Standard Chartered (STAN) Q3 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Profit before tax rose 9% year-on-year at constant currency, driven by 5% operating income growth and strong Wealth Solutions (up 27%) and Global Banking (up 23%) performance.

• Upgraded 2025 income growth guidance to the upper end of 5%-7%, with RoTE expected to reach around 13% in 2025, a year ahead of previous guidance.

• Operating income reached $5.1 billion (up 5% year-on-year), with operating expenses up 4% and credit impairment at $195 million.

• Underlying RoTE reached 13.4% in Q3'25, up 260bps year-on-year, achieving the 2025 target a year early.

• Balance sheet remains strong and liquid, with CET1 ratio at 14.2% and customer deposits up 2% sequentially.

Financial highlights

• Operating income increased 5% year-on-year to $5,147m; non-NII up 12% year-on-year, NII down 1% year-on-year but up 1% quarter-on-quarter.

• Operating expenses up 4% year-on-year, down 3% quarter-on-quarter, reflecting targeted business investments.

• Profit before tax rose 9% to $2 billion year-on-year; tangible net asset value per share increased by $0.175.

• CET1 ratio at 14.2%, down 18bps quarter-on-quarter due to share buyback, but up 32bps excluding buyback impact.

• Underlying EPS at 52.3 cents, reported EPS at 44.5 cents.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 income growth guidance upgraded to the upper end of 5%-7% at constant currency, with RoTE expected to reach around 13% in 2025.

• Operating income CAGR of 5%-7% expected for 2023-2026, tracking towards the upper end.

• Expenses to remain below $12.3bn in 2026, with positive income-to-cost jaws each year.

• Loan-loss rate expected to normalize to 30-35bps through the cycle.

• Plan to return at least $8bn to shareholders from 2024-2026 and continue increasing dividends.