Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
The desk's stance
On our research list, not on the slate.
What the company does
The professional-grade platform where serious options and global-markets traders graduate to — lowest margin rates in the business and its own event-contract exchange, ForecastEx.
Why it matters: Fights Robinhood at both ends: for the active trader today, and in prediction markets tomorrow.
In short: Automated multi-asset securities broker. Category: Automated Global Electronic Brokerage. Sector: Financial Services, Capital Markets.
G-Street Value and Score
G-Street Value: $73.86, computed Oct 18, 2026 (confidence: low).
How we got there: 50% analyst leg $95.94 (street consensus, after 8% optimism discount) + 50% GainStreet factor value $51.79 (15.66× fwd EPS anchored to financials multiples) — analyst and factor views diverge >50%, confidence reduced. 5 analyst targets have no linked source and are shown but not counted; this value will not open a position until they are sourced.
G-Street Score: 64 out of 100 (Medium).
- Top-line growth & guidance: 15 of 32
- Margin power: 12 of 15
- Revenue visibility & quality: 6 of 11
- Profitability & balance sheet: 21 of 24
- Capital allocation & governance: 4 of 6
- Valuation, sentiment & momentum: 6 of 12
Our current thesis
Updated Oct 16, 2026
The thesis
- Proprietary automation sustains industry-leading pre-tax margins near 78% across 5.58 million accounts.
- Rapid global account adoption and $105B margin balances compound high-yielding net interest income.
- Multi-asset breadth, institutional clearing, and ForecastEx contracts provide durable structural market share gains.
Risks
- Forward P/E of 25.1x commands a massive premium versus peer Charles Schwab's 11.8x.
- Central bank rate cuts threaten net interest income, which represents over 60% of revenue.
- DARTs contracted 3% sequentially as equity trading volume softened 24% year-over-year.
What we're watching
- Technical support holding the $80-$82 level following the post-earnings pullback.
- Sensitivity of net interest margin to Federal Reserve rate cuts in 4Q2026.
- Monthly DARTs and client margin balance trajectory heading into year-end.
Latest
Interactive Brokers shares pulled back 3.9% to $82.69 following 3Q2026 earnings, where adjusted EPS of $0.67 matched estimates while quarterly revenue plateaued sequentially at $1.87B (+16% YoY). Net interest income climbed 19% YoY to $1.15B and customer accounts jumped 35% to 5.58M, although DARTs fell 3% sequentially and equity trading volume declined 24% YoY. The board raised the quarterly dividend 71% to $0.15 per share, prompting mixed post-earnings target revisions including Barclays lifting to $117 and BMO trimming to $100.
Key numbers
As of Oct 16, 2026: market cap $140.9B · revenue growth +13.5% year over year · gross margin 92.7% · net margin 16.7% · forward P/E 25.0.
On the Gainz Lab maps
Who it does business with
- Robinhood competes with Interactive Brokers — Options & active traders. The graduation path: Robinhood mints options traders, Interactive Brokers courts them once they get serious — and IBKR’s ForecastEx fights Robinhood in event contracts too.