UP Fintech Announces Up to $50 Million Share Buyback Program

UP Fintech Holding, the Nasdaq-listed parent company of digital brokerage Tiger Brokers, reported a net loss of US$26.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, reversing from a net profit of US$30.4 million a year earlier. The loss was driven by administrative penalties imposed by Chinese regulators for unlicensed cross-border securities and futures activities.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Beijing Bureau found that two of UP Fintech’s subsidiaries had conducted unlicensed cross-border securities business and illegal fund and futures brokerage activities in mainland China. The bureau imposed penalties totaling approximately 308.1 million yuan (US$42.6 million) and confiscated about 103.1 million yuan (US$14.2 million) in illegal income — a combined impact of roughly US$56.8 million. The penalty and confiscation were fully reflected in the first-quarter financial results.

Despite the regulatory setback, UP Fintech’s revenue rose 26.3% year-on-year to US$154.9 million, and the company maintained what it described as a “healthy” operating margin of 34.8%. Chairman and CEO Wu Tianhua stated that the group “sincerely accepts” the penalty and does not expect it to have a material adverse impact on business operations or long-term development.

UP Fintech also announced a share buyback programme of up to US$50 million, to be carried out over one year until June 1, 2027. The company said it would fund the repurchases from its existing cash balance.

The brokerage added 28,900 funded accounts during Q1, bringing its total to 1.28 million — an 11.3% increase year-on-year. The vast majority of new funded accounts came from Singapore and Hong Kong, the company noted. Total trading volume surged 49% to US$323.9 billion, while total client assets grew 28.4% to US$58.9 billion.

Singapore trading activity remained particularly robust: total trading volume in the city-state jumped 140.5% year-on-year in Q1, and total trading orders increased 28.9%, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of growth.