Updated 9 October 2026. Webull (NASDAQ: BULL) closed at $5.95 on Wednesday 8 October, up 1.02 percent on the day, after falling 19.09 percent to $5.89 on 7 October, the session in which the House Select Committee on China published its report on the broker’s links to the People’s Republic of China (StockAnalysis, daily closes). The stock traded between $5.64 and $6.05 on 8 October and is now 18 percent below its pre-report close of $7.28. Verdict: the report is a set of findings, not an order, and Webull disputes it. The share price now discounts a serious regulatory or customer-flight outcome. The bear case is a further slide to the $4.50 area if a regulator acts or deposits reverse; the bull case is a recovery to the lowest Street target of $9, which still sits 51 percent above the current price.
Key facts
- Share price: $5.95 close on 8 October (+1.02%), after $5.89 on 7 October (-19.09%) and $7.28 on 6 October. Volume on 7 October was 80.8 million shares against 5.8 million the day before (StockAnalysis).
- The report: “Free Trades, Hidden Ties: Exposing Webull’s China Links,” published 7 October 2026 by the House Select Committee on China under Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Ro Khanna. It says Webull’s ownership, technical workforce, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing and compliance frameworks are “tied in structural ways” to the PRC.
- The custody point: the committee says its concerns “escalated” after October 2025, when Webull began carrying customer cash directly rather than through a third-party clearing firm.
- China headcount: Webull’s own SEC filings say its mainland subsidiary, Hunan Weibu Information Technology, employed 863 people, or 62 percent of the group’s workforce, as of 31 December 2025.
- Webull’s response: a spokesperson said the report contains “significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions,” that the committee did not seek clarification before publishing, that the US business is run from St. Petersburg, Florida and New York, and that US customer data is stored domestically.
- Analysts: Siebert Financial suspended its rating and target on 7 October. Scotiabank maintained Hold with a $9 target on 8 October; Northland maintained Buy at $15 on 7 October; Rosenblatt reiterated Buy at $15 on 28 August (StockAnalysis). The average of four targets is $12.75.
- Business scale: second-quarter 2026 revenue of $198.8 million, up 51 percent; customer assets of $28.5 billion at 30 June; 5.13 million funded accounts; $701.6 million of corporate cash (Webull Q2 release, 19 August 2026).
What the House committee actually said
The report is the product of an investigation that began in December 2024, when the committee first wrote to Webull’s chief executive asking about Chinese developers, the ownership structure and safeguards for American customer data. The published findings describe what the committee calls “a profound gap” between Webull’s marketing as an American company and the way it says the firm is actually controlled and operated.
Three findings matter most for the share price. First, that technology development and platform operations run through a mainland China subsidiary, which the committee argues brings them within reach of Chinese law on data access. Second, that the risk grew in October 2025 when Webull started holding customer cash on its own books. Third, that the company’s financing and ownership remain linked to China: founder and chief executive Anquan Wang, a Chinese citizen, held 16.4 percent of ordinary shares but 79.2 percent of voting power as of 31 March 2026, according to the company’s annual report.
Two limits should be stated plainly. The committee has no power to fine Webull, restrict its trading or shut it down; it issues findings and recommendations. And nothing published so far establishes that Chinese authorities obtained Webull customer data. The market is pricing the probability that a regulator with enforcement powers, or Webull’s own customers, act on the findings.
Webull’s reply
Webull’s statement, issued the same day, rejects the conclusions outright. The company says the committee published without seeking clarification and had not contacted it for more than 20 months before the report appeared. It says its US broker-dealer is run from Florida and New York, stores US customer data in the United States and controls access to sensitive information domestically. Those are the company’s claims, not independently verified facts, and the dispute between the two accounts is what the next few weeks will have to resolve.
Why a 19 percent drop, and why not more
Before the report, Webull was a growth story. Second-quarter revenue of $198.8 million was a record, up 51 percent year on year, with trading revenue up 66 percent, adjusted operating profit of $62.6 million and GAAP net income of $24.4 million after a loss a year earlier. Customer assets had risen 79 percent to $28.5 billion and daily average revenue trades to 1.6 million. Analysts expected revenue of about $806 million in 2026 and $981 million in 2027 (StockAnalysis).
The exposure is concentrated. Of 2025 revenue of $571 million, about $516.5 million, or 90 percent, came from US customers, according to TIKR. Any outcome that pushes American customers to move accounts, or that forces structural changes to the US business, hits almost all of the revenue base at once. That is why the stock fell by a fifth on findings alone.
The reason it did not fall further is that no enforcement action has been announced. Two of the three analysts still publishing targets kept them unchanged, and Scotiabank’s $9 Hold, the most cautious target on the sheet, still implies upside of more than 50 percent. The stock also stabilised on 8 October, closing up 1 percent on volume of 21.4 million shares.
Webull stock scenarios: bear, base and bull
All percentages are measured from the 8 October close of $5.95. Every published analyst target sits above the current price, so the bear case below is anchored on the share price itself rather than on a Street target.
| Scenario | BULL level | What has to happen | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | ~$4.50 (-24.4%) | A regulator with enforcement powers opens a formal action on the custody or data points, or third-quarter results in November show net deposits and funded accounts going into reverse. | 52-week low of $4.50 (Yahoo Finance) |
| Base | ~$7.28 (+22.4%) | The report produces hearings and letters but no enforcement action by year end; Q3 results show customer assets and deposits intact and the gap from 7 October closes. | Pre-report close, 6 October |
| Bull | ~$9.00 (+51.3%) | Webull documents the US data-handling claims to regulators’ satisfaction and growth continues at the Q2 pace; the stock re-rates toward the most cautious Street target. | Scotiabank Hold target, maintained 8 October |
For reference, the average of the four published targets is $12.75 and the high is $15 (Northland, Rosenblatt), but both $15 targets predate any analyst response to the report’s substance, and Siebert’s withdrawal shows that at least one firm no longer considers its estimates usable.
What to watch next
- Regulators, not Congress. The committee cannot act on its own findings. Watch for inquiries from the SEC, FINRA, or Treasury’s foreign-investment process, and for any state-level action. A formal inquiry is the trigger for the bear case.
- Customer assets. Webull reported $28.5 billion at 30 June. The third-quarter release, due in November, is the first hard data on whether customers moved money after 7 October.
- Peers. Robinhood fell about 3 percent and Interactive Brokers slipped on 7 October, according to 24/7 Wall St. If the sector moves together it is a risk-off trade; if Webull keeps underperforming it is company-specific.
- Webull’s own disclosures. The company has promised accuracy over the report; a detailed written rebuttal or an SEC filing addressing the data-routing claims would be a base-case marker.
Quick take: BULL at $5.95 prices in a serious outcome from a report that, so far, carries no enforcement weight. The downside from here is a regulator picking the findings up or customers leaving, which the November results will reveal. The upside is simply that neither happens. With 90 percent of revenue from US customers, this is a binary on American regulators, and the stock will trade on headlines until one of them speaks.
FAQ
Why did Webull stock drop on 7 October 2026?
The House Select Committee on China published a report saying Webull’s ownership, engineering workforce, data routing and financing are structurally tied to China and that its October 2025 move to hold customer cash directly increased the risk to American investors. BULL fell 19.09 percent to $5.89 on volume of 80.8 million shares.
What is Webull’s share price now?
BULL closed at $5.95 on 8 October 2026, up 1.02 percent, after trading between $5.64 and $6.05 during the session (StockAnalysis).
Can the House committee shut Webull down?
No. The committee publishes findings and recommendations and has no power to fine, restrict or ban a company. Any enforcement would have to come from the SEC, FINRA, Treasury or another agency, none of which had announced action as of 8 October.
What did Webull say about the report?
A spokesperson called it “deeply disappointing” and said it contains “significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions.” Webull says its US business is run from Florida and New York, US customer data is stored domestically and the committee did not seek clarification before publishing.
What is the analyst price target for Webull stock?
As of 8 October, StockAnalysis lists four targets: Scotiabank $9 (Hold, maintained 8 October), Northland $15 (Buy, 7 October), Rosenblatt $15 (Buy, 28 August) and an average of $12.75. Siebert Financial suspended its rating and target on 7 October, saying they “can no longer be relied upon.”
How much of Webull’s business is in the United States?
About 90 percent. Of 2025 revenue of $571 million, roughly $516.5 million came from US customers (TIKR). The group had 5.13 million funded accounts and $28.5 billion of customer assets at 30 June 2026.
Is Webull a Chinese company?
Webull is incorporated in the Cayman Islands with its US headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida, but it began in 2016 under Hunan Fumi Information Technology, a Chinese fintech founded by Anquan Wang, who still controls 79.2 percent of the votes. Its SEC filings disclose a mainland subsidiary with 62 percent of group staff. Whether that makes it a “Chinese company” is precisely the dispute between the committee and Webull.
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Sources: House Select Committee on China, “Free Trades, Hidden Ties: Exposing Webull’s China Links” and accompanying press release, 7 October 2026; Webull Corporation second-quarter 2026 results release, 19 August 2026; Webull Corporation annual report and SEC filings (China subsidiary headcount, voting control); Webull statement as reported by Yahoo Finance/Proactive and Barron’s, 7 October 2026; StockAnalysis (daily prices 1-8 October 2026, analyst ratings and targets, revenue estimates); Siebert Financial note as reported by Crowdfund Insider, 7 October 2026; TIKR (2025 revenue split); 24/7 Wall St. (peer moves, 7 October 2026); Yahoo Finance (52-week range).
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Share prices move continuously and the figures above were accurate at the time of writing. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Do your own research and consider your own circumstances before investing.
