Barclays BCS reported second-quarter 2025 net income attributable to ordinary equity holders of £1.66 billion ($2.22 billion), up 34% from the prior-year quarter’s level.
An increase in revenues and a solid balance sheet supported the results. However, the company recorded a rise in credit impairment charges and operating expenses in the quarter.
Barclays’s Revenues Improve, Expenses Rise
Total income was £7.19 billion ($9.60 billion), up 14% year over year.
Operating expenses (excluding litigation and conduct costs) of £4.15 billion ($5.54 billion) increased 4% year over year.
The cost-to-income ratio was 59%, down from 63% in the year-ago period.
Barclays recorded credit impairment charges of £469 million ($626.3 million), up 22% year over year.
Pre-tax income was £2.48 billion ($3.31 billion), up 28% from the prior-year quarter’s level.
BCS’ Solid Balance Sheet
Total assets, as of June 30, 2025, were £1,598.7 billion ($2,192.3 billion), up 5% from the Dec. 31, 2024, level.
Total risk-weighted assets fell 1.4% from the Dec. 31, 2024 level to £353 billion ($484.1 billion) as of June 30, 2025.
As of June 30, 2025, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 14% compared with 13.6% as of June 30, 2024.
Our View on Barclays
Given Barclays’ restructuring and business-simplification efforts, its operating efficiency is expected to improve in the quarters ahead. The company’s cost-saving efforts will likely keep aiding financials. Yet, uncertainties regarding the performance of capital markets businesses and a persistent rise in credit impairment charges are concerning. Nonetheless, a solid balance sheet and buyouts are expected to aid revenue growth.
Currently, Barclays carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Barclays’ Peers
ICICI Bank Ltd.’s IBN net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended June 30) was INR127.7 billion ($1.5 billion), up 15.5% from the prior-year quarter’s level.
IBN’s results were driven by increased net interest income, non-interest income and growth in loans. However, higher operating expenses and declines in deposits and provisions were headwinds.
Deutsche Bank DB reported second-quarter 2025 earnings attributable to its shareholders of €1.49 billion ($1.75 billion) against the loss attributable to its shareholders of $143 million in the year-ago period.
This Germany-based lender reported a profit before tax of €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion), up from $411 million in the year-ago quarter.
DB’s results gained from increased revenues and lower expenses. Lower provision for credit losses was another positive.
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Barclays PLC (BCS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report
ICICI Bank Limited (IBN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).