Driven by record-high trading volumes on the A-share market and a steady bull trend in the bond market during the first half of 2026, the securities industry posted a 32% year-on-year increase in operating revenue and a 23% rise in net profit, based on parent company data.

Listed brokers outperformed the sector average, with 44 A-share pure securities firms generating combined operating revenue of RMB 375.215 billion, up 44.39% year-on-year, alongside aggregate net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 163.434 billion, up 48.86%.

Among these 44 brokers, CITIC Securities recorded the highest revenue and net profit for H1 2026, while The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. registered the lowest figures in both metrics. China Merchants Securities led revenue growth at 108.19%, whereas Hongta Securities experienced the steepest revenue decline of 14%. On the profitability front, Tianfeng Securities achieved the strongest net profit growth at 549.03%, while Hongta Securities suffered the largest drop of 23.93%. Only Great Wall Securities and Hongta Securities posted negative revenue growth, with just Hongta Securities and Hualin Securities reporting declining net profits.

Delving into proprietary trading, the 44 brokers generated combined self-operated business income (calculated as investment gains plus fair value changes minus investment income from associates and joint ventures) of RMB 170.05 billion, up 49.28% year-on-year, representing 45.32% of total revenue and cementing its role as the primary earnings driver. CITIC Securities posted the highest proprietary trading income, while Guosheng Securities recorded the lowest, with Hualin Securities next lowest if excluding Guosheng. China Merchants Securities saw the fastest income growth in this segment, whereas Guosheng Securities reported the weakest pace, again followed by Hualin Securities without Guosheng. Hongta Securities boasted the highest proportion of proprietary trading income to total revenue, with BOC International at the lower end.

Evaluated by investment return rate (proprietary trading income divided by average financial investments at period start and end), Changjiang Securities achieved the highest return in H1 2026, while Guosheng Securities had the lowest, with BOC International trailing if excluding Guosheng. In breakdown terms, Shougang Securities held the highest ratio of proprietary equity securities and derivatives to net capital, with Sealand Securities at the bottom; Shenwan Hongyuan led in fixed-income securities to net capital ratio, while The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. ranked last. Sinolink Securities showed the largest fixed-income to equity ratio, and Hualin Securities the smallest.

Notably, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. reported the lowest ratio of proprietary non-equity securities and derivatives to net capital (50.95%) among 43 listed brokers, excluding East Money which lacks such data, and ranked third from the bottom in equity securities and derivatives to net capital, reflecting an overall modest proprietary trading scale. Despite this, the firm's equity investment income turned negative during the period.

For H1 2026, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. generated RMB 144 million in total securities investment revenue, down RMB 59 million or 29.14% year-on-year, with operating profit of RMB 101 million, a decrease of RMB 63 million. Specifically, equity investment business recorded revenue of negative RMB 70.9269 million and operating loss of RMB 75.2643 million, while fixed-income investment produced revenue of RMB 214.5874 million and operating profit of RMB 176.0896 million.

In its disclosure, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. acknowledged that despite dynamically adjusting equity positions during the reporting period, it failed to capture prevailing market themes, resulting in weak operational performance. This admission underscores the core challenge facing the firm.

During H1 2026, the A-share market exhibited clear directional trends, enabling numerous brokers to achieve substantial proprietary trading gains through precise positioning. The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. not only missed these opportunities but also incurred significant losses, raising questions about its investment research capabilities or the effectiveness of its trading strategies.

Turning to investment banking, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. recorded revenue of RMB 30.8413 million, down RMB 4.9813 million or 13.91% year-on-year, with operating loss of RMB 14.3371 million, representing a profit margin of negative 46.49%. The investment banking segment thus remained unprofitable, generating losses rather than income.

In asset management, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. achieved operating revenue of RMB 45 million in H1 2026, up 49.86% year-on-year, marking the fastest-growing business segment. However, the firm's asset management scale contracted during this period, totaling RMB 12.491 billion at period end, down 9.36% from the start of the year. Single-client (directed) product scale fell 65.3%, while asset-backed securities management scale declined 16.49%.

This pattern of rising revenue alongside shrinking assets indicates that income growth stemmed more from performance fees than from expansion of management fee-based assets, raising sustainability concerns. Should market conditions weaken, the trajectory of asset management revenue may face headwinds.

Overall, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. reported operating revenue of RMB 688 million for H1 2026, up 11.85% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 144 million, up 19.14%.

Among the 44 listed brokers, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. ranked last in both revenue and net profit, reflecting structural imbalances and deficiencies in core business competitiveness. By revenue composition across its six main segments, securities brokerage contributed RMB 367 million (53.3% of total), securities investment RMB 144 million (20.9%), credit business RMB 75 million (10.9%), asset management RMB 45 million (6.5%), and investment banking just RMB 31 million (4.5%).

Brokerage (53.3%) and securities investment (20.9%) together accounted for over 74% of total revenue. Both are highly correlated with market conditions, with brokerage dependent on trading volumes and proprietary trading reliant on investment returns. While robust markets drive growth, adverse conditions could lead to simultaneous declines across these segments. With investment banking and asset management contributing relatively small revenue shares, and investment banking remaining loss-making, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. appears structurally constrained in its ability to navigate market cycles. As leading peers achieve non-linear growth through diversified operations in investment banking and asset management, The Pacific Securities Co., Ltd. continues to depend heavily on commission income and prevailing market dynamics.