Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Barclays had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $72.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.23 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from Barclays’ conference call:

• Barclays met all its 2025 targets, reporting ROTE 11.3%, revenue up 9% to £29.1bn, a 61% cost–income ratio, a 52bp loan‑loss rate, and announced £3.7bn of shareholder distributions (£1.2bn dividend, £2.5bn buybacks) while finishing the year at the top of its 13–14% CET1 range.
• Management upgraded guidance to ~£31bn group income in 2026, expects >12% ROTE in 2026 and is targeting >14% by 2028, while planning to return >£15bn to shareholders over 2026–28 and doubling discretionary investment to fund cloud, data and AI.
• The structural hedge has become a larger, more predictable income pillar—hedge income rose £1.2bn to £5.9bn (≈46% of group NII ex‑IB/HO), average duration extended to 3.5 years, and £6.4bn of gross hedge income is locked for 2026 (£17bn over three years).
• The group is rebalancing toward higher‑return UK franchises—£20bn of the £30bn RWA growth target delivered, six consecutive quarters of mortgage growth, UK corporate lending +18% YoY, and Barclays UK NII is guided to £8.1–8.3bn in 2026 with >20% ROTE for the UK businesses.
• The U.S. Consumer Bank faces near‑term credit pressures—management expects a higher through‑the‑cycle USCB loan‑loss rate (~500bp–550bp in 2026) due to stage migration after acquisitions and retained American Airlines non‑performers, which will elevate impairment in 2026 before normalizing.

Barclays Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE BCS traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,152,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,448,665. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.53 and a 200 day moving average of $22.37. Barclays PLC has a 1-year low of $12.14 and a 1-year high of $27.70.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.3069 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 232.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.75%.

Barclays News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Barclays this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised forward targets and guidance, forecasting income growth of more than 5% a year through 2028 and setting new performance targets that signal stronger sustainable revenue growth. Barclays Lifts Income Guidance (WSJ)
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays delivered a robust quarter and confirmed it achieved 2025 guidance: profit before tax and EPS rose, return on tangible equity improved, and the bank announced a plan to return £15bn to shareholders — a direct capital-return catalyst. Barclays sets out plan to return £15bn (Proactive)
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying profitability lifted: net income and revenues improved year‑over‑year as credit-impairment charges declined, supporting the view that asset quality trends are easing. Q4 net income up; credit charges down (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst models and stock forecasts have been refreshed after the results; read the updated research to see how consensus EPS and target prices shifted. Barclays stock forecasts (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management materials and the earnings-slide deck are available for investors reviewing the quarter and the multi-year plan. Q4 results presentation (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.39 missed the consensus ~$0.42, a modest miss that can temper near-term sentiment despite strong underlying metrics. Earnings details & transcript (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors are asking questions about Barclays’ UK wealth management positioning after competitive moves in the market — a strategic risk that could limit upside in that division. UK wealth strategy questioned (Proactive)
• Negative Sentiment: Executive compensation scrutiny: Barclays boosted CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan’s pay to ~£15m for 2025, which drew negative headlines and could weigh on sentiment among governance-focused investors. CEO pay rise (Reuters)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 3.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 24,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 1.3% during the third quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Barclays by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Barclays by 1.5% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 104,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 31.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BCS. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Barclays

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services.