Swissquote conquers the financial market: record profits and future expansion!

Swissquote conquers the financial market: record profits and future expansion!

Swissquote, led by CEO Marc Bürki, has had an extraordinary year marked by an overwhelming crypto boom and stock market turbulence. The financial services provider recorded record profits in 2024 with net income of 661 million francs, an increase of 24.4% compared to the previous year. Pre-tax profit also rose by 35.3% to 345.6 million francs. These numbers were boosted by strong trading volumes and a growing customer base. Customer assets grew by 31.5% to 76.3 billion francs, including 8.3 billion francs of new money. Swissquote now had 650,000 customer accounts, an increase of 75,000.

The high volatility in the first quarter led to strong trading volumes, but this also led to outages on the platform. Swissquote had prepared for the challenges and had to handle twice as much volume on April 4th as during the pandemic. In order to avoid such failures in the future, investments were made in the infrastructure and systems. The crypto business grew remarkably by 353.2% and contributed significantly to net income at 85.5 million francs. What is particularly noteworthy is that the company does not want to be perceived as a crypto bank by trading in Bitcoin.

Strategic expansion and challenges

Marc Bürki, who has been at the helm of Swissquote since 1999, is actively looking for new partners and is planning the international expansion of his financial app Yuh. The app has already gained popularity in Switzerland and is used as a salary account. Expansion abroad is under discussion, but will only be undertaken after strengthening the home market. Bürki sees interesting opportunities through the takeover of former Credit Suisse clients who are apparently frustrated with UBS, as he reports.

Nevertheless, Swissquote faces a competitive environment in which cheaper providers are exerting pressure. Customers expect comprehensive services and high quality, which leads the company to position itself as a universal bank. The challenges also include the falling interest rate expectations in Switzerland, which have fallen from 1.7% to 0.2% and represent a headwind for interest income. Despite these difficulties, interest income increased by 5.2% to 224.2 million francs, supported by increasing cash deposits and a favorable currency mix.

Focus on sustainability and regulation

Another aspect that Bürki emphasizes is the need for regulation in the Swiss market. He criticizes unregulated providers who operate without a license and reiterates Swissquote's commitment to the highest standards. A dividend of 6 francs per share was proposed to the general meeting, and personnel expenses increased by 15.6% to 158 million francs due to the increase in headcount to 1,176 full-time positions.

With one goal in mind, Swissquote is aiming for net income of 675 million francs and a pre-tax profit of 355 million francs for 2025. In the long term, the aim is to achieve a pre-tax profit of 500 million francs by 2028 in order to further diversify net income. In this environment, despite the regulations and challenges, Bürki remains actively involved in the management of Swissquote while he has already arranged his successor.