Barclays Posts 12% Profit Increase, Sets New Targets

Reuters | February 10, 2026 at 07:34 AM UTC

Bullish 82% Confidence Unanimous Agreement

Key Points

Profit before tax reached £9.1 billion ($12.45 billion) in 2025, up from £8.1 billion in 2024 and in line with analyst forecasts of £9 billion
The bank announced £1 billion in cost-cutting measures and plans over £15 billion in capital returns to shareholders through 2028
Barclays joins other UK banks like NatWest and HSBC in setting more ambitious targets as British lenders benefit from favorable interest rates and nearly two decades of post-2008 restructuring finally coming to an end

AI Summary

Summary: Barclays Posts 12% Profit Increase, Sets New Targets

Barclays reported a 12% increase in annual profit for 2025, with profit before tax reaching £9.1 billion ($12.45 billion), up from £8.1 billion in the previous year. The results aligned with analyst expectations of approximately £9 billion.

Key Strategic Announcements:

The British bank unveiled ambitious new performance targets through 2028, raising its return on tangible equity target to greater than 14% by 2028, up from its previous guidance of greater than 12% by 2026. The lender plans to return more than £15 billion in capital to shareholders and announced £1 billion in cost-cutting measures.

Strategic Focus:

Barclays emphasized its strategy to improve returns by concentrating on its core UK home market and leveraging artificial intelligence technology to reduce operational costs. This approach reflects the broader trend among British banks finally moving past nearly two decades of post-2008 financial crisis restructuring.

Market Context:

The positive results come amid a favorable environment for UK banks, characterized by benign interest rates, improved economic conditions, and the cost-saving potential of emerging technologies. Barclays' performance mirrors recent strong results from rival Lloyds Banking Group.

Industry Outlook:

Other major British lenders, including NatWest (reporting February 14) and HSBC (reporting February 25), are expected to announce similarly ambitious targets, signaling renewed confidence across the UK banking sector.

The results demonstrate Barclays' successful transformation efforts and position the bank for enhanced shareholder returns in the coming years.

Model Analysis Breakdown

Model	Sentiment	Confidence
GPT-5-mini	Bullish	80%
Reasoning: Barclays reported a 12% rise in profit, raised its return targets and announced a sizable capital return and AI-driven cost cuts, which are positive signals for the bank and likely to support its share price; the fact profit was broadly in line with forecasts tempers the upside somewhat.
Claude 4.5 Haiku	Bullish	78%
Reasoning: Barclays delivered 12% profit growth meeting analyst expectations, raised ROE targets from 12% to 14% by 2028, and announced a substantial £15 billion capital return program. These results demonstrate operational strength and management confidence in future performance.
Gemini 2.5 Flash	Bullish	90%
Reasoning: Barclays reported a 12% profit increase in line with forecasts, but more importantly, significantly raised its key profit target (ROTE to >14% by 2028) and announced a substantial £15 billion capital return plan, indicating strong future performance and shareholder value focus.
Consensus	Bullish	82%

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Article Details

News ID: 3519662
Source: Reuters
Analyzed: 14 days ago

Sentiment Confidence

Average Confidence 82%

High confidence in sentiment