Webull Debuts on Nasdaq, Closes at $13.25, Market Cap $60.87B
2min read Webull Corporation, a digital investment platform based in Changsha, Hunan, successfully completed its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and officially listed on the Nasdaq on April 11. The company's stock is traded under the ticker symbol BULL. On its first day of trading, Webull's stock closed at $13.25, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $60.87 billion.
Webull is a next-generation global infrastructure-based digital investment platform. The company aims to build an efficient, low-cost, and user-friendly global investment platform to become the preferred platform for a new generation of investors. Webull provides a mobile-first user experience, a wide range of investment products, and extensive features to help its customers accumulate wealth over time, differentiating itself from other investment service providers.
The platform initially offered users free market data and analysis tools. However, when the company launched its brokerage services in the United States in May 2018, the platform expanded to provide financial products. Since then, the company has expanded its services to 14 markets in North America, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and Latin America. The Webull App has been downloaded over 40 million times, with more than 22.1 million registered users globally.
Webull's target audience is retail investors, who traditionally have had limited access to the advanced tools, products, data, and analysis available to professional investors. The company aims to provide these tools through mobile devices, the preferred trading medium for retail investors. Webull's platform addresses the pain points of traditional providers, who, despite significant technological investments, offer limited mobile functionality and are more suited to investors who prefer trading from a computer. Meanwhile, digital-native online investment platforms offer simplified mobile user experiences but may lack the product depth or analytical tools needed for informed investing.
Webull's platform provides advanced real-time market data and news to all investors, not just those who can afford expensive subscription fees. The company also offers tools to help users convert observations into actionable trading ideas. Additionally, Webull fosters an open digital community that promotes learning and idea sharing, creating a virtual trading floor experience. The platform is designed to enhance the user experience, allowing customers to research ideas, analyze data, execute trades, and monitor their portfolios—all from a mobile device, just like professional investors.
Webull's typical customers are professionals in their 30s with some investment experience. The company views its customers as long-term partners, as its success is tied to theirs. Webull launched the Webull App in the United States in May 2018, choosing the country as its starting point due to the depth and complexity of its capital markets and the significant opportunities they present. Within approximately two and a half years, the company's funded accounts grew to over one million, with cumulative trading volume reaching $100 billion. Subsequently, Webull expanded into multiple global markets, including Canada, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and is preparing to enter other markets in Europe and Latin America.
Webull currently holds 11 broker-dealer licenses, approvals, and/or registrations in the United States, Canada, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and Africa. The company primarily generates revenue from its brokerage business in the United States through a standard industry process known as payment for order flow (PFOF), where brokerage firms receive compensation for routing orders to different wholesale market makers and exchange partners, rather than charging clients brokerage commissions. In markets outside the United States, Webull typically charges retail clients directly for commissions.
Webull has received investments from prominent firms. The company's merger with the SPAC provides it with the financial support needed to further expand into international markets. This move is part of a broader trend where an increasing number of companies are choosing the SPAC route to access the U.S. capital markets. Other companies that have recently used this method include large tree cloud, the first test-tube group, bit rich, and Lotus.
