Barclays reported a 17% rise in first-half profit on Tuesday, beating analyst expectations across several key metrics. Yet the market wasn’t impressed — the stock fell more than 4% in London.
Profit before tax for the six months to June came in at £6.1 billion. Analysts had pencilled in roughly £5.94 billion.
Attributable profit after tax rose to £4.19 billion, up from £3.52 billion a year earlier. Total income for the half jumped to £16.50 billion from £14.90 billion.
BARCLAYS SHIFTS TO WALL STREET PAY MODEL
Barclays will boost bonuses and reduce fixed salaries for senior bankers, aligning pay more closely with Wall Street. Performance pay rose nearly 30% to £1.3B in H1, while salaries increased less than 1%. The bank expects an additional… pic.twitter.com/fALR1aBPg0
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) July 28, 2026
The investment bank was a standout. Total income at Barclays Investment Bank climbed 11% year-on-year to £7.99 billion. In Q2 alone, the division generated £4 billion in income against analyst forecasts of £3.7 billion.
Equities revenue rose 45% year-on-year in Q2. That sounds strong, but Wall Street rivals averaged 69% growth over the same period — a gap the market likely noticed.
CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan pointed to loan growth and investment banking performance as key drivers. “Our performance supports distributions of £2.3 billion for the first half of 2026, up 61% year-on-year,” he said.
The bank announced a fresh £1 billion buyback, beating forecasts of £831 million. The program is expected to kick off in Q3. A dividend of £800 million was also declared, with the per-share payout rising to £0.059 from £0.03 a year ago.
Barclays nudged its full-year 2026 total income target up to £31.5 billion from £31 billion. It also set a target of over 5% compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2028.
Return on tangible equity came in at 14.8% for the first half. The CET1 ratio stood at 14.3%. The bank reiterated its expectation for full-year RoTE of greater than 12% and a CET1 ratio in the 13–14% range.
Barclays US Consumer Bank was another bright spot, with income up 26% to £2.12 billion. That included a roughly £225 million gain from the sale of its American Airlines co-branded credit card portfolio and the acquisition of Best Egg. Barclays UK posted an 8% income rise to £4.52 billion.
Operating costs did rise, driven by business growth, inflation, and ongoing investment. The bank said around £200 million in cost efficiency savings in Q2 helped offset some of that pressure.
Jefferies called it “a slightly messy set of numbers.” The investment bank income beat was partly offset by smaller misses in other areas. The bank also flagged additional costs expected in H2 that may not be in current estimates.
Still, Jefferies noted that distributions came in well ahead of estimates. For a bank still trading below book value with a greater-than-14% RoTE target for 2028, that was flagged as the most relevant takeaway.
Morgan Stanley expected a neutral share price reaction with possible profit-taking, noting that the investment bank’s strength was “largely understood.”
Barclays reiterated it remains committed to delivering all financial and distribution targets for 2026 and 2028.
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