By Brazil Stock Guide – XP Inc. (XP) reported adjusted net income of R$1.318 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 7% from a year earlier, in a result that combined asset growth, stronger equity-market activity and signs of pressure in net inflows and monetization. Gross revenue rose 8% to R$4.9 billion, while total client assets reached R$1.529 trillion, a 15% increase over 12 months.
The reading was positive, but not straightforward. Total net inflows fell to R$14 billion in the quarter, down 39% from Q1 2025 and 55% from Q4 2025. The annualized retail take rate also slipped to 1.18%, down 7 basis points both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. For a platform whose valuation depends on the combination of asset growth, monetization and efficiency, those two indicators prevent an overly comfortable interpretation of the quarter.
Equities help
The main driver in retail was the recovery in equity-market activity. Revenue from equities rose 22% from Q1 2025 and 13% from the previous quarter to R$1.167 billion. Daily average retail trades reached 2.7 million, up 23% year-on-year. That performance helped offset weakness in fixed income, where revenue fell 25% from a year earlier to R$756 million.
Retail revenue as a whole totaled R$3.773 billion, up 10% over 12 months but down 2% from Q4 2025. XP also showed growth in adjacent verticals: pension fund client assets reached R$98 billion, card transaction volume totaled R$13.3 billion, and the expanded credit portfolio stood at R$74.3 billion, still 16% above Q1 2025 despite a 5% decline from the previous quarter.
Wholesale strength
The clearest highlight was the Wholesale Bank. Segment revenue rose 26% year-on-year to R$1.146 billion, supported by large corporates, institutional activity and stronger demand for derivatives, foreign exchange and trading solutions in a more volatile market environment. Revenue from large corporates advanced 78% to R$498 million.
That growth helps explain XP’s diversification beyond its original image as an investment brokerage. The company now looks more like a full financial platform, spanning retail, wholesale, credit, cards, pensions, insurance and capital markets. The advantage is a broader revenue base. The challenge is greater balance-sheet and execution complexity.
Margins under watch
Gross margin stood at 67.2%, broadly stable compared with 67.5% in Q1 2025. EBT reached R$1.418 billion, up 8% over 12 months but down 14% from the previous quarter. The EBT margin was 30.0%, slightly above the prior year but 273 basis points below Q4 2025.
Returns also softened. Adjusted ROAE fell to 21.7%, from 24.1% a year earlier, while adjusted ROTE declined to 26.2%, from 30.2% in Q1 2025. XP attributed part of that movement to its high level of capitalization. Its Basel ratio reached 20.7%, above the company’s 16% to 19% guidance range for 2026, leaving room for capital returns.
Capital returns
XP executed about R$200 million in share buybacks during the quarter, announced a new R$1 billion repurchase program and approved R$500 million in dividends, scheduled for payment on June 18.
The company also announced a change in its finance leadership. Victor Mansur will step down as CFO at the end of May after more than 14 years at XP. CEO Thiago Maffra will serve as interim CFO until Gustavo Alejo Viviani, a former Santander executive, takes over in August. Alejo’s background in credit, retail banking, wholesale banking, investor relations and finance suggests that XP’s next phase will require more of the discipline associated with a mature bank.
XP remains a large and profitable platform: R$1.5 trillion in client assets, almost 4.8 million active clients and 18,300 advisers. The question now is whether that scale can continue translating into stronger profitability as net inflows slow, take rates fall and the business becomes more complex.
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