Plus500 Ltd (LSE:PLUS) shares fell 13.9% to 4,252p despite the trading platform reaffirming full-year guidance after reporting its highest revenue for a six-month period in three years, but reported lower profit margins than expected.
Revenue for the FTSE 250-listed group came in at $462.9 million for the six months to 30 June, up 12% compared to a year ago, while customer income increased 24% to a five-year high of $460.8 million.
Underlying profits (EBITDA) edged up 1% to $187.5 million as the group increased spending on customer acquisition and investment in its US business, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 41% compared to 45% a year ago.
Chief executive David Zruia said the stronger customer income and revenue reflected "the quality of our customer base, the power of our proprietary technology, and the growing breadth of our global platforms".
Expansion in the US saw the launch of a consumer prediction markets platform, sports event-based contracts regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a localised over-the-counter trading platform in Canada, an expanded product range in Japan and the introduction of 24/5 trading in stocks and ETFs.
New customers rose 17% to 65,723, while active customers increased 10% to 197,294. The non-over-the-counter business generated about $70 million of revenue, around 15% of the group total.
The company finished June with more than $850 million of cash and no debt.
Directors were said to be confident in the group's prospects and that revenue and EBITDA for the 2026 financial year will be in line with market expectations, with the Bloomberg consensus pointing to $811.5 million and $368.1 million respectively.
Broker Peel Hunt said the higher investments weighed on EBITDA.
"Revenue was a 4% beat versus consensus, while EBITDA was 3% below consensus, as Plus500 increased investment in customer acquisition, contributing to 17% growth in new customers, but no change in the FY26 expectations in current consensus."
** UPDATE: Adds share price and broker comments **
