EToro Misses Badly As Crypto Cooldown Exposes A Bloated Cost Base; Buyback And Spending Cuts Replace The Growth Pitch

eToro Group (NASDAQ: ETOR) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.26 per share. That was 35.0% below the $0.34 consensus and well short of the $0.40 Earnings Whisper number. Earnings fell 56.7% from a year ago, and GAAP diluted EPS dropped to $0.14 from $0.53. The supplied figures show revenue of $1.486 billion against a $186.08 million consensus, a nominal 698.7% beat, but that comparison should not be read at face value. Reported revenue includes gross crypto sales, while the consensus figure aligns with net contribution, eToro's preferred top-line measure. Net contribution came in at $186 million, essentially on top of that estimate and down 13% year over year. Revenue fell 63.9% year over year as gross crypto turnover collapsed. The central story is not a revenue beat. It is a sharp cyclical downturn hitting a cost structure that was built for the boom.

The deterioration is steep when viewed across the year. Net contribution slid from $258 million in Q1 (+19% year over year) to $229 million in Q2 (+9%) and then $186 million in Q3 (-13%). Over the same three quarters, adjusted EBITDA fell from $109 million to $78 million to $34 million, and margin compressed from 42% to 34% to roughly 18%. Expenses made the decline worse. Selling and marketing rose to $68 million from $48 million a year earlier, about 37% of net contribution versus the company's 25% target. An analyst on the call questioned whether account growth justified that spend. Operating cash flow fell to $21.5 million from $41.9 million a year ago, and pre-tax income dropped to $19 million from $69 million.

Beneath the headline, the mix is uneven:

• **Capital markets:** Contribution rose 21% year over year to $88 million, but it fell sharply from $142 million in Q2 as equity and commodity activity cooled.
• **Crypto:** Contribution rebounded 141% sequentially to $26 million but remains down 53% year over year.
• **eToro Money:** Contribution swung from +44% growth in Q2 to a 5% decline.
• **Accounts and assets:** Funded accounts grew 18% to 4.39 million, though that figure includes acquisitions. Equity AUA hit a record $11.5 billion.

The October KPIs undercut any notion that the trough is already in:

• capital markets trades fell 22% and invested amount per trade fell 49%;
• crypto trades plunged 62%;
• interest-earning assets fell 20% to $7.0 billion;
• AUA slipped 6% to $19.2 billion.

Management's posture shifted noticeably. Through Q2, the message was accelerating momentum and stepped-up investment. Now the company is guiding Q4 adjusted operating expenses down at least 5% from Q3 and pulling marketing back toward the 25% ratio. It is also slowing its M&A pace to integrate four acquisitions, with the TradeZero close not expected until the first half of 2027. On the call, management framed the quarter as cyclical cooling comparable to 2018 and 2022 and cited a November pickup in volatility. That pickup is an assertion about a few weeks of activity, not a reported trend.

The forward catalysts are real but mostly longer-dated:

• **LB Finanzas:** an acquisition in Argentina tied to a $100 million Latin America revenue target within two to three years.
• **IPO distribution:** retail distribution for the Anthropic IPO, following SpaceX.
• **Prediction markets:** now live for international users in select markets.
• **AI connectors:** Claude, ChatGPT and Grok integrations, with API and agentic trading users up 250% sequentially.
• **U.S. Smart Portfolios:** 26 launched under the RIA license.

The more immediate lever is the new $250 million buyback. eToro says it believes its shares are undervalued. It has already spent $189 million on treasury shares this year and holds $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments. The company also said repurchased shares could serve as currency for future acquisitions, which slightly muddies the pure capital-return message.

The market had largely anticipated a bad quarter. Shares fell 24.3% from the $30.79 open after the August report to $23.32. That leaves them 28.2% below the 200-day moving average and just 5.8% above the $22.05 52-week low set on October 30. The stock had peaked at $33.19 in early September before sliding through the quarter. Investor sentiment remained negative but improved, moving from -0.32 to -0.21. That suggests some investors were already braced for weakness, and the buyback gives them something to lean on. The Earnings Whispers trend readings tilt negative, with AVWAP still weak and momentum neutral, consistent with a stock still under distribution rather than one being re-rated.

The bottom line is that eToro's miss was not a narrow timing issue. It reflects a business whose earnings power is swinging hard with retail trading cycles, while spending was set for continued expansion. Account growth, record equity AUA and a credible AI and product pipeline keep the long-term story intact. However, October data shows activity still contracting, and the pivot to cost cuts and buybacks is a defensive response, not evidence of recovery. Until trading volumes and margin stabilize, bears have legitimate ammunition, even with the stock pressed near its lows.

Read our earnings preview for eToro Group Ltd.: https://www.earningswhispers.com/article/ETOR/22692

This earnings review was originally published on Earnings Whispers.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Earnings Whispers and its staff may hold positions in the securities mentioned. It is AI-assisted, based on proprietary Earnings Whispers data and company reports, and edited by Earnings Whispers staff.