FINRA Publishes 2026 Industry Snapshot

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FINRA published today its 2026 Industry Snapshot, an annual report that provides aggregate data about member firms, registered representatives, and market activity.

The comprehensive report provides insight into FINRA membership, including the number of member firms and registered representatives, firm revenues, and trading activity.

The report is based on data that FINRA collects and maintains through its regulatory oversight of member firms, as well as work done on behalf of other regulators.

“The FINRA Industry Snapshot underscores our commitment to transparency and public awareness about the firms and professionals we regulate,” said Jonathan Sokobin, Executive Vice President, Chief Economist and Head of Regulatory Economics and Market Analysis at FINRA. “This year’s report reflects a securities industry in transition—growing in professionals, a concentration in firms, and evolving in how and when investors trade. These developments, as the industry continues to post strong results, present both opportunities and challenges that merit dialogue among investors, member firms, and market participants.”

The report’s findings include the following, which are detailed in an associated blog released today:

• The profession continues to grow, with registered representatives reaching 639,723 in 2025, a 5% increase since 2021, marking four consecutive years of growth with 40,000-45,000 people entering the industry annually. At the same time, the number of FINRA member firms declined due to ongoing concentration.
• Dual registration is now the predominant model for financial professionals, with more than half of FINRA-registered representatives (331,802) maintaining both broker-dealer and investment adviser registration.
• U.S. stock trading continues to climb, hitting record levels with average daily dollar volume of exchange-listed (NMS) stocks of $828 billion in 2025, up more than a third from 2022. Extended-hours trading also continues to grow, now representing about a fifth of total trading activity.
• Listed options trading surged in 2025 with average daily transactions reaching 8.4 million, up 50% from 5.6 million in 2023. Contracts that expire on the same day, known as zero days to expiration options, accounted for about 30% of all options transactions in 2025.

Data behind the Industry Snapshot is available on the FINRA Data page on FINRA.org, which provides users with one-stop access to all of FINRA’s data offerings. The page allows users to easily find and sort the various sets of data that FINRA provides.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.