UP Fintech Holding, the company behind the Tiger Brokers app, reported a net loss in the first quarter after Chinese securities regulators imposed substantial fines and confiscated gains across several of its units. The Nasdaq-listed broker (NASDAQ: TIGR) recorded a net loss of $26.9 million for the three months to March 31, reversing a $30.4 million profit a year earlier, even as revenue rose 26.3% to $154.9 million.
The penalties stemmed from action taken by the Beijing bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). On May 22, the regulator ordered the confiscation of illegal income and imposed administrative fines totaling about 411 million yuan, or roughly $59.7 million. The package comprised approximately 308 million yuan in fines and 103 million yuan in confiscated income.
Regulators said certain Tiger Brokers subsidiaries had operated an unlicensed cross-border securities business and engaged in illegal fund and futures activity in mainland China. The charge was booked in the "others, net" line, which swung to a $64.1 million expense and pulled pretax results into a $16.5 million loss. Without the penalty, the broker indicated it would have remained comfortably profitable.
The enforcement comes amid a broader regulatory crackdown. In mid-May, the CSRC and its Shenzhen bureau told rival Futu Holdings that it faced proposed fines of about $271 million over similar accusations, including handling securities trading, fund sales and futures business on the mainland without required approvals. Chinese authorities also flagged action against a New Zealand unit of Tiger Brokers and a Hong Kong arm of LongBridge Securities, signaling tighter oversight of platforms that route mainland clients into overseas markets.
Both Tiger and Futu have operated for years in a regulatory grey zone. They are registered in Hong Kong, but the one country, two systems framework does not extend licensing to the mainland, and Beijing has not issued licenses for cross-border online brokerage. The CSRC first warned the two firms in 2022, and they have since been shifting growth toward Singapore and other markets.
Operational and Financial Performance
Excluding the regulatory charge, UP Fintech’s core business showed growth in the quarter. Commissions rose 15.3% to $67.2 million on heavier trading activity, while interest income increased 19.8% to $64.5 million. Other revenue, which the company linked to its wealth management push, climbed to $20.7 million from $7.9 million.
The broker added 28,900 funded accounts during the quarter, with the great majority originating from Singapore and Hong Kong markets. Total funded accounts reached 1.28 million, up 11.3% from a year earlier. Net client inflows totaled $2.9 billion, marking the company’s first quarter with more than $2 billion in net inflows from consolidated retail accounts.
Alongside the results, UP Fintech’s board approved a share repurchase program of up to $50 million over 12 months starting June 1, to be funded from cash on hand.
