Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) has announced its Q126 Results Announcement.
Performance Highlights
For Q126, Barclays delivered a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 13.5%, announced a £500m buyback and reiterated all 2026 and 2028 targets
C. S. Venkatakrishnan, Group Chief Executive, commented
“Barclays delivered another solid quarter with a 13.5% RoTE in Q126, and double-digit returns in all our businesses. This was despite a one-off charge and impairments in the quarter. Top line income grew 6% year-on-year, driven by broad based divisional performance including in the Investment Bank, where we generated over £4bn quarterly income for the first time. The cost: income ratio improved to 56% and earnings per share (EPS) grew by 8% to 14.1p. Our capital position remains robust with a 14.1% common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio and we are announcing a £500m buyback today. The breadth and quality of our businesses mean we remain confident in delivering all our financial targets across a range of environments. This includes greater than 12% RoTE in 2026 and greater than 14% RoTE in 2028.”
| ● | Q126 Group RoTE of 13.5% (Q125: 14.0%) with EPS of 14.1p (Q125: 13.0p) | ||
| ● | Announced intention to initiate a share buyback of up to £500m following the completion of the ongoing £1bn share buyback announced at FY25 Results | ||
| ● | Q126 Group net interest income (NII) excluding Barclays Investment Bank (IB) and Head office of £3.4bn, of which Barclays UK was £2.0bn, on track to meet the 2026 guidance of greater than £13.5bn and £8.1-£8.3bn respectively | ||
| ● | 5% growth in UK lending year-on-year in Q126 | ||
| – | Delivered £22bn of c.£30bn planned UK risk weighted assets (RWAs) growth since 2024¹, of which £15bn was organic growth | ||
| ● | Q126 Group cost: income ratio improving to 56% (Q125: 57%) driven by positive operating leverage | ||
| – | Delivered c.£150m of gross cost efficiency savings in Q126 | ||
| ● | Q126 Group loan loss rate (LLR) of 74bps included a £0.2bn single name impairment charge in the IB which had a c.20bps impact on Group LLR | ||
| – | As a result, Group LLR in FY26 is expected to be around the top of the 50-60bps through the cycle guidance range | ||
| ● | Strong balance sheet with CET1 ratio of 14.1% | ||
| – | Taking into account the impact of the £500m share buyback announced today, the CET1 ratio as of 31 March 2026 would be reduced to 13.9%, at the top end of the 13-14% range | ||
Key financial metrics:
| Income | Profit before tax | Attributable profit | Cost: income ratio | LLR | RoTE | EPS | TNAV per share | CET1 ratio | Total capital return | |
| Q126 | £8.2bn | £2.8bn | £1.9bn | 56% | 74bps | 13.5% | 14.1p | 405p | 14.1% | £0.5bn |
Q126 Performance highlights:
| ● | Group RoTE was 13.5% (Q125: 14.0%) with profit before tax of £2.8bn (Q125: £2.7bn). All divisions delivered double-digit RoTE in Q126 | |
| ● | Group income of £8.2bn increased 6% year-on-year. Group NII excluding IB and Head Office was £3.4bn, up 12% year-on-year | |
| – | Barclays UK income increased 9%, as higher structural hedge income was partially offset by retail deposit dynamics | |
| – | Barclays UK Corporate Bank (UKCB) income increased 10%, reflecting higher average deposit and lending balances, and higher structural hedge income | |
| – | Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management (PBWM) income was broadly stable, as growth from higher client balances was offset by the impact of deposit mix | |
| – | Barclays Investment Bank (IB) income increased 4%, driven by Global Markets and Investment Banking fees partially offset by the strengthening of average GBP against USD | |
| – | Barclays US Consumer Bank (USCB) income increased 14%, driven by business growth and increased purchase activity, partially offset by the strengthening of average GBP against USD | |
| ● | Group total operating expenses were £4.5bn, up 4% year on year | |
| – | Group operating costs increased 2% to £4.4bn, reflecting further investment spend, business growth and inflation, partially offset by c.£0.2bn of cost efficiency savings and FX movements | |
| – | Litigation and conduct charges of £0.1bn primarily reflected an increase in the provision for the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) motor finance redress scheme | |
| 1 | Represents RWAs from business growth in Barclays UK, UK Corporate Bank and Private Bank and Wealth Management since January 2024, excluding the effects of securitisations, model updates and other methodological changes. Also excludes additional Operational Risk RWAs related to organic growth. |
Q126 Performance highlights (continued):
| ● | Credit impairment charges were £0.8bn (Q125: £0.6bn) with an LLR of 74bps (Q125: 61bps), including a £0.2bn single name charge in the IB |
| ● | CET1 ratio of 14.1% (December 2025: 14.3%), with RWAs of £364.5bn (December 2025: £356.8bn). Tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share of 405p (December 2025: 409p) |
Group financial targets1:
2026 targets
| ● | Returns: Group RoTE of greater than 12% | ||||
| ● | Capital returns2: plan to return at least £10bn of capital to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, through dividends and share buybacks, with a continued preference for buybacks | ||||
| – | Progressive increase in total capital returns versus 2025 | ||||
| – | Share buybacks announced quarterly | ||||
| – | Dividends to be paid semi-annually, including planned £2bn dividend for 2026 | ||||
| ● | Income: Group total income of c.£31bn | ||||
| – | Group NII excluding IB and Head Office greater than £13.5bn and Barclays UK NII of £8.1bn – £8.3bn | ||||
| ● | Costs: Group cost: income ratio of high 50s in percentage terms | ||||
| ● | Impairment: expect Group LLR to be around the top of the 50-60bps through the cycle range | ||||
| ● | Capital: CET1 ratio target range of 13-14% | ||||
| – | IB RWAs mid 50s% of Group RWAs | ||||
| – | Impact of regulatory change on RWAs in line with our prior guidance of c.£19-26bn | ||||
| – | c.£3-10bn RWAs from Basel 3.1, with implementation expected from 1 January 20273 | ||||
| – | c.£16bn RWAs from USCB moving to an Internal Ratings Based (IRB) model, subject to portfolio changes and regulatory approval, c.£5bn expected on 1 January 2027 with remainder anticipated later in 2027 | ||||
| – | Expect Pillar 2A capital to reduce upon implementation of Basel 3.1 and USCB IRB | ||||
2028 targets
| ● | Returns: Group RoTE of greater than 14% | |
| ● | Capital returns2: plan to return greater than £15bn of capital to shareholders between 2026 and 2028, through dividends and share buybacks. This provides capacity for additional investment and growth, exceeding the level of investment in the current plan | |
| ● | Income: greater than 5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 2025-2028 | |
| ● | Costs: Group cost: income ratio of low 50s in percentage terms. Cost target includes total gross efficiency savings of c.£2bn in 2026-2028 | |
| ● | Impairment: expect Group LLR of 50-60bps through the cycle | |
| ● | Capital: CET1 ratio target range of 13-14% | |
| – | IB RWAs of c.50% of Group RWAs | |
| 1 | Our targets and guidance are based on management’s current expectations as to the macroeconomic environment and the business and may be subject to change. |
| 2 | This multi-year plan is subject to supervisory and Board approvals, anticipated financial performance and our published CET1 ratio target range of 13-14%. |
| 3 | Fundamental review of the trading book (FRTB) impact mostly expected in 2027. |
