Gitnux/Report 2026

Trading Industry Statistics

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Trading Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The trading industry at a glance

Financial trading reached record activity in 2025: global FX turnover averaged $9.6 trillion per day, while global equity market capitalisation reached $151.94 trillion.

$9.6T/day[92]
Global FX turnover, 2025
$151.94T[93]
Global equity capitalisation, 2025
17.6B shares/day[27]
US equity volume, 2025
1,166,400[38]
US securities jobs, 2025
Market size
Global foreign-exchange turnover averaged $9.6 trillion per day in April 2025, up 28% from 2022. Global equity market capitalisation reached $151.94 trillion at the end of 2025, up 18.5% year on year.[92][93]
Market share & regions
In the first quarter of 2025, the Americas accounted for 52% of global electronic order-book share-trading value, Asia-Pacific for 41%, and EMEA for 7%. In FX, Singapore held 11.8% of global turnover in April 2025, making it the third-largest centre after the United Kingdom and United States.[94][92]
Segmentation
FX swaps were the largest FX instrument in April 2025, with approximately $4.0 trillion in average daily turnover, followed by spot transactions at about $3.0 trillion. In exchange-traded derivatives, 2025 volumes comprised 63.51 billion options contracts and 30.24 billion futures contracts.[92][95]
Key players & concentration
Trading is concentrated among major financial centres and exchange groups. CME Group accounted for 60.8% of global interest-rate-options volume and 49.5% of global interest-rate-futures volume in 2025, while the US Trade Reporting Facility represented 50.6% of total consolidated US equity volume.[95][27]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Trading activity was supported by heightened volatility, hedging demand and greater participation by non-bank financial institutions. Global FX turnover increased 28% between the April 2022 and April 2025 surveys, while US equity average daily volume rose 44.6% in 2025; the shift of 50.6% of US equity volume to off-exchange venues also highlights continuing market-structure and transparency challenges.[92][27]
Consumer behavior & competition
Retail investors accounted for $5.4 trillion of US stock and ETF trading activity in 2025, according to Vanda data reported by the Associated Press. Mobile trading applications, zero-commission offers and online investment communities continue to support individual participation, increasing competition among brokers and execution venues.[33]
M&A
Exchange and brokerage consolidation continued in 2026. Nasdaq announced an agreement to acquire US off-exchange equity execution venue LeveL Markets, while eToro announced an agreement to acquire TradeZero to expand its US brokerage operations.[96][97]
Regulation
The US SEC proposed amendments to Regulation NMS on June 11, 2026, addressing equity-market structure and intermarket trade-through protections. The CFTC approved a final rule in December 2025 revising business-conduct and documentation requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants.[28][98]
Latest news
The latest industry developments include Nasdaq’s planned acquisition of LeveL Markets, announced in August 2026, and regulatory proposals affecting US equity-market structure. In September 2026, the SEC also opened a pathway for tokenised US stocks to trade on blockchain-based venues under a regulatory exemption, according to reporting by Axios.[96][99]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Trading Industry

The leading companies in the trading industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 trading ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with revenue growth 6.5%. Bunge is the runner-up at 9.1, backed by $70.3 billion in 2025 net sales.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in agricultural commodities trading

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Agricultural commodities trading

    Why we picked it: It connects farmers, food producers, and consumers through agricultural supply chains in food trading.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in general trading

    Mitsui & Co.

    JP

    Ranked #3 · 8.9 · General trading

    Why we picked it: Its general trading spans energy, metals, and food, covering multiple commodity categories.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mitsui.com ↗

  3. Leader in energy and commodities trading

    Vitol

    NL

    Ranked #5 · 8.6 · Energy and commodities trading

    Why we picked it: Its energy and commodities trading is measured by 605 million tonnes delivered in 2025.

    See in ranking ↓Visit vitol.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the trading industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Agricultural commodities trading · US

9.3
2

Bunge

Agricultural commodities trading · US

9.1
3

Mitsui & Co.

General trading · JP

8.9
4

Louis Dreyfus Company

Agricultural commodities trading · NL

8.7
5

Vitol

Energy and commodities trading · NL

8.6
6

Olam Group

Agricultural commodities trading · SG

8.5
7

Marubeni

General trading · JP

8.3
8

COFCO International

Agricultural commodities trading · CH

8.2
9

Glencore

Energy and commodities trading · CH

8.1
10

Trafigura

Energy and commodities trading · SG

8.0

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the trading industry. In Trading Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/trading-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest trading companies

Vitol leads with $343.0B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Vitol$343.0B
Trafigura$240.3B
Cargill$164.0B
Mitsui & Co.$87.5B
Bunge$70.3B
Louis Dreyfus Company$53.2B
source-verifiedvitol.com · trafigura.com · cargill.com · mitsui.com · investors.bunge.com · ldc.com2026

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is uneven across buy-side workflows while cloud and hybrid strategies are widespread; 80% of firms reported active AI use in 2026.

AI in the trading industry

  • 7% of European buy-side traders had used AI in investment decision-making in 2025.[1]
  • 61% of 4,010 institutional traders in 65 countries expected AI and machine learning to be the most impactful trading technologies within three years in 2024.[2]
  • 26% of European buy-side traders had used AI in execution for less than two years in 2025.[1]
  • 67% of European buy-side traders reported no AI use in broker algorithms in 2025.[1]
  • 24% of North American buy-side equity traders planned to incorporate internal AI into trade execution within the following year, and 15% already did so, in 2024.[3]
  • 81% of European buy-side traders reported no AI use in investment decision-making in 2025.[1]

Automation in the trading industry

  • About 8% of US fixed-income trading activity was algorithmic in 2023 in the IMF’s asset-class chart.[4]
  • 58% of European buy-side traders expected trading-desk headcount to remain unchanged as automation and AI developed in 2025.[1]
  • 17% of European buy-side firms were considering an algorithmic trading wheel in 2025.[1]
  • About 44% of US options trading activity was algorithmic in 2023 in the IMF’s asset-class chart.[4]
  • About 52% of US futures trading activity was algorithmic in 2023 in the IMF’s asset-class chart.[4]
  • More than half of US futures trading was algorithmic in 2023, according to IMF estimates.[4]

Digital Transformation in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 43% of financial services firms said they will need an entirely new technology stack to succeed in the age of AI.[5]
  • 26% of financial services firms reported using agentic AI in 2026, according to a global digital-transformation study.[5]
  • 80% of financial services firms reported active AI use in 2026, up from 31% in 2025.[5]
  • 84% of financial services firms said integrating front-, middle- and back-office systems into one platform is important in 2026.[5]
  • 27% of financial services firms reported financial benefits from AI in 2026, up from 14% in 2025.[5]

Technology Adoption in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • About one-third of financial services companies reported using generative AI by January 2025, compared with 21% a year earlier.[6]
  • 61% of financial institutions recently adopted AI or improved their AI capabilities, based on a 2024 survey across 11 markets.[7]
  • 59% of finance leaders reported using AI in their finance function in 2025, according to Gartner’s survey of 183 senior finance leaders.[8]
  • 54% of surveyed financial services companies had deployed AI initiatives by January 2025, up from 40% one year earlier.[6]
  • 35% of financial institutions adopted or improved generative-AI capabilities during the 12 months covered by the 2024 survey.[7]

Cloud Computing in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 91% of financial organizations had at least one cloud platform in 2023, up from 37% in 2020.[9]
  • 87% of financial services firms increased cloud investment during the two years preceding LSEG’s 2025 global survey.[10]
  • 33% of financial services firms were highly satisfied with cloud-related reductions in operational costs in Capgemini’s 2024 survey.[9]
  • 82% of financial services firms used a hybrid- or multi-cloud strategy in LSEG’s 2025 global survey.[10]
  • 43% of banking and financial services organizations were moving toward a cloud-first analytics approach in the WNS-Forrester survey.[11]

Big Data in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 18% of finance firms adopted big-data analytics in the OECD’s cross-country comparison; the European data refer to 2019.[12]
  • 41% of surveyed bank marketers said their bank was already using data analytics to make decisions and achieve goals in 2024.[13]
  • 37% of surveyed bank marketers said their bank was on the way to using data and analytics to support strategic goals in 2024.[13]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Real-time tools still leave gaps, with 70% of capital-markets analysts not fully satisfied in 2026. Data governance and semantic-layer adoption show up as key implementation themes.

Business intelligence in the trading industry

  • 30% of derivatives-market firms planned to integrate AI or machine learning into data management in 2024.[14]
  • 70% of capital-markets analysts were not fully satisfied with available tools for real-time data analysis and decision-making in 2026.[15]
  • 56% of derivatives-market firms reported significant reductions in manual processes through data-management automation by 2024.[14]
  • 25% of derivatives-market firms were already using AI or machine learning for data management in 2024.[14]
  • Less than 25% of capital-markets firms used agentic AI across research, backtesting, analytics and real-time trading advice in 2026.[15]
  • 9% of financial authorities used prescriptive analytics to generate actionable recommendations in 2023.[16]

Data analytics in the trading industry

  • 3% of buy-side bond traders never used data science to select counterparties in 2024.[17]
  • 64% of buy-side fixed-income desks used third-party analytics in 2023.[17]
  • 22% of surveyed capital-markets professionals selected short-term historical data as an important data type in 2025.[18]
  • 41% of surveyed capital-markets professionals used bespoke Python as their data-analytics platform in 2025.[18]
  • 27% of buy-side bond traders rarely used data science in counterparty selection in 2024.[17]
  • 58% of buy-side fixed-income desks used in-house analytics in 2023.[17]

Data Quality in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across significant European banking institutions, 32% did not apply data-quality-management principles to end-user computing in 2023.[19]
  • Across U.S. banking and capital markets, 94% of respondents named data accuracy and reliability as a priority in 2024.[20]
  • Across banks supervised by the European Central Bank, 28% reported that all data used by critical functions came from golden sources in 2023.[19]
  • Across U.S. banking and capital markets, 86% of respondents named data access and usability as a top concern in 2024.[20]
  • Across global financial services, 34% of organizations rated their data excellent for accuracy and integrity in 2024.[21]
  • Across global financial services, 36% of organizations rated their data excellent for quantity and completeness in 2024.[21]

Data Governance in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across global financial services, 54% of companies rated data governance at one of the two highest maturity levels in 2024.[22]
  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 43.7% lacked a standardized certification process for analytics content in 2025.[23]
  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 82.9% had implemented governance policies specifically applying to business intelligence and analytics in 2025.[23]
  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 57.1% identified BI-content testing as the top future investment in analytics governance in 2025.[23]
  • Across 35 surveyed banks, insurers, and financial-services firms in 38 countries, 54% had adopted a semantic layer for organization-wide data governance in 2025.[24]

KPIs in the trading industry

  • 57% of global trading firms expected to invest in market-data processing to support higher volumes in 2026.[25]
  • 17% of global buy-side equity traders relied almost solely on quantified transaction-cost analysis for broker-performance evaluation in 2024.[3]
  • 81% of buy-side fixed-income respondents found transaction-cost analytics effective for assessing sell-side counterparties in 2023.[17]
  • Nearly 90% of global buy-side equity desks conducted transaction-cost analysis during the previous year in 2024.[3]
  • 42% of global trading firms expected to invest in network infrastructure to support higher volumes in 2026.[25]
  • 40% of global trading firms expected to invest in monitoring and control systems to support higher volumes in 2026.[25]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Retail participation remains material, with 20%–35% estimated daily trading volume share in the US, UK, and South Korea in 2025. Venue and brokerage consolidation continues into 2026.

Growth in the trading industry

  • $10.1 trillion in client assets were held at Charles Schwab at year-end 2024, up 19% year-on-year.[26]
  • 1.3% was EDGX retail’s share of total U.S. market volume in the third quarter of 2024, with average daily volume of 147 million shares.[27]
  • 5.9 million daily average trades were recorded by Charles Schwab clients in 2024, up 9% year-on-year.[28]
  • 513 basis points of quarterly growth raised sub-dollar securities’ share of total U.S. equity volume to 17.4% in the second quarter of 2024.[27]
  • 36.5 million active brokerage accounts were held at Charles Schwab at the end of 2024, up 5% year-on-year.[26]
  • 20% growth brought Charles Schwab’s core net new client assets to $366.9 billion in 2024.[26]

Differentiation in the trading industry

  • 20%–35% was the estimated retail share of daily trading volume in the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea in 2025.[29]
  • 6.4% was retail investors’ share of average U.S. exchange-traded-fund trading volume as of May 2025.[29]
  • 50%–60% was the estimated retail share of S&P 500 zero-days-to-expiration options trading in 2025.[30]
  • 47.4% of global securities-market trading volume came from retail investors in 2021.[28]
  • 40%–50% was the estimated retail share of daily trading volume in India and China in 2025.[29]
  • 17.4% was the share of sub-dollar securities in total U.S. equity volume in the second quarter of 2024.[27]

Mergers and acquisitions in the trading industry

  • More than $450 million of pro-forma revenue was added by BGC’s acquisitions of Sage Energy Partners and OTC Global Holdings in 2024.[28]
  • A$123.6 million was Tradeweb’s reported acquisition price for Australian trading platform Yieldbroker in 2023.[31]
  • $1.75 billion of the Tradeweb–Trumid transaction represented the business purchase price in 2026.[32]
  • $200 million was the reported cash price for Robinhood’s acquisition of cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp in 2024.[33]
  • 40% growth was reported in Tradeweb’s wholesale electronic-participant count from 2019 to 2024.[28]
  • $125 million was the reported price for Singapore Exchange’s acquisition of FX trading platform MaxxTrader.[34]

Strategic partnerships in the trading industry

  • 2.04 billion shares was the average daily volume of sub-dollar securities in Cboe’s second-quarter 2024 analysis, highlighting the scale of retail-oriented trading activity.[27]
  • $172 million was invested by FMX’s 10 strategic bank and market-making partners in 2024.[28]
  • 10 largest European countries were covered by Alchemy Markets’ Gold Broker status in the TradingView broker directory in 2025.[28]
  • More than 3,000 clients were served across Tradeweb’s institutional, wholesale, retail and corporate client sectors in 2024.[28]
  • 10 major investment banks and market makers supported the creation of BGC’s FMX trading marketplace in 2024.[28]
  • 3,000-plus clients formed Tradeweb’s institutional, wholesale, retail and corporate trading network in 2024.[28]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Work-location flexibility continues to rise, with 52.5% of workers in US financial activities teleworking in June 2026. Automation and AI pressure workforce planning assumptions.

Hiring in the trading industry

  • Interactive Brokers had 2,998 employees across 28 global locations as of December 31, 2024.[35]
  • 76% of Tradeweb Markets’ 2024 new hires were based in the United States.[36]
  • 359,841 registered employees worked in China’s securities-services industry in 2021.[37]
  • New York City’s securities-industry employment contracted by 5,100 jobs, or 2.6%, in 2024.[38]
  • 91.1% of New York’s securities-industry jobs were located in New York City in 2024.[38]

Employee retention in the trading industry

  • Interactive Brokers reported a 76% participation rate in its companywide employee-experience survey in 2024.[35]
  • Tradeweb Markets’ global employee turnover rate improved to 8.3% in 2024.[36]
  • Tradeweb Markets reported 75% intern retention for its 2024 global internship program.[36]
  • Tradeweb Markets had 1,000 U.S. employees in 2024, compared with 815 in 2023.[36]
  • Gunvor Group reported 219 employee departures in 2024, including 156 from trading entities and 46 from asset businesses.[39]

Remote Work in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. financial services, 82% of companies offered some form of work-location flexibility in 2025.[40]
  • 52.5% of workers in U.S. financial activities teleworked in June 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.[41]
  • 68% of U.S. financial services workers said they would consider seeking new employment if remote and hybrid flexibility were reduced in 2023.[42]
  • 87% of U.S. financial services employees said remote work helped them balance home and work responsibilities in 2025.[22]

Hybrid Work in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 54% of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs worked in a hybrid arrangement in 2025.[43]
  • 52% of financial services companies used a structured hybrid model in 2024, up from 41% in 2023, according to a survey of 777 companies.[44]
  • 28.7% of U.S. finance and insurance workers were in hybrid work arrangements as of September 24, 2024.[45]
  • 2.58 days was the average weekly in-office requirement among financial services companies using structured hybrid work in 2024.[44]
  • 39% of financial services companies offered corporate employees full flexibility over work location in 2024.[44]

Upskilling in the trading industry

  • Tradeweb Markets’ employee-development programs covered product updates, business updates, educational programming and internal training in 2024.[28]
  • Tradeweb Markets provided 76 global interns with exposure to business operations and senior leadership in 2024.[36]
  • Tradeweb Markets offered tuition assistance for certain professional courses and qualifications in 2024.[28]
  • Trade, transportation and utilities organizations averaged 16 learning hours per employee in 2025, according to the Association for Talent Development’s industry breakdown.[46]
  • Tradeweb Markets had 1,412 employees with access to learning and development opportunities at the end of 2024.[28]

Employee Engagement in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 16% of employees worldwide were actively disengaged at work in 2025.[43]
  • 31% of employees in the United States and Canada were engaged at work in 2025.[43]
  • 12% of employees in Europe were engaged at work in 2025.[43]
  • 20% of employees worldwide were engaged at work in 2025, according to Gallup’s World Poll.[43]

DEI in the trading industry

  • 35% to 45% of Asian, Black and Hispanic traders in Morningstar’s survey were women, depending on the group.[47]
  • 4.8% of trading professionals in Morningstar’s survey identified as Hispanic or Latinx.[47]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer retention and user growth metrics show ongoing operational focus; Interactive Brokers reported 97.5% quarterly customer retention in one 2025 quarter.

Customer experience in the trading industry

  • 23% was the year-over-year increase in Charles Schwab new brokerage account openings in the fourth quarter of 2024.[26]
  • 5% of UK men and 1% of UK women used a trading app in 2024.[48]
  • 18% of Merrill Lynch users contacted customer service during the previous year in a 2025 brokerage website and app benchmark.[49]
  • 400 customers attended Robinhood's first customer-focused HOOD Summit in October 2024.[50]
  • 8% of Ally Invest users contacted customer service during the previous year in a 2025 brokerage website and app benchmark.[49]

Customer retention in the trading industry

  • 97.1% was Interactive Brokers' quarterly customer retention rate in one reported 2025 quarter.[51]
  • 97.9% was Interactive Brokers' quarterly customer retention rate in one reported 2024 quarter.[51]
  • 0.9 million Robinhood customers churned during 2023, while 1.1 million new funded customers joined.[28]
  • 97.3% was Interactive Brokers' quarterly customer retention rate in one reported 2024 quarter.[51]
  • 97.5% was Interactive Brokers' quarterly customer retention rate in one reported 2025 quarter.[51]

Customer acquisition in the trading industry

  • 2.2 million new funded customers joined Robinhood during 2024.[28]
  • 1.1 million new funded customers joined Robinhood during 2023.[28]
  • 0.4 million was the approximate net growth in Interactive Brokers funded accounts during 2024.[28]
  • 25.2 million Robinhood funded customers were reported at December 31, 2024, up from 23.4 million in 2023.[28]
  • 1.1 million Charles Schwab new brokerage accounts were opened in the fourth quarter of 2024.[26]

Customer loyalty in the trading industry

  • More than 9% of Robinhood funded customers used Robinhood Gold in the third quarter of 2024.[50]
  • 1% of eToro's 2024 net trading contribution came from subscriptions and other activities.[52]
  • 1.42 million Robinhood Gold subscribers were reported at December 31, 2023.[28]
  • 2.64 million Robinhood Gold subscribers were reported at December 31, 2024, compared with 1.42 million in 2023.[28]
  • 23% of eToro's 2024 net trading contribution came from net interest contribution.[52]

Lead generation in the trading industry

  • 23.5 million Robinhood funded customers were reported in January 2024.[50]
  • 23.6 million Robinhood funded customers were reported in February 2024.[50]
  • 28.2 million Interactive Brokers registered users were reported across the quarterly metrics series by 2026.[51]
  • 23.2 million Robinhood funded customers were reported in June 2023.[50]
  • 24.1 million Interactive Brokers registered users were reported in one 2025 quarter.[51]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Brand and social-media usage stay tied to investor communications; 61% of institutional investors using social media cited client and company communication in 2023.

Marketing in the trading industry

  • 67% of private-equity professionals said a strong brand was needed to generate awareness among CEOs and management teams for deal sourcing in 2023.[53]
  • 61% of institutional investors using social media for business cited communicating with clients and listed companies as a purpose in 2023.[54]
  • Less than 30% of financial advisers reported having a defined marketing strategy in 2023.[55]
  • $997 was the average amount growth-focused U.S. financial advisers invested per new client in 2023.[55]
  • 56% of institutional investors using social media for business cited promoting their own business or person as a purpose in 2023.[54]

Digital marketing in the trading industry

  • 13% of registered investment-adviser firms reported using artificial intelligence to develop digital-marketing content in 2023.[26]
  • 73% of large registered investment-adviser firms generated leads from webcasts or webinars in 2023.[26]
  • 66% of large registered investment-adviser firms generated leads from email campaigns in 2023.[26]
  • 85% of large registered investment-adviser firms generated leads from online advertising in 2023.[26]
  • 62% of large registered investment-adviser firms generated leads from videos in 2023.[26]

Branding in the trading industry

  • 38.3% of banking and investing marketing investment was allocated to offline channels in 2024.[56]
  • 33% of investment analysts said marketing spending should be treated as capital expenditure part of the time in 2023.[57]
  • 7.4% of banking and investing marketing-program and operations budgets was allocated to brand strategy and activation in 2024.[56]
  • 47% of private-equity firms described their brand awareness as fairly weak or not very strong in 2023.[58]
  • 61.7% of banking and investing marketing investment was allocated to digital channels in 2024.[56]

Social media in the trading industry

  • 35% of U.S. investors aged 18 to 34 reported using Instagram for investment information in 2024.[59]
  • 11.9% of SEC-registered investment advisers had a YouTube presence in 2024.[60]
  • 75% of institutional investors expected their own social-media usage to increase over the following three to five years in 2023.[54]
  • 61% of U.S. investors aged 18 to 34 reported using YouTube for investment information in 2024.[59]
  • 7% of institutional investors trusted social-media information without qualification in 2023.[54]

Influencer Marketing in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 37% of banking executives in a survey of 102 finance respondents recognized influencer marketing as a potent tool for authentic consumer connections in 2023.[61]
  • 5% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated but shrinking budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[62]
  • 23% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated but flat budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[62]
  • 7% of financial-services marketers reported folding creator or influencer marketing into other channels rather than maintaining a dedicated budget in 2026.[62]
  • 60% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated and growing budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[62]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Manual process load remains a constraint for finance operational efficiency in commodity trading; 47% of global commodity trading companies cited too many manual processes in 2025.

Process optimization in the trading industry

  • 47% of global commodity trading companies identified too many manual processes as their biggest obstacle to finance operational efficiency in 2025.[63]
  • 12% of global commodity trading companies ranked changing to a new ERP system as a key finance game-changer in 2025.[63]
  • 8% of surveyed corporate trading organizations used dedicated trade-compliance or customs platforms in 2024.[64]
  • 30% of global commodity trading companies identified excessive month-end or year-end closing time as a major obstacle to finance operational efficiency in 2025.[63]
  • 13% of surveyed corporate trading organizations used global trade-management platforms in 2024.[64]

Operational efficiency in the trading industry

  • 14% of outsourced-trading clients rated operations and post-trade services good in 2024.[65]
  • 57% of outsourced-trading clients rated client service and relationship management excellent in 2024.[65]
  • 54% of asset managers using outsourced trading reported streamlined post-trade analysis and reporting as a benefit.[66]
  • 70% of asset managers using outsourced trading reported improved risk management as an operational-efficiency benefit.[66]
  • 27% of outsourced-trading clients rated operations and post-trade services very good in 2024.[65]

Quality management in the trading industry

  • 79% of EU businesses used data backup to a separate location or cloud in 2024.[67]
  • 22% of EU businesses experienced an ICT security incident affecting service availability, data integrity or confidentiality in 2024.[67]
  • 42% of Finnish businesses reported ICT security incidents in 2024, the highest share among EU countries.[67]
  • 29% of Maltese businesses reported ICT security incidents in 2024.[67]
  • 46% of large EU businesses with e-sales received electronic orders through EDI-type messages in 2024.[67]

Supply chain in the trading industry

  • 39% of Danish businesses conducted e-sales in 2024.[67]
  • 3–4 days was Kenya’s cargo dwell time at ports after trade-facilitation reforms, down from around 11 days.[68]
  • 92% of EU wholesale and retail enterprises with e-sales used web sales in 2024.[67]
  • 4.1 times was Dollar General’s inventory turnover in fiscal 2024, with inventories down 6.9% per store from the prior year.[69]
  • 24% of EU businesses conducted e-sales in 2024, compared with 17% in 2014.[67]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among significant European banks, 27% of critical ICT contracts were outsourced to external providers located outside the European Union in the 2024 analysis.[19]
  • Among significant European banks, 67% of outsourcing contracts were sub-outsourced to external service providers in the 2024 analysis.[19]
  • Across surveyed finance organizations, 17% were evaluating nearshore locations for future operations in 2026, compared with 13% evaluating offshore locations.[70]
  • Among U.S. banks surveyed, 57% had considered outsourcing information technology departments in 2024, the highest share among listed departments.[71]
  • Among significant European banks, outsourcing services accounted for 7.2% of administrative expenses at year-end 2023, up from 6.8%.[19]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Trading economics are reflected in fee and revenue lines, including $276.7 million of CME Group’s 2024 clearing and transaction-fee revenue from cash-markets.

Pricing strategy in the trading industry

  • $276.7 million of CME Group’s 2024 clearing and transaction-fee revenue came from cash-markets transactions.[36]
  • 28% of U.S. broker-dealers reported gains or losses from securities trading in 2024.[28]
  • $0.0005–$0.0035 per share was Interactive Brokers’ 2026 tiered commission range for U.S. stocks and ETFs.[72]
  • $1.428 billion was Nasdaq’s 2024 cash-equity trading revenue before transaction-based expenses.[28]
  • 22% of U.S. broker-dealers reported account-supervision or advisory-fee revenue in 2024.[28]

Cost reduction in the trading industry

  • 14% was the year-over-year decrease in Cboe’s 2024 routing and clearing fees, to $68.3 million.[51]
  • 13% of U.S. broker-dealer expenses went to clerical and administrative employees in 2024.[28]
  • $2.232 billion was Virtu’s 2024 operating expense, up 13.4% from 2023.[28]
  • $1.8 billion was ICE’s 2024 cash-liquidity, routing and clearing expense, up from $1.6 billion in 2023.[28]
  • $2.0221 billion was Cboe’s total cost of revenues in 2024, 9% higher than in 2023.[51]

Profitability in the trading industry

  • $1.059 billion was the 2024 net income of the independent broker-dealer in the cited annual report.[28]
  • $1.598 billion was Virtu’s 2024 adjusted net trading income, up 32.0% year over year.[28]
  • $1.393 billion was that broker-dealer’s 2024 income before income taxes.[28]
  • $1.822 billion was Virtu’s 2024 net trading income, up 40.0% from 2023.[28]
  • $817.1 million was Tradeweb’s 2024 total revenue, up 8.6% from 2023.[28]

Financial planning in the trading industry

  • $281.2 million was LPL Financial’s 2024 occupancy and equipment expense.[28]
  • $73.1 million was Cboe’s 2024 derivatives-markets Section 31-fee expense.[51]
  • 62% of U.S. broker-dealer regulatory fees and expenses were reported by clearing or carrying broker-dealers in 2024.[28]
  • $1.137 billion was LPL Financial’s 2024 compensation-and-benefits expense.[28]
  • $308.5 million was LPL Financial’s 2024 depreciation and amortization expense.[28]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Broader trade and distribution indicators frame demand conditions; 17.1% of US retail sales were e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2026.

Product development in the trading industry

  • 29.8 million people were employed in EU distributive trade in 2023.[67]
  • 17.1% of U.S. retail sales were e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2026.[73]
  • 18.4% of EU business-economy employment was in distributive trade in 2023.[67]
  • U.S. retail e-commerce sales increased 12.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2026.[73]
  • €923.0 billion was spent on employee benefits by EU distributive-trade enterprises in 2023.[67]

Product lifecycle in the trading industry

  • 261,000 food-and-beverage wholesale enterprises operated in the EU in 2023.[67]
  • 2024 EU specialised food-and-beverage retail sales were 6.5% below their 2021 level.[67]
  • 2024 EU non-specialised in-store food and beverage retail sales were 8.3% above their 2009 volume level.[67]
  • 1991–2025 was the coverage period of Eurostat’s annual wholesale-and-retail turnover dataset.[67]
  • 2024 EU non-specialised food-and-beverage retail sales were 3.7% below their 2021 level.[67]

After-sales in the trading industry

  • $2,860.0 billion was U.S. merchant-wholesaler e-commerce sales in 2020.[74]
  • $8,037.4 billion was U.S. merchant-wholesaler sales in 2020.[74]
  • 36.7% of U.S. household-appliance and electrical-electronic-goods wholesaler sales were e-commerce sales in 2020.[74]
  • $856.428 billion was U.S. wholesale electronic-market, agent and broker revenue in 2023.[75]
  • 35.6% of U.S. merchant-wholesaler sales were e-commerce sales in 2020, up from 33.6% in 2019.[74]

Value proposition in the trading industry

  • €3.2 trillion was the turnover of EU food-and-beverage wholesaling, retailing and service businesses in 2023.[67]
  • 18% of EU business-economy employment was in trade in 2024.[67]
  • 50.9% of EU distributive-trade value added came from wholesale trade in 2021.[67]
  • 1.57 million EU enterprises served food and beverages in 2023.[67]
  • 32.5% of EU distributive-trade employment came from wholesale trade in 2021.[67]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Disclosure practice varies across supply-chain transparency. Only one of 25 assessed commodity traders disclosed all sourcing countries.

Sustainability in the trading industry

  • Only one of 25 assessed commodity traders publicly disclosed all countries from which it sourced commodities.[76]
  • 25% of assessed companies shared slightly more information on other public-interest issues over the two-year period to 2023.[76]
  • 30% of assessed companies developed or improved disclosures on due-diligence systems over the two-year period to 2023.[76]
  • 8% of assessed companies improved disclosures on payments to governments or state-owned enterprises relating to first trades.[76]
  • 19 commodity supply chains were mapped by Trase by the end of 2024 to support sustainability due diligence in commodity trade.[77]

ESG in the trading industry

  • 54% was the average anti-bribery-and-corruption score for extractive commodity traders in 2023.[76]
  • 16% was the average score for systems preventing and mitigating human-rights abuses in trading-company supply chains.[76]
  • 37% was the average score for systems identifying and assessing human-rights risks in trading-company supply chains.[76]
  • 16% was the average score for tracking and publicly reporting supply-chain human-rights risk management.[76]
  • 84% of OECD countries had laws expecting companies to report on or conduct due diligence for social and environmental impacts in 2026.[12]

Ethics in the trading industry

  • About 30% of assessed companies developed or disclosed more detail on due-diligence systems during the two years to 2023.[78]
  • 76% was the average score for public disclosure of corporate governance and ownership among extractive commodity traders.[78]
  • 26% was the average score for public disclosure of lobbying practices among extractive commodity traders.[78]
  • One-third of assessed extractive commodity trading companies faced investigations or court cases related to bribery during the five years to 2023.[76]
  • 37% was the average score for grievance mechanisms enabling people to raise concerns about human-rights impacts.[78]

Carbon footprint in the trading industry

  • 25% was the average environmental-due-diligence score for extractive commodity traders.[76]
  • 47% was the average score for environmental-impact commitments among assessed extractive commodity traders.[79]
  • 42% was the average score for tracking and publicly reporting Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse-gas emissions against reduction targets.[79]
  • Less than half of assessed companies showed evidence of tracking and publicly reporting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions against reduction targets.[79]
  • 34% was the average score for supplier expectations on preventing, avoiding and mitigating environmental risks.[79]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Global trade measurement and cross-border demand remain central, with $24.6 trillion in global merchandise trade in 2024. Execution also faces language and payment friction noted in surveys.

Globalization in the trading industry

  • 120-plus economies and more than 200 trading partners are covered by the WTO’s monthly bilateral merchandise-trade statistics tool.[86]
  • $24.6 trillion was the value of global merchandise trade in 2024, up 2.1% from 2023.[37]
  • $33 trillion was the estimated value of global trade in goods and services in 2024, comprising approximately $25 trillion in goods and $8 trillion in services worldwide.[68]
  • The global merchandise-trade value fell 4.7% in 2023 before rebounding 2.1% in 2024.[37]
  • $23.8 trillion was the value of global merchandise exports in 2023, down 4.3% year over year.[68]

Cultural adaptation in the trading industry

  • 50% of global online shoppers surveyed in 2025 cited secure payment options or buyer protection as an incentive to buy from a foreign store.[87]
  • 76% of consumers in a 29-country survey preferred to buy products with information in their own language.[87]
  • 45% of global online shoppers surveyed in 2025 said local-currency prices would encourage them to buy from a foreign store.[87]
  • 13% was the relative conversion-rate increase when buyers saw a store translated into their own language, according to Shopify data.[87]
  • 56% of consumers globally said knowing where an item came from would influence loyalty to a grocery retailer.[88]

Supplier management in the trading industry

  • 62% of companies practicing supplier relationship management used supplier scorecards to measure supplier performance.[8]
  • 74% of 100 global procurement leaders cited logistics challenges as a reason to deepen supplier relationships.[8]
  • 62% of leading procurement organizations said strengthening relationships with their supply base was a top SRM priority.[8]
  • 74% of surveyed suppliers said they would happily recommend the majority of retailers they work with.[89]
  • 80% of 100 global procurement leaders cited supply-chain weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to deepen supplier relationships.[8]

Stakeholder management in the trading industry

  • 23% of Gen Z consumers completely trusted retailer product information in 2022.[88]
  • 57% of consumers in 2022 mostly trusted product information provided by retailers.[88]
  • 61% of B2B buyers preferred an overall rep-free buying experience in Gartner’s survey.[8]
  • 27% of millennials completely trusted retailer product information in 2022.[88]
  • 29% of Gen X consumers completely trusted retailer product information in 2022.[88]

Distribution channels in the trading industry

  • $2.803 trillion was U.S. merchant-wholesaler e-commerce sales in 2024.[90]
  • $1.854 trillion was U.S. merchant-wholesaler e-commerce sales in 2020.[90]
  • 25% of distributors with $10 million to $50 million in annual revenue offered ecommerce in 2024.[91]
  • $2.510 trillion was U.S. merchant-wholesaler e-commerce sales in 2023.[90]
  • 18% of distributors with less than $10 million in annual revenue offered ecommerce in 2024.[91]

Key questions about the trading industry

How big is the trading market in 2025?
Global FX turnover averaged $9.6 trillion per day in April 2025. Global equity market capitalisation reached $151.94 trillion at the end of 2025.
What growth signals show up in recent trading activity?
Global FX turnover rose 28% between the April 2022 and April 2025 surveys. US equity average daily volume rose 44.6% in 2025.
Which companies lead the trading industry?
Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 trading ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with revenue growth 6.5%. Bunge is the runner-up at 9.1, backed by $70.3 billion in 2025 net sales.
What technology shifts are shaping trading execution?
Trading infrastructure is becoming more automated, alongside data-management automation and expectations for AI adoption. 57% of global trading firms expected to invest in market-data processing to support higher volumes in 2026.
How has market structure changed for trading venues?
US equity volume shifted 50.6% to off-exchange venues, highlighting market-structure and transparency challenges. In the first quarter of 2025, the Americas accounted for 52% of electronic order-book share-trading value.
What regulatory changes matter for trading operators?
The US SEC proposed amendments to Regulation NMS on June 11, 2026 on equity-market structure. The CFTC approved a final rule in December 2025 revising business-conduct and documentation requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Trading Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/trading-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Trading Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/trading-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Trading Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/trading-industry-statistics.

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