Barclays shares rose on Wednesday after the bank announced Q3 results and surprised investors with a £500m share buyback.
Barclays delivered solid performance in Q3 2025, with group profit before tax of £2.1bn and a RoTE of 10.6%, down from 12.3% in Q3 2024.
Such has been the strength of RoTE year to date that the group upgraded its outlook for the year.
All divisions achieved double-digit RoTE during the quarter.
Group income rose 9% year-on-year to £7.2bn, with net interest income outside the Investment Bank and Head Office increasing 16% to £3.3bn, demonstrating strong underlying momentum across the retail and commercial banking businesses.
This was a period when all divisions performed well. No area produced blowout results, but in combination, there was a lot to like.
Barclays UK posted a 16% increase driven by structural hedge income and the Tesco Bank acquisition, whilst the UK Corporate Bank grew revenues by 17% on higher deposit and lending balances.
The Investment Bank delivered 8% growth, driven by gains across Global Markets and Investment Banking, supported by stable income streams.
The US Consumer Bank saw the strongest performance with 19% income growth, reflecting repricing initiatives.
Although Barclays isn’t one of the most exposed to the motor finance scandal, it is impacted through its Clydesdale subsidiary and was forced to increase provisions by £235m after recent developments.
But the motor finance update wasn’t enough to dampen the mood around a £500m share buyback.
“Barclays’ latest results show a bank quietly outperforming despite headline noise,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The extra charge tied to motor finance grabbed attention, but investors had largely priced that in already with shares underperforming in recent weeks. Strip out that provision and profits were 13% ahead of expectations, helped by revenue growth that beat forecasts by 2%, driven mainly by strong US card spending.
“Guidance was lifted – though mostly to match consensus – and a fresh £500 million buyback underlines confidence in the bank’s capital strength. Investment banking edged past estimates but lacked the big gains seen at US rivals, leaving Barclays leaning on its diversified model to deliver steady progress without any major fireworks.”
Barclays shares were 3% higher at the time of writing.