HSBC: net profit up 38 per cent but revenue below expectations; share price down 6 per cent

HSBC has reported a sharp rise in profits, despite lower-than-expected revenue. It has also announced a new $1 billion share buyback.

The banking giant closed the third quarter of 2026 with a net profit of $7.6 billion, up 38 per cent on the same period in 2025, whilst pre-tax profit rose by 32 per cent to $9.6 billion, broadly in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Revenue rose by 5 per cent to $18.6 billion, driven mainly by net interest income, but fell short of the $19 billion expected by the market. This figure weighed on the share price, which fell by more than 6 per cent on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The slowdown in asset management also had an impact: the division’s revenue remained stable at $2.7 billion, following increases of 15 per cent and 23 per cent in the first two quarters.

The rise in profit was boosted by the absence of a legal charge of $1.4 billion that had been recognised a year earlier. Expected credit losses also fell, down 17 per cent to 800 million, thanks to lower costs linked, amongst other things, to the Hong Kong property sector. RoTE has thus risen to 17.7 per cent, up from 12.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.

With regard to shareholder remuneration, the bank has announced a new share buyback programme of up to one billion dollars, following the programme of the same amount completed in September; this programme is expected to be completed by the time the annual results are published. At the same time, the go-ahead has also been given for an interim dividend of 0.10 dollars per share.