Webull (NASDAQ: BULL) shares fell about 19% in morning New York trading on Wednesday after a bipartisan House committee found the broker “tied in structural ways” to China. Webull, a US retail broker based in St. Petersburg, Florida, says the report is inaccurate.
The delayed quote was $5.885 at 3:55pm London time, against Tuesday’s $7.28 close. The shares hit a low of $5.51, about 24% below that close, and sit below every close since 1 July. They closed at $10.00 on 3 September and are now about 41% below that level.
The House Select Committee on China says Webull presents itself as an American company but is tied to China in structural ways. The committee says its mainland subsidiary, Hunan Weibu, employs 863 people, 62% of Webull’s global workforce. It alleges Webull earlier told it that it had no PRC offices or employees.
“Webull’s ownership architecture, technical workforce, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing, and compliance frameworks are tied in structural ways to the People’s Republic of China.”
House Select Committee on China
The committee says its concern grew after Webull began holding customer cash in October 2025. It puts Webull’s customer assets at $24.6bn and says Chinese law can compel cooperation, including data transfers. Committee chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said: “Webull’s China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk.”
A Webull spokesperson said: “It is deeply disappointing that the Select Committee published a report containing significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions without ever seeking clarification from Webull.” The company says it had not been contacted for over 20 months and that US customer data is stored and controlled in the US. That is Webull’s own claim and is unverified.
Brian Vieten, an analyst at Siebert Financial, suspended his buy rating and price target. He said: “The potential regulatory and operational implications of these findings create a level of uncertainty that we cannot reasonably incorporate into our estimates.”
The risks include regulatory scrutiny, customer trust and the US listing. No regulatory action has been reported, so traders will be watching for any response from a regulator or Congress.
