Vienna Stock Exchange Increases Revenue and Profit to Record Level in 2025

Trading and Listing as the Largest Revenue Pillars

Trading activity also increased significantly. Equity trading volume on the Vienna Stock Exchange rose year-on-year from 74 billion euros to 84 billion euros. Of this, 67 billion euros were attributable to Vienna and 18 billion euros to Prague. The company attributes the increase to the international environment. The Vienna Stock Exchange describes itself, with around 31,500 primary listings – predominantly in the bond segment – as the most active listing venue in Europe.

At the same time, Austria's leading index, the ATX, continued its record run. In 2025, the ATX broke through several thousand-point marks and exceeded the 15,000-point threshold for the first time in the current year. On a total-return basis – that is, including dividends – the ATX gained 52.17 percent, while the Czech PX index gained 61.42 percent. Wiener Börse AG employs an average of 169 full-time equivalents.

ATX on Record Course, Czech Republic as Growth Driver

At the presentation in Vienna, CEO Christoph Boschan also spoke of a "record high" for the Austrian equity market. He used the occasion to formulate demands on policymakers. "Österreichs Aktienmarkt befindet sich auf Rekordhoch und sticht auch im internationalen Vergleich hervor. Um es passend zur Fußball-WM zur formulieren: Die Dividende ist der Spielmacher unseres Marktes – weltweit angesehen und begehrt", said Boschan.

However, Boschan sees structural deficits. In international comparison, Austria is lagging significantly behind: according to World Bank data, market capitalization was 23.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2024, compared with 43.9 percent in Germany. The USA and Switzerland reach over 200 percent of GDP. Boschan explained that in other European countries there are large sovereign wealth funds or other measures to bring more private capital into the market, "Österreich aber verharrt weitgehend im Stillstand".

Boschan Calls for Tax Cut on Retirement Savings Returns

Boschan called for concrete reforms primarily in private pension provision. He argued in favor of exempting returns from securities used for private retirement provision from capital gains tax – provided the securities are held for a certain minimum holding period. In Austria, capital gains on private retirement provision, which is built up from already taxed income, are taxed at 27.5 percent. Other countries have taken different approaches: Germany and Poland introduced tax-favored savings accounts, and the Czech Republic exempts capital gains from tax after a holding period of three years.

At the same time, Boschan referred to the European Union's recommendation to establish savings and investment accounts with tax advantages. "Der Hebel liegt klar in der Stärkung der privaten Vorsorge. Hier gilt es schlicht, der Empfehlung der Europäischen Union zu folgen und Spar- und Investitionskonten mit steuerlichen Vorteilen zu etablieren", he said. In addition, he said, "Auto-Enrollment" was needed for occupational pension provision – that is, automatic enrollment of employees in pension schemes, as is common in other countries. Policymakers had taken a first step in expanding the second pillar, occupational pensions, "es brauche aber ein 'Auto-Enrollment', also eine automatische Anmeldung, für die betriebliche Vorsorge. Das sei auch in anderen Ländern üblich und für den Erfolg des Modells entscheidend".

Nordic Countries as a Model

Boschan also called for the establishment of "large national capital-collecting institutions." "Es braucht große nationale Kapitalsammelstellen", he said at the press conference on Monday. Boschan cited the Nordic countries, above all Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, as models.

Despite this criticism, Boschan sees a growing investor base in Austria. According to the latest "Aktienbarometer" – a joint study by the Industriellenvereinigung, the Aktienforum, and the Vienna Stock Exchange – 31 percent of the roughly 2,000 respondents in Austria hold securities. That is an increase of around 25 percent compared with the first survey in 2023. However, Boschan qualified the significance of this figure: the rising number of securities holders shows growing interest in the equity market, but says nothing about the actual capital volume invested.

350 Billion Euros in Low-Yield Investments

In fact, according to Boschan's presentation, a great deal of money is sitting in low-yielding investments. More than 350 billion euros in Austria are parked in low-interest deposits or cash. Directing these funds into the capital market is one of the central tasks, which in his view can only succeed with political support.

The Supervisory Board of Wiener Börse AG also sees the growing interest of the population as a mandate. Vice Chair Angelika Sommer-Hemetsberger stated: "Der steigende Wertpapierbesitz in Österreich zeigt, dass viele Menschen die Chancen des Kapitalmarkts längst erkannt haben. Nun gilt es, dieses Interesse durch bessere politische Rahmenbedingungen weiter zu fördern." Sommer-Hemetsberger is Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Outlook and direct market plus

For the current fiscal year, Boschan expressed confidence. He expects the Vienna Stock Exchange's growth course to continue in the current year, but did not provide any specific figures. Among the planned steps is the intention to have direct market plus registered as an EU-SME growth market, in order to improve capital market access for smaller companies. In the past year, there were three new admissions in that segment and two IPOs in Prague.

Overall, the Vienna Stock Exchange paints a picture for 2025 of a company that is operationally on a record course but at the same time would like to see more political support. With the demand for an exemption of retirement savings returns from capital gains tax subject to a minimum holding period, an automatic enrollment system for occupational pension provision, and the establishment of large national capital-collecting institutions, Boschan clearly links the record profit to a reform agenda. Whether this boost succeeds is likely to shape the development of Austria's equity culture in the coming years.

Wiener Börse AG presented its annual results for fiscal year 2025 in Vienna on Monday. The company is one of the central trading venues in Central and Eastern Europe and operates, in addition to the Vienna exchange, the Prague Stock Exchange, among others. With the results presented, the company continues a longer phase of stable earnings and at the same time sets accents in the political debate on strengthening the domestic capital market.