Barclays H1 profit rises 17%, income up 11%

Overview

• UK banking group's H1 income rose 11% yr/yr, profit before tax up 17%

• Return on tangible equity improved to 14.8% from 13.2% a year earlier

• Company announced £1.0bn share buyback and 5.9p per share dividend for H1

Outlook

• Barclays raises 2026 Group income target to c.£31.5bn from c.£31bn

• Company expects 2026 Group RoTE greater than 12% and CET1 ratio in 13-14% range

• Barclays plans to return at least £10bn capital to shareholders between 2024 and 2026

Result Drivers

• INVESTMENT BANK PERFORMANCE - Barclays said income from its investment bank rose 20% in Q2, driven by growth in Global Markets and higher investment banking fees

• US CONSUMER BANK GAIN - Co said US Consumer Bank income rose 38% in Q2, helped by a c.£225m gain from the sale of the American Airlines co-branded credit card portfolio and the Best Egg acquisition

• COST EFFICIENCY SAVINGS - Group operating costs rose due to business growth, inflation and investment, but were partially offset by c.£200m of cost efficiency savings in Q2

Company press release: ID:nRSb0536Oa

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 16 "strong buy" or "buy", 3 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Barclays PLC is GBp575.00, about 8.4% above its July 27 closing price of GBp530.40

• The stock recently traded at 9 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 7 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)