Europe’s largest lender HSBC on Tuesday reported first-quarter pre-tax profit of $9.4 billion, missing analysts’ estimates on the back of larger-than-expected credit losses and other impairment charges.
HSBC’s revenue gained 6%, year on year, exceeding estimates.
Here are HSBC’s first-quarter results compared with the consensus estimates compiled by the bank.
- Pre-tax profit: $9.37 billion vs. $9.59 billion
- Revenue: $18.62 billion vs. $18.49 billion
The lender’s first-quarter profit before tax fell to $9.4 billion, down from $9.5 billion a year earlier.
“We remain on track to have taken actions to deliver our $1.5bn annualised cost reduction by the end of June 2026,” the bank said in its statement. “Through the privatisation of Hang Seng Bank, we expect to realise $0.5bn in pre-tax revenue and cost synergies across both our brands in Hong Kong by the end of 2028.”
HSBC completed the privatization of Hang Seng Bank on Jan. 26, with the latter’s shares subsequently delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The bank highlighted risks due to the Middle East conflict, including higher oil prices, sharper inflation, a significant slowdown in GDP, warning that if those factors came into play there could be a “mid-to-high single digit percentage” negative impact on its profit before tax.
While HSBC maintained its targeted return on tangible equity — a measure of profitability — of 17%, it warned that should the adverse impact from the Middle East crisis materialize, it could bring RoTE, excluding notable items, below 17% in 2026.
The HSBC board approved its first interim dividend for 2026 of 10 cents per share.
