Citadel Securities' 1,700 people each generated an average of $1m in profit in 3 months
You don't have to be the sort mathematical genius that gets a job at Citadel Securities to understand that the market making firm is extremely profitable with comparatively few employees.
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The Financial Times reported yesterday that Citadel Securities generated $3.4bn in net trading revenues in the first three months of 2025 and $1.7bn in profits. It did so with around 1,700 employees.
Each employee generated an average of $1m in profits in a three-month period.
Citadel Securities has the kind of margin banks can only dream of. At Bank of America's global markets business, for example, net profits were only 35% of revenues in the first quarter.
Citadel Securities has also built the kind of business that can dramatically increase both revenues and profits without needing to add staff. Year-on-year, first quarter revenues and profits were up 45% and 70% respectively. And yet, headcount has only increased by 100 people since June last year.
Banks may want to take note.
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