Brokerage Trade Counts Climbed in the Third Quarter as Regulators Weigh Round-the-Clock Markets

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Updates News Commentary - Retail investors are trading across more products, and the industry is preparing for longer trading hours. The Business Research Company estimates the global online trading platform market at $11.97 billion in 2025 and expects it to reach $18.29 billion in 2030, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%, with North America the largest region in 2025. Third-quarter reports filed over the past two weeks by brokerage and trading platforms show how much of that activity is reaching their results. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD), The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI).

The trading day itself is also under review. According to Nasdaq, the industry's transition to a 23-hour trading day is currently expected to occur on Sunday, December 6, 2026, pending SIP readiness as well as any applicable SEC rule changes, and, subject to SEC approval, Nasdaq will introduce a new session from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today that it will host an industry roundtable on December 15 to discuss issues related to the viability of derivatives markets moving to 24/7 trading. Overnight activity is already measurable: Cboe Global Markets reported on October 5 quarterly and monthly average daily volume records during its Global Trading Hours session, which runs from 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET, with a monthly average of 263 thousand contracts in September.

Regulators are also redrawing the lines around newer products. On September 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order granting temporary, conditional exemptive relief that allows Tokenized Securities Venues to trade tokenized National Market System stock using permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools, subject to conditions that include limits on the number of symbols and volume traded. On October 9, the CFTC published a proposed rule that would expressly further define the term "swap" to include event contracts, including those based on sports, politics, cultural, and weather-related events. On October 27, the agency filed a lawsuit against Utah to block the state's efforts to shut down CFTC-registered contract markets using state laws, and said it has also initiated legal proceedings against nine other states.

Interest rates also matter to these businesses, which earn interest on client cash and margin lending. The Federal Reserve's last decision, on September 16, raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent in a 12-0 vote, with the Committee stating that inflation remains elevated. The Federal Open Market Committee concludes its two-day meeting today, with its statement scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET.

Earnings, a rate decision and new trading sessions can all land in the same week, and each can move brokerage stocks on its own. The free Knowledge is Power guide from Stock Preachers, available at market-updates.com/sp, walks through how to line up headlines like these with what the charts are showing.

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD)

Robinhood reported on October 27 third-quarter total net revenues of $1.42 billion, up 12% year-over-year, while net income decreased 14% to $476 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, including $67 million of unrealized losses primarily related to the mark-to-market of Robinhood Ventures Fund I. Transaction-based revenues increased 19% to $867 million, primarily driven by event contracts revenue of $173 million, up over 6x, and options revenue of $399 million, up 31%, partially offset by cryptocurrencies revenue of $120 million, down 55%. Funded Customers increased 7% to 28.7 million, Total Platform Assets increased 19% to $396 billion, and Options Contracts Traded rose 48% to a record 905 million.

"Our vision is to make everyone an owner, because broad ownership is essential to a free, stable, and prosperous society," said Vlad Tenev, Chairman and CEO of Robinhood.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW)

Charles Schwab reported on October 15 third-quarter net income of $2.9 billion, or earnings per share of $1.62, on record net revenues of $7.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year. New brokerage account openings equaled 1.2 million, core net new assets reached a record $190.4 billion, and total client assets increased 15% to $13.33 trillion. Daily average trading volume equaled 10.7 million, up 44% versus the third quarter of 2025, trading revenue rose 16% to $1.2 billion, and margin loan balances increased 14% quarter-over-quarter to $187.9 billion. The company also announced Single Stock Futures on its thinkorswim trading platform.

"As investing plays an increasingly central role in people's financial lives, clients continue to turn to Schwab for our broad set of wealth, trading, and banking capabilities," said Schwab President & CEO Rick Wurster.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR)

Interactive Brokers reported on October 15 third-quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.69, compared with $0.59 a year earlier, on net revenues of $1.91 billion. Customer accounts increased 35% to 5.58 million, customer equity increased 27% to $964.7 billion, total daily average revenue trades increased 18% to 4.27 million, and customer margin loans increased 36% to $105.2 billion. The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.0875. On October 21, the company announced IBKR Autonomous Trading, which allows eligible clients to authorize connected AI platforms to identify trading opportunities across more than 75,000 listed stocks, options and ETFs worldwide and submit supported orders within a dedicated AI Partition, subject at launch to funding, account and eligibility limits.

"For decades, Interactive Brokers has used automation to give investors greater access, efficiency and control," said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI)

SoFi reported on October 27 third-quarter record net revenue of $1.4 billion, with total net revenue up 44% year-over-year, and net income of $241 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared with $0.11 a year earlier, and raised its full-year guidance. The company added a record 1.2 million members in the quarter, bringing total members to 17.1 million, up 35% from 12.6 million a year earlier. SoFi Invest reached 4.2 million products and Crypto reached 503 thousand products, while brokerage fee revenue was up 47% year-over-year, which the company said reflected strong member demand and increased monetization.

"Our focus is simple. We are adding more members, who are using more products, and generating more revenue per product to create the most value for our shareholders over the long run," said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi.

With the Fed's statement due this afternoon and longer trading sessions under discussion, the setups in brokerage stocks can shift quickly. Learn to read them with the free Stock Preachers guide, plus The Roadmap market reports, at market-updates.com/sp.

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This article is independent news commentary. Market Updates is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. MEL has not been paid by any company mentioned in this article. MEL and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates do not currently own any shares of the companies mentioned in this article, but reserve the right to, and will, buy and sell shares of those companies at any time without further notice. Company results are as reported by the companies; Robinhood figures are taken from its revised third-quarter release furnished on October 27, 2026. Market and regulatory references are drawn from The Business Research Company's Online Trading Platform Market Report 2026 (published September 2026), the Federal Reserve's FOMC statement of September 16, 2026 and its October 2026 calendar, the SEC release of September 17, 2026, CFTC releases of October 9, 27 and 28, 2026, Nasdaq's 23/5 trading information page, and Cboe Global Markets' September 2026 trading volume release of October 5, 2026, and future policy decisions and market structure changes may differ from those described. Information is drawn from company news releases and filings, government and industry data, published reporting and third-party data believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. Investing in securities carries risk, including the loss of some or all of your investment. This document is governed by the laws of Ireland.

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