By Brazil Stock Guide — B3 SA (B3SA3 BZ), the operator of Brazil’s main exchange and post-trade infrastructure, reported recurring net income of R$ 1.38 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up 8% from a year earlier, supported by higher equity trading volumes and continued growth in recurring revenue streams.
Reported net income attributable to shareholders jumped 28.2% to R$ 1.70 billion. The gap between reported and recurring earnings largely reflects one-off gains related to the sale of B3’s stake in Dimensa and a tax benefit associated with an extraordinary interest-on-equity payment.
Gross revenue rose 12.2% to R$ 3.08 billion, while net revenue increased 8.8% to R$ 2.77 billion. Revenue from businesses B3 classifies as recurring grew 17.3%, more than twice the 7.9% increase in its more market-sensitive operations.
Recurring EBITDA climbed 13% to R$ 1.94 billion, with the margin widening by 47 basis points to 70.2%. On a sequential basis, however, the picture was less buoyant: gross revenue fell 3.8%, recurring EBITDA declined 5.6% and recurring net income dropped 8.2% from the first quarter.
The quarter contained two sharply different phases for Brazilian markets. The Ibovespa extended its foreign-driven rally in early April and reached an intraday record of 199,354 points on April 14, coming within striking distance of the 200,000 threshold. A deterioration in the external backdrop and the subsequent reversal of foreign flows then triggered a steep correction.
Foreign investors had brought a net R$ 53.8 billion into Brazilian equities during the first quarter. By the end of June, the year-to-date inflow had narrowed to R$ 33.8 billion, implying a net outflow of roughly R$ 20 billion during the second quarter. The Ibovespa ended June at 172,024 points, down 8.2% for the quarter.
For B3’s revenue model, however, trading activity matters more than market direction. Both the buying wave that drove the Ibovespa to record highs and the selloff that followed helped lift average daily cash-equity trading volume by 20.1% to R$ 31.3 billion.
Average daily trading in Brazilian shares rose 21.2%, while volumes in Brazilian depositary receipts and listed funds jumped 41.8% and 73.6%, respectively. Equity revenue increased 22.5% to R$ 692.3 million, although the average trading and post-trade take rate narrowed to 3.074 basis points from 3.159 basis points a year earlier.
In derivatives, average daily volume fell 8.3% to 11.1 million contracts, largely because of an 84.5% decline in cryptocurrency futures activity. Derivatives revenue nevertheless slipped by only 1.3% to R$ 881.5 million, as average revenue per contract increased 4.1%.
Fixed income continued to provide a buffer against weaker activity in some trading businesses. Revenue from fixed income and credit rose 17.2% to R$ 385.5 million. The average stock of corporate bonds registered at B3 increased 14.4%, while assets held through the Treasury Direct retail government-bond platform surged 43.7% to R$ 236 billion. The platform had an average of 3.46 million investors during the quarter, up 14.7%.
Businesses less directly tied to daily market turnover also maintained double-digit growth. Capital Markets Solutions revenue increased 25.8% to R$ 201 million; Trillia, B3’s data and analytics unit, grew 22% to R$ 315.2 million; and Technology and Platforms revenue advanced 15.7% to R$ 526.8 million.
Part of Trillia’s growth was an accounting gross-up with no corresponding benefit to profitability. A new billing model for Brazil’s vehicle-lien registry added R$ 27.5 million to revenue, but the same amount was recorded as a revenue-linked expense.
Brazil’s equity capital markets also showed signs of reopening. Public offerings totaled R$ 11.6 billion during the quarter, including a R$ 3 billion initial public offering — the first in five years — and R$ 8.6 billion in follow-on offerings. Revenue from listing and issuer services rose 25.8% to R$ 43 million.
Total expenses increased 15.5% to R$ 975.6 million, partly reflecting R$ 40.5 million in one-off costs associated with executive management changes and the accounting effect of the new vehicle-registry billing model. Adjusted expenses, excluding depreciation, share-based incentives, provisions, revenue-linked costs and other exceptional items, rose 6.2% to R$ 611.2 million.
Reported earnings benefited from a R$ 123.9 million gain after B3 exercised an option to sell its entire 37.5% stake in Dimensa for R$ 665 million. An extraordinary R$ 750 million interest-on-equity distribution — a tax-deductible form of shareholder payout used in Brazil — also generated a R$ 277.5 million tax benefit.
B3 returned R$ 1.30 billion to shareholders during the quarter, comprising R$ 1.11 billion in interest on equity and R$ 196.9 million in share buybacks. It ended June with R$ 19.3 billion in cash and financial investments and gross debt of R$ 14.9 billion, equivalent to two times recurring EBITDA over the previous 12 months.
After the quarter ended, an operational failure put the resilience of B3’s technology infrastructure under scrutiny. On July 31, a problem involving a component of its post-trade environment delayed the opening of most Brazilian markets by more than three hours. B3 denied that the incident involved a cyberattack or external interference, saying the preventive halt was necessary to protect data integrity and the security of clearing and settlement processes.
Despite the significance of the incident, B3’s 12-page earnings release makes no mention of the outage and provides no estimate of its financial impact. The company said only that technology and infrastructure outlays recorded across capital and operating expenses totaled R$ 229 million in the quarter and R$ 451 million in the first half. It also cited consulting expenses related to operational resilience and risk management, without linking them to the July failure.
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