House Panel Flags Webull's China Ties as Security Risk, Stock Plunges 21%
BULL sits 26% above its 52-week low of $4.5.
Summary
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has labeled Webull a security risk due to its ownership, technology, and financing ties to China, according to a report shared with CNBC. Shares fell nearly 30% in early trading before recovering to a 21.1% loss at $5.75, with volume near 28 million shares, reflecting investor concern over potential regulatory or operational fallout. Webull disputes the findings, calling them inaccurate and unsupported, and emphasizes that U.S. customer data is stored domestically with access controlled in the U.S. The company's parent is based in the Cayman Islands, and its founder previously worked at Alibaba. The committee began examining Webull in December 2024, requesting information about its Chinese developers, ownership structure, and safeguards for American customer data. Concerns include the influence of founder and CEO Anquan Wang, who beneficially owned 16.4% of outstanding shares and controlled 79.2% of voting power as of March 31, 2026, and Webull's ongoing technical operations in mainland China, where its subsidiary employed 863 people at the end of 2025, representing 62% of its global workforce and providing research, development, and technical support. The report does not establish that Chinese authorities obtained customer information or that customer data was compromised, and Webull's annual report states overseas employees cannot access or transmit U.S. customer information without permission and oversight from U.S. personnel. The report itself would not impose restrictions on Webull or establish that customer assets or information have been compromised, but its publication is expected to clarify whether the committee is seeking action from financial regulators or other government agencies.
Updated with a Finance Magnates report · What changed
Updates
· Finance Magnates — Webull shares fell nearly 30% in early trading before recovering to a 21.1% loss at $5.75, with volume near 28 million shares.
- Committee Investigation — The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party began examining Webull in December 2024, requesting information about its Chinese developers, ownership structure, and safeguards for American customer data.
- Founder Influence — Anquan Wang beneficially owned 16.4% of outstanding shares and controlled 79.2% of voting power as of March 31, 2026, through a dual-class share structure.
- China Operations — Webull's mainland Chinese subsidiary employed 863 people at the end of 2025, representing 62% of its global workforce and providing research, development, and technical support.
- Data Safeguards — The report does not establish that Chinese authorities obtained customer information or that customer data was compromised; Webull's annual report states overseas employees cannot access or transmit US customer information without permission and oversight from US personnel.
- Report Impact — The report itself would not impose restrictions on Webull or establish that customer assets or information have been compromised; its publication is expected to clarify whether the committee is seeking action from financial regulators or other government agencies.
All 14 details
- House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party began examining Webull in December 2024.
- Committee requested information about Webull's Chinese developers, ownership structure, and safeguards for American customer data.
- Committee concerns include the influence of Webull founder and CEO Anquan Wang.
- Committee concerns include Webull's ongoing technical operations in mainland China.
- Anquan Wang beneficially owned 16.4% of Webull's outstanding shares as of March 31, 2026.
- Anquan Wang controlled 79.2% of Webull's voting power as of March 31, 2026, through a dual-class share structure.
- Webull's mainland Chinese subsidiary employed 863 people at the end of 2025.
- The Chinese subsidiary represents 62% of Webull's global workforce.
- The Chinese subsidiary provides research, development, and technical support.
- The report does not establish that Chinese authorities obtained Webull customer information or that customer data was compromised.
- Webull's annual report states overseas employees cannot access or transmit US customer information without permission and oversight from US personnel.
- The report itself would not impose restrictions on Webull.
- The report would not establish that customer assets or information have been compromised.
- The report's publication is expected to clarify whether the committee is seeking action from financial regulators or other government agencies.
At the time of this announcement, BULL was trading at $5.66 on NASDAQ in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.9B. The 52-week trading range was $4.50 to $14.51. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.