WeBull Is Still Down 35% This Year: Did Today Mark the Bottom for BULL Stock?
A rebound across online brokerages is lifting Webull (NASDAQ:BULL | BULL Price Prediction). One strong session does little to repair a year dominated by questions about the company’s China ties. Webull stock is at $5.07 in afternoon trading, up 3%. Even after that gain, the stock is down 35% year to date (YTD).
Over the past year, Webull stock has fallen 47%. Measured from April 10, 2025, the month Webull went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, the decline reaches 58%. Whether this bounce marks a bottom depends on how the company handles a stack of regulatory and legal problems over the coming weeks.
China Ties and Regulators Keep Pressure on Webull
According to CNBC, Webull shares fell 18% on October 7 after a congressional panel found the company’s China ties create a national security risk. Securities class actions followed, alleging Webull misled investors about its China operations. A notice from law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check lists December 7 as the deadline for investors seeking to lead the case.
On November 5, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Webull’s U.S. brokerage unit $4.2 million for anti-money laundering, identity theft prevention and best execution failures. FINRA found the unit approved more than 120,000 new accounts without a reasonable belief in customers’ true identities. Webull settled without admitting or denying the findings and must hire an independent consultant.
In 2025, FINRA fined Webull $1.6 million over its supervision of influencer social media communications. Webull’s sharp YTD decline relative to its peers suggests a lingering China-related risk discount.
Webull Trails Robinhood as Futu Holdings Shares the Pain
Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) stock is at $84.02, up 4%. That leaves Robinhood down 26% YTD, a smaller loss than Webull’s. Beyond trading, Robinhood has expanded into banking, credit cards, prediction markets and its own blockchain.
Futu Holdings (NASDAQ:FUTU) stock is at $100.26, up 2%. The Hong Kong-based broker is down 38% YTD, a slide similar to Webull’s. Hong Kong and Southeast Asia form the core of Futu’s business, which pairs trading with initial public offering (IPO) distribution and wealth management. New rules released May 22 also led to compliance-driven outflows from the company’s Mainland China clients.
Webull stands between those two models. The company is smaller and built around active traders, with the U.S. generating approximately 89% of its external customer revenue.
Bull and Bear Cases for a Webull Bottom
The bulls point to Webull’s operating momentum. Webull’s revenue hit a record $198.8 million in Q2 2026, up 51% year over year, after the pattern day trader (PDT) rule was eliminated on June 4. Anthony Denier is Group President and U.S. CEO. On the August 19 earnings call, he stated, “I believe that the removal of PDT is permanent and volumes will not revert to pre-PDT levels.”
Webull serves more than 28 million registered users and 5.1 million funded accounts across 18 markets. After such a sharp slide, some of the China risk may already be priced into the stock, and some traders see the upcoming earnings report and the company’s growth as confidence builders.
The bears counter that the cost of the class actions and the FINRA settlement isn’t known yet. Dependence on Apex Clearing adds risk for Webull. The single third-party clearing broker relationship also means Webull loses its emerging growth company status on December 31 and then faces outside auditor attestation of its internal controls. A miss could compound the selloff.
Webull’s November 19 Report Sets the Next Test
Webull will report Q3 2026 results after the close on November 19, with a conference call at 5 p.m. ET. The next test for Webull is whether that report shows sustained user and revenue growth and addresses the China claims, and progress in the class actions and the FINRA-required settlement could shape the rest of the story.
For Webull, the bulls and the bears each have evidence on their side. The China overhang on Webull could keep the stock volatile until it settles.
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David Moadel is financial writer specializing in stocks, ETFs, options, precious metals, and Bitcoin. David has written well over 1,000 articles for leading online publications, helping investors understand markets, income strategies, and risk.His work has appeared in The Motley Fool, InvestorPlace, U.S. News & World Report, TipRanks, ValueWalk, Benzinga, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finmasters, 24/7 Wall St., and others.With a master’s degree in education, David has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels. That teaching background shapes his writing style: clear, educational, and practical. David has also built a loyal social-media audience by providing trustworthy financial content on YouTube, X/Twitter, and StockTwits.
