange.