The 2025 Rise of Stock Splits: Interactive Brokers Group Leads the Way

In recent times, the surge in stock splits conducted by influential companies on Wall Street has captivated investors. This trend, particularly pronounced in 2025, has seen two industrial giants – Fastenal and O'Reilly Automotive – kick off the stock-split euphoria, and now, a third major player, Interactive Brokers Group, is officially joining the fray.

Stock splits are a tool used by public companies to superficially alter their share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. While these changes are cosmetic in nature, they can have a significant impact on investor sentiment and the accessibility of a company's stock for smaller investors. Forward stock splits, which reduce a company's share price while increasing its outstanding share count, are particularly popular among investors as they make the stock more affordable for those who cannot make fractional-share purchases with their broker.

Fastenal, a wholesale industrial and construction supplies company, was the first to complete a forward split this year. Its 2-for-1 split, which went into effect on May 21, marked the ninth time in 37 years that the company's shares have been split. With its shares up over 200,000% since its initial public offering in 1987 (including dividends), stock splits have become an integral part of Fastenal's corporate culture. The company's operating model is intricately tied to the health of the U.S. economy, and its managed inventory solutions are hitting home with its customers by helping them save money and better understand their supply chain needs.

Following Fastenal, O'Reilly Automotive completed its largest-ever forward split (15-for-1) on June 9. The company's distribution network, which includes 31 distribution centers and nearly 400 hub stores, ensures that more than 153,000 stock keeping units (SKU) are within reach of outlying stores on a same-day or overnight basis. This allows O'Reilly Automotive to quickly meet the needs of everyday drivers and mechanics. Furthermore, the company has one of the best share-repurchase programs on Wall Street, having authorized nearly $26 billion worth of repurchases since commencing its buyback program in 2011, which has reduced its outstanding share count by over 59%. These buybacks have had a demonstrably positive impact on O'Reilly Automotive's earnings per share and made its stock more fundamentally attractive to value seekers.

Today, June 18, Interactive Brokers Group will officially begin trading at its split-adjusted price, marking its first-ever forward split (4-for-1). With a market cap of $85 billion, Interactive Brokers is the largest among the Class of 2025 stock-split stocks. A significant chunk of this market cap comes from its unstoppable 271% rally over the trailing three-year period (as of June 13, 2025). The company's aggressive investments in technology and automation have played a tangible role in lifting its key performance indicators (KPIs), allowing it to pass along a higher interest rate to its customers on cash held in accounts and typically charge a lower margin loan rate than competing brokerage firms.

On a year-over-year basis ended March 31