B3 S.A. – Brasil Bolsa Balcão

What it is

B3 is Brazil’s financial market infrastructure company. It runs the exchange where shares, bonds, currencies and derivatives trade, and it clears and settles those trades.

Its predecessor, BM&FBOVESPA, was created in 2008 when the São Paulo stock exchange (Bovespa) and the futures exchange (BM&F) combined. The merger with Cetip, the main registry for private bonds and over-the-counter contracts, completed in March 2017 and created B3.

In 2025 it also finished folding two data companies, Neoway and Neurotech, bought in 2021 and 2022, into one data unit, as part of a push beyond trading into data and technology.

Who owns it

B3 has no controlling shareholder or controlling group, according to its reference form (the annual disclosure filed with Brazil’s securities regulator, the CVM). Ownership is spread among many investors, and the company has been buying back its own shares.

Who runs it

Christian George Egan is the chief executive. He succeeded Gilson Finkelsztain in mid-2026, after Finkelsztain left B3 to become chief executive of Santander Brasil, the Brazilian arm of the bank Santander.

The chair of the board of directors is Caio Ibrahim David, who signs the chair’s message in B3’s 2025 annual report.

The money, in plain words

B3 reported gross revenue (revenue before revenue taxes) of R$11.1 billion (about US$2.0 billion) in 2025, up 5.2% from 2024. Expenses were R$3.4 billion (about US$618 million), up 1%.

Net profit was R$4.6 billion (about US$830 million), in line with 2024, after a one-off accounting charge of about R$1.0 billion (about US$182 million) linked to a higher social contribution tax (CSLL). The company says that charge had no effect on cash, and that an extraordinary payment of interest on equity partly offset it.

Recurring net profit, which removes one-off items, was R$5.3 billion (about US$963 million), up 10%. Recurring profit per share was R$1.01, against R$0.88 in 2024.

At year-end B3 had total assets of R$48.5 billion (about US$8.8 billion) and equity of R$17.5 billion (about US$3.2 billion). Gross debt was R$14.9 billion (about US$2.7 billion), 2.1 times recurring EBITDA (operating earnings), against cash and financial investments of R$18.5 billion (about US$3.4 billion).

What it is doing now

B3 returned R$6.3 billion (about US$1.1 billion) to shareholders in 2025: R$3.0 billion in interest on equity (a tax-efficient form of dividend) and R$3.3 billion in share buybacks, equal to 4.6% of its share capital. That is 137% of the year’s net profit.

The company launched more than 50 exchange-traded funds and 67 new BDRs (certificates that let Brazilians buy foreign shares) in 2025, and it began offering weekly options on the Ibovespa, Brazil’s main stock index, that expire on every weekday.

What to watch

The first full year under a new chief executive is the main question. Investors will also follow trading volumes, which swing with Brazil’s interest rates, and whether the high payout can continue after a year in which payouts exceeded profit.

This is news, not investment advice.