Plus500 Starts Second $100 Million Share Buyback of 2026

Plus500 opened a fresh $100 million share repurchase on Thursday, its second buyback of that size this year. The London-listed CFD broker is authorised to acquire up to 5,759,572 shares under the program.

The allocation forms the buyback component of the $182.5 million shareholder return package unveiled alongside the company's first-half results on August 10, with the remaining $82.5 million earmarked for dividends. The $100 million is split into a $35.3 million interim program and a $64.7 million special program.

Fixed Mandate With Panmure Liberum

Panmure Liberum will carry out open-market purchases under an irrevocable, non-discretionary mandate. Plus500 said the mandate is fixed once running, meaning neither the board nor the company can alter the program's terms. The share ceiling reflects the authority shareholders granted at the May 5 annual general meeting, minus stock already bought under that mandate, and the company noted the 5.76 million figure is a residual legal authorisation rather than a purchase forecast. Timing and volume will hinge on market price, trading activity and other conditions, and the $100 million spending cap could limit the number of shares acquired earlier if the price rises. Repurchased stock will be held in treasury, carrying no voting rights and receiving no dividends. Purchases may continue until the first-half 2027 results are published, including during closed periods, and Plus500 will disclose each day's transactions by 7 a.m. on the next business day.

Ongoing repurchases have been shrinking the share count used for per-share metrics. First-half EPS rose 6% year on year while net profit climbed 2%, as the weighted average share count fell to 69.9 million from 72.8 million. A Wednesday filing showed 9,727 shares bought on August 25, lifting the treasury balance to 46,384,762 shares and leaving 68,503,615 in issue excluding treasury stock. At June 30, 2026, Plus500 held 45,527,921 treasury shares, roughly 40% of issued share capital. The Thursday filing put its June 30 cash balance above $860 million.

The broker has bought back stock since 2017. It launched a $100 million program on February 16 as part of a $187.5 million return package, following a $90 million program announced in August 2025, and committed $110 million in August 2024 after a $100 million plan six months earlier. The two 2026 packages total $370 million, while company-reported distributions through dividends and buybacks since its 2013 IPO have reached about $3.1 billion.

Peer brokers have pursued similar strategies for varying reasons. IG Group began a GBP 125 million (about $170 million) buyback in April, its fourth in under two years, with Morgan Stanley executing in two tranches. XTB started a smaller repurchase on May 11 for up to 76,152 shares under its employee incentive plan, scheduled to run through September 30.