Press release: Leonteq publishes full-year 2025 results and announces nomination of new Chairman

PRESS RELEASE | LEONTEQ PUBLISHES FULL-YEAR 2025 RESULTS AND ANNOUNCES NOMINATION OF NEW CHAIRMAN

Zurich, 12 February 2026 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

On the back of lower net fee income and trading result, Leonteq AG (SIX: LEON) reported a loss for 2025 despite significant cost reductions and renewed momentum in client business in the second half. The company successfully transitioned to its enhanced regulatory regime in 2025, reporting a strong capital ratio of 16.9%. Management will continue to execute its strategic plan with a clear priority to grow revenues and restore profitability in 2026.

Leonteq today also announced the nomination of Felix Oegerli as independent Chairman proposed for election at the 2026 AGM.

H2 2025 characterised by resilient client franchise

• Fee production accelerated notably following the seasonal weak summer months, resulting in net fee income of CHF 90.5 million (H1 2025: CHF 88.0 million)
• In contrast, positive hedging contributions from H1 2025 reversed on the back of lower realised market volatility in the course of H2 2025
• Record number of products issued (up 49% yoy); thereof 33% initiated via LYNQS
• Turnover totalled CHF 13.8 billion (up 17% yoy) – margins continued to be at lower levels

FY 2025 – strong capital ratio despite unsatisfactory net result

• Total operating income of CHF 172.3 million (2024: CHF 238.5 million), reflecting lower net fee income and net trading result year-on-year
• Operating expenses down 11% to CHF 205.0 million, reflecting a reduction in personnel expenses as well as lower net provisions
• Underlying expenses down 16% to CHF 193.8 million – well ahead of guidance
• Underlying loss before taxes of CHF 21.5 million (IFRS reported loss before taxes: CHF  33.3 million)
• Underlying Group net loss of CHF 21.9 million (IFRS reported Group net loss: CHF 33.7 million)
• Strong CET1 ratio of 16.9%, significantly exceeding guidance

Decisions on distributions in line with capital return policy

• Board considers it prudent not to return capital at this point and decided that Leonteq will not pay a dividend for 2025
• Board is determined to return excess capital through a share buyback in early 2027

Disciplined execution against strategic priorities

• Consistent roll-out of new generation of AMCs attracted considerable client interest; total outstanding volumes in AMCs of CHF 2.3 billion at end-2025
• Strong start of retail flow business in Switzerland with a market share of around 7%
• BaFin approval for a license extension marking an important step in the expansion of Leonteq’s retail flow business in the German market – launch planned in Q2 2026

Outlook

• In 2026, revenue growth expected to be driven by initiatives generating additional recurring fee income, expanding addressable market and increasing share of wallet with clients
• Leonteq expects to report a positive pre-tax result for both the first half and the full year 2026 and now expects to achieve its mid-term targets in 2028

Christian Spieler, Chief Executive Officer of Leonteq, stated: “2025 presented a mixed set of developments. We closed the year with an unsatisfactory result, as challenging market conditions and lower activity from our historic partners weighed on our earnings. We also continued to feel the effects of legacy matters in our business. On a positive note, we began to see improved client momentum in the second half of the year. The transition to the new regulatory regime in record time and with a strong capital ratio was a major achievement, reflecting significant commitment across the entire organisation. We also stringently executed our strategic priorities, with a focus on resizing and optimising in 2025, and can now direct our resources towards growing and expanding promising businesses going forward. The transformation of our company will take more time, but after almost a year at Leonteq, I am more convinced than ever that the company has unique and attractive capabilities and a highly committed team to deliver sustainable progress. We are clear and aligned on the path ahead and fully focused on executing our strategy with discipline.”

Overview of selected key figures and performance indicators

¹ Pro-forma figure only; risk-weighted assets are calculated according to Basel III final with market risk according to the simplified standardised approach and scaling factors all 1 equivalent to 0% phase-in.

Transition to new regulatory regime completed ahead of schedule

As communicated previously, Leonteq has been subject to enhanced capital and large exposure requirements since the start of 2025. This required the company to implement risk-weighted assets (RWA) calculations according to the standardised approach for market risk introduced under the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (SA-FRTB). Given the complexity of such RWA calculations, Leonteq invested significant resources in its implementation requiring substantial changes to systems, data infrastructure, and calculation engines. Leonteq completed the transition in November 2025 significantly ahead of schedule.

The implementation of the RWA calculations according to the standardised approach for market risk introduced under SA-FRTB had a material positive impact on Leonteq’s capital position, decreasing the market risk RWA by 16% and resulting in an increase in the CET1 ratio of approximately 270 basis points to 16.9% at year-end 2025 (well above guidance provided with first half 2025 results: >14%).

Given Leonteq’s business model, the majority of RWA are driven by market risk and are therefore sensitive to market moves. Leonteq will continue to optimise its capital framework over the coming months to reduce sensitivity to RWA fluctuations that impact the CET1 ratio while maintaining an appropriate buffer under relevant stress test scenarios.

Leonteq also concluded discussions with FINMA to define a new business-specific liquidity regime. It has fully complied with the new regime since it took effect at the beginning of 2026 and would already have met the new requirements throughout the second half of 2025.

Excess capital to be returned to shareholders at the appropriate time

In light of the reported financial loss, and in line with the company’s dividend policy, the Board therefore decided that Leonteq will not pay a dividend for 2025.

The Board considers it prudent not to return capital at this point until an appropriate period of observation has passed to monitor the effectiveness of measures taken to further optimise the company’s capital framework. The Board is determined to return excess capital through a share buyback in early 2027, provided that the measures to optimize the company’s capital framework have proven effective and the CET1 ratio is maintained at a level meaningfully in excess of 15% on a sustainable basis.

Strategic progress update

As communicated with its half-year 2025 results, Leonteq has defined a strategy execution roadmap to Resize, Optimise and Expand its business over 12 to 24 months with a view to improving profitability and strengthening capital efficiency. Good progress has already been made in delivering against key priorities:

• Consistent roll-out of new generation of AMCs to a broader client base attracted considerable interest; the outstanding volume rose to approximately CHF 0.3 billion as of end-December 2025, an increase of 46% year-on-year.
• Overall, the total outstanding volumes in AMCs amounted to CHF 2.3 billion (-5% year on year) provided the Group with recurring revenues totalling CHF 64.9 million in 2025.
• Leonteq further expanded its offering of listed leverage products for retail investors in Switzerland. Across the SIX and BX Swiss exchanges, Leonteq now offers more than 10,000 listed leverage products, positioning the company among the leading issuers in this field in Switzerland with a market share of around 7%.
• Leonteq’s subsidiary in Germany has received BaFin approval for a license extension that allows it to support the Group’s issuance entity in its trading activities. This marks an important step in the expansion of its retail flow business in the German market. Its launch is expected in the second quarter of 2026.
• The company has agreed to sell its entity in Japan and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
• Leonteq increased the headcount in its nearshoring centre in Lisbon from 80 to 100 at end-2025, representing 26% of the non-sales and non-trading staff population (target: 30% by end-2026).

Outlook

Management will focus on business expansion to grow revenues in 2026, including through the continued roll-out of a new generation of AMCs, providing additional recurring fee income; the further build-out of its retail flow business, expanding the company’s total addressable market; and the extension of advised indices, thematic alternatives and factor-based strategies, increasing share of wallet with clients.

Total operating expenses are expected to be approximately CHF 200 million for 2026, reflecting targeted business expansion, in particular the planned launch of the retail flow business in Germany, and a normalisation of variable compensation from 2025 levels, partly offset by the full-year effect of cost reductions achieved in 2025.

Leonteq expects to return to a positive pre-tax result for both the first half and the full year 2026 and now expects – in light of the 2025 result – to achieve its mid-term financial targets in 2028.

Felix Oegerli nominated as Chairman

The Board of Directors of Leonteq AG has nominated Felix Oegerli as its next Chairman, to be proposed for election at the Annual General Meeting on 1 April 2026, subject to final regulatory approvals.

Felix Oegerli, born in 1961, retired from Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) in May 2025 after more than 11 years as Head of Trading, Sales and Capital Markets. From 2009 to 2014, he was Head of Cash Collateral Trading & Management and oversaw the cantonal bank’s liquidity management, short-term interest rates and prime finance. Prior to his tenure at ZKB, Felix Oegerli was the CEO of International Financial Business Solutions, a securities finance and collateral management software company he founded in 1999. Earlier in his career, he spent 21 years at UBS, where he held positions including Global Head of Prime Brokerage and Deputy Global Head of Securities Lending and Repo. Until end-2025 he served as Chairman of Zürcher Kantonalbank Finance (Guernsey) and ZKB Securities (UK), and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Swiss Finance & Property Group which comprises an independent real estate asset management company and a FINMA-licensed securities firm. Felix Oegerli is a Swiss citizen and holds a diploma as a Swiss Federal Certified Banking Expert.

Christopher Chambers, Chairman of Leonteq, said: “Leonteq is pleased to propose Felix Oegerli as its future Chairman. He has a deep understanding of the international financial market and brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in capital markets, sales and trading, as well as strong relationships in Switzerland and beyond. This makes Felix an ideal fit for Leonteq, and I am convinced that his background and skills will be of great value in the continued transformation of our company.”

Thomas Meier, Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, stated: “I am grateful to Chris for his leadership of Leonteq over almost a decade. During his tenure as Chairman, he has served the company with great dedication and guided Leonteq through a challenging period of change. He spearheaded the establishment of a strong risk culture and played a key role in implementing the regulatory overhaul of Leonteq. This positions Leonteq today as a well-capitalised securities firm with a solid foundation.”

He added: “I’m delighted that Felix Oegerli will become our next Chairman. He is a respected leader in the financial services industry and brings experience across the major business areas in which we operate.”

Leonteq full-year 2025 results press and analyst conference

A press and analyst conference call with Christian Spieler, CEO of Leonteq, and Hans Widler, CFO of Leonteq, will be held today, 12 February 2026, at 09.30 a.m. CET.

The conference call can be followed live via audio webcast.

Participants who wish to join the phone Q&A session are asked to dial in using the following numbers and ask for “Leonteq full-year 2025 results”:

• Dial-in number Switzerland: +41 (0)58 310 50 00
• Dial-in number UK: +44 (0) 207 107 06 13
• Dial-in number USA: +1 (1) 631 570 56 13

This press release, the full-year 2025 results presentation and the Annual Report 2025 and the Sustainability Report 2025 are available at: https://www.leonteq.com/fullyearresults

A digital playback of the telephone conference will be available for one month at: https://www.leonteq.com/fullyearresults

Important dates
01 April 2026 Annual General Meeting 2026
23 July 2026 Half-year 2026 results

Alternative Performance Measures used in this press release

This media release and other investor communications include certain financial metrics not defined by IFRS. Management considers these alternative performance measures (APMs) useful for understanding the Group’s financial and operational performance. APMs are not intended to supplement, nor replace, IFRS figures. Definitions and reconciliations to IFRS line items are available in the Alternative Performance Measures section of the Leonteq Annual Report 2025 on pages 217 to 219.  

CONTACT
Media Relations 
+41 58 800 1844
media@leonteq.com

Investor Relations 
+41 58 800 1855
investorrelations@leonteq.com

LEONTEQ

Leonteq is a Swiss fintech company with a leading marketplace for structured investment solutions. Based on proprietary modern technology, the company offers derivative investment products and services and predominantly covers the capital protection, yield enhancement and participation product classes. Leonteq acts as both a direct issuer of its own products and as a partner to other financial institutions. Leonteq further enables life insurance companies and banks to produce capital-efficient, unit-linked pension products with guarantees. The company has offices and subsidiaries in 13 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Leonteq AG has a BBB- credit rating by Fitch Ratings, was assigned with an AA ESG rating by MSCI and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: LEON). www.leonteq.com

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