Webull customers who chose the LIFO lot method may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Webull Financial confirmed those elections but matched and reported their trades using FIFO or weighted average cost. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Webull Financial LLC has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal or tax advice.
What Is This About?
A California day trader filed a proposed class action against Webull Financial LLC on September 9, 2026. The case is Rose v. Webull Financial LLC, No. 1:26-cv-07784, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.The complaint says Webull support staff confirmed to him in writing, more than once, that his account was set to LIFO, meaning “last in, first out.” It says a Webull representative then admitted in October 2024 that the account “has always been FIFO since you opened your account.” It also claims the profit and loss figures Webull shows on its platform are calculated using a third method, weighted average cost, no matter which method a customer chooses. Webull has not responded in court, and none of the claims has been proven.
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FIFO vs. LIFO, in Plain Terms
When an investor sells only part of a position, the broker has to decide which shares were sold. That decision is the “lot relief method.” Under FIFO, the oldest shares count as sold first. Under LIFO, the newest shares do. The choice changes the cost basis matched to each sale, and so the gain or loss the account shows.The complaint gives an example. An investor buys 100 shares at $80, later buys 100 more at $50, then sells 100 at $70. Under LIFO the sale is matched to the $50 shares, a $2,000 gain. Under FIFO it is matched to the $80 shares, a $1,000 loss. The complaint argues this matters most for day traders who hold a longer-term position and also trade the same stock during the day. LIFO keeps the intraday trade separate from the older shares.
What the Complaint Says Happened
According to the complaint, the plaintiff opened his account in August 2023 with about $105,000 and asked for LIFO that September. It gives several trade examples:• ROKU, February 2024. A trade he says should have lost about $64 was reported as a $1,061 loss. The complaint says Webull explained the figure by averaging in shares bought months earlier at $95.99.
• ARM, February 2024. A standalone round trip he says made about $5,000 was reported as roughly $3,150. The complaint says Webull applied a cost basis carried over from a position that had already been closed.
• ARM cumulative. The complaint puts the gap between his LIFO results and Webull’s FIFO figures at $11,058.57 in ARM trades alone.
The complaint says the losses Webull recorded cut his account equity and set off margin calls, trading restrictions and forced sales. It says his account fell below about $20,000. It also says Webull told him the platform’s profit and loss numbers were “only an estimate” and that he should rely on statements from its clearing firm, Apex Clearing. The complaint calls that explanation deceptive for a platform marketed to day traders.
What the Lawsuit Claims and Seeks
The complaint brings three claims: breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing under New York law, and common-law fraud. It seeks actual and consequential damages, calculated trade by trade as the difference between Webull’s actual matching and what the elected method would have produced. It also seeks punitive damages, interest and attorneys’ fees.The complaint is uneven in places. It invokes the Securities Exchange Act for jurisdiction, and refers to Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 among its common questions, but no federal securities count is pleaded. Its prayer for relief also mentions a “New York Subclass” that is never defined.
Who Would Be Covered?
The proposed class is nationwide: people in the United States with a Webull account where a LIFO or other non-FIFO lot method “was elected or confirmed by Webull,” and who sold securities on the platform within the limitations period. Customers who stayed on the default FIFO setting are not included. The complaint separately claims that the weighted-average profit and loss display affects every customer, but the class it proposes is limited to non-FIFO accounts.What Happens Next
Webull will likely respond with a motion to dismiss, or a motion to compel individual arbitration. Brokerage customer agreements commonly include arbitration clauses, and an enforced clause can stop a class action from going forward in court. Webull may also argue that its agreements and disclosures describe how cost basis is reported. If a class-wide settlement follows, we will update this page with how to file.This is a different case from the Webull lawsuit OCA covered earlier this year. That suit, over the 2% account transfer bonus, was filed in the same court and voluntarily dismissed in March 2026 with no class-wide fund.
Questions
Who would be covered by this case?
The proposed class is nationwide: anyone in the United States with a Webull account where a LIFO or other non-FIFO lot method was elected or confirmed by Webull, who sold securities on the platform within the limitations period. Customers who never changed from the default FIFO setting are not in the proposed class. No class has been certified.
Is this the same as the Webull transfer bonus case?
No. That was a separate 2025 lawsuit over Webull’s 2% account transfer bonus, filed in the same court, which was voluntarily dismissed in March 2026 with no class-wide settlement. This case is about lot relief method elections and was filed September 9, 2026.
How can I check which lot method my Webull account uses?
Look in your account settings and your realized gain and loss records, and ask Webull for written confirmation, as the plaintiff did. Keeping screenshots and support chats costs nothing. For questions about how a lot method affects your taxes, talk to a tax professional; this page does not give tax advice.
Is there any money available now?
No. The case was just filed, Webull has not responded, and there is no settlement or claim form. We will update this page if that changes.
Sources
• Class action complaint, Rose v. Webull Financial LLC, No. 1:26-cv-07784 (S.D.N.Y., filed Sept. 9, 2026)• OCA — Webull transfer bonus class action dismissed
