NatWest shares reached their highest levels since 2011 on Friday after the bank reported Q1 earnings that offered plentiful reason to be optimistic about the bank’s near-term future.

NatWest has delivered a very respectable financial performance in the first quarter of 2025, reporting an attributable profit of £1,252 million, earnings per share of 15.5 pence and a return on tangible equity of 18.5%.

There was little evidence of economic strain in NatWest’s Q1 update, with total income hitting £3,952 million, representing an increase of 2.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

This growth was primarily attributed to deposit margin expansion and increased trading income, despite being partially offset by the impact of fewer days in the quarter.

The higher interest rate environment is playing into NatWest’s hands. The bank’s net interest margin (NIM) rose to 2.27%, which is 8 basis points higher than the previous quarter. This improvement in margins has significantly contributed to the bank’s strong quarterly performance.

NatWest’s focus on the UK meant it avoided the uncertainty experienced by other FTSE 100 banks operating overseas and made provision for bad debts of just £189 million, or 0.19% of its loan book.

“NatWest has taken the spotlight this week in banking land, smashing profit expectations thanks to solid top-line growth and tight cost control,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Like we’ve seen across the sector, impairments came in a bit higher than expected as the bank plays it safe in case the economic backdrop worsens – but for now, borrowers are holding up well, so there’s no major red flag there.

An upbeat outlook would have been welcomed by investors and helped fuel the stock’s rally on Friday. NatWest expects to record a return on tangible equity at the upper end of its previously guided range of 15-16%, and anticipates income excluding notable items to be at the upper end of its previously guided range of £15.2-15.7 billion.

Gfinity has achieved its first revenue from the commercialisation of its Connected IQ artificial intelligence technology, which focuses on the connected video market.

The company received its initial income in April from campaigns and is currently in commercial discussions with several large advertising agencies regarding CIQ’s services.

To support this growth, Gfinity has expanded its commercial sales team in both the UK and USA, with additional recruitment planned. The company has implemented what its Board considers a market-leading logo detection model through its exclusive licence agreement with 0M Technology Solutions Ltd, whilst a human emotion detection capability is being deployed.

Bolstering its exposure to AI and making the company one of London’s leading listed innovators in the space, Gfinity has established Yentra.AI, a new business unit specialising in software engineering, artificial intelligence consulting and web3 development for commercial customers. The venture is 51% owned by Gfinity, with management holding the remaining stake.

Yentra.AI is led by Ignatius Rautenbach and supported by a team of 12 engineers through partnerships with Techohara Solutions Private Limited and Koneqt Limited. The unit aims to deliver solutions to various sectors, including banking, government and insurance, drawing on existing client relationships.

Gfinity says they view Yentra.AI as both an internal resource for developing further AI ventures and a response to significant commercial opportunities in artificial intelligence over the next two years.

“We are at the start of a major global AI cycle, and through CIQ, we believe that Gfinity is positioning itself to be a clear part of the AI cycle in advertising,” said CEO of Gfinity, David Halley.

“In addition, by partnering with the experienced team at Yentra, we now have an internal resource to build out technology for the sector and benefit from both the revenue generated from Yentra and the ability to build further technology for Connected IQ and Gfinity.”

GenIP has today announced the launch of its innovative AI-powered ‘Competitive Intelligence Report’, marking a significant expansion of the Gen AI analytics firm’s market reach beyond its traditional technology commercialisation services.

The London-based firm that listed on AIM late in 2024 has also secured its first major client for the new product—a ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm.

GenIP shares were 17% higher at the time of writing.

The newly launched ‘Competitive Intelligence Report’ employs advanced artificial intelligence to identify and assess leading entities in specific technological fields.

The new solution delivers insights to support strategic decision-making regarding innovation pathways, potential collaborations, and acquisition opportunities.

Today’s product launch significantly broadens GenIP’s addressable market, extending its applications well beyond the realm of technology commercialisation. The new intelligence service is positioned to serve businesses seeking in-depth competitive intelligence to inform strategic planning and investment institutions exploring partnership or acquisition prospects.

GenIP will utilise proprietary AI-driven prompt engineering with expert human oversight to generate actionable strategic insights.

Notably, the new product attracts a significantly higher fee than GenIP’s existing product range.

In a significant vote of confidence for the new offering, GenIP has already secured its first client: a ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm that will utilise the Competitive Intelligence Report to gain strategic insights into the technological capabilities and competitive landscape of target companies for potential partnerships or acquisitions.

“The launch of our Competitive Intelligence Report marks a pivotal moment for GenIP,” said Melissa Cruz, CEO of GenIP.

“Beyond our established client base, we believe that the potential market size for this strategic intelligence product is substantial, encompassing not only research institutions, and IP firms but also a significant segment of corporations across diverse sectors requiring nuanced competitive intelligence and market analysis.

“This includes areas such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and technology scouting. Our early success in securing a leading client at nearly 7X current report pricing, validates this broader market opportunity and the compelling value proposition of our AI-powered solution.”

The FTSE 100 remained fairly steady on Thursday, as mixed earnings updates led to a directionless performance by the index.

That said, London’s leading index had just crept above 8,500, turning positive at the time of writing, and was on course to build on the recovery rally following Trump’s tariffs.

“There was plenty of corporate news for the markets to digest on Thursday morning – with the good, bad and ugly all represented,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Banks, energy stocks and housebuilders were out of favour while miners and other stocks caught up in the tariff-related sell-off made progress. BP and Shell were a drag given their weighting in the index as US oil prices slipped below $60 per barrel. This reflected concerns about an economic slowdown in the wake of a global trade war and speculation producers’ cartel OPEC might lift production again in June.”

BP shares were down 2.4% and Shell lost 1.4% as the two oil majors offset gains elsewhere in the index.

Polar Capital Technology Trust was the FTSE 100’s top riser as the US tech-focused trust tracked a rally in the US overnight. Strong results from Meta will have also helped the trust’s cause – Meta makes up 7.6% of the trust’s holdings.

Persimmon shares were 1% higher after the housebuilder followed Taylor Wimpey’s update yesterday with a similarly upbeat trading statement.

“Persimmon’s building on its strong performance in 2024 and looks like one of the best-placed names to benefit from any potential uplift in the sector,” explained Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Improving sales rates, higher average selling prices and a growing order book all paint a very encouraging picture of current and future trading.”

Lloyds was among the FTSE 100 fallers after the UK-focused bank revealed the impact of economic uncertainty on provisions for bad debts, which eroded profits.

There was probably an element of profit taking in Lloyds shares’ 2% drop on Thursday, given the back has rallied from around 60p to over 70p in less than a month.

“Unlike Barclays, which is a beneficiary of market volatility thanks to the trading part of its investment banking business, the current uncertainty is only bad news for Lloyds,” Russ Mould said.

“The company has increased the amount set aside for bad debts – not based on anything it is seeing yet but as a prudent move to anticipate any impact from the recent turmoil.

“While there is no change to the current annual guidance, the first quarter showing was slightly behind forecasts thanks to the tariff-related adjustments and as the company absorbed the impact of higher costs.”

Meta shares jumped in the US after-market following the release of Q1 earnings that revealed better-than-expected EPS and revenue.

The Facebook owner’s EPS of $6.43 for the first quarter smashed estimates of $5.28 as the group shook off concerns about tariff uncertainty weighing on ad spending.

Revenue for the period came in at $42.3bn versus expectations of $41.4bn.

Perhaps the most interesting metric which supports the group’s long-term growth trajectory is the 6% uptick in daily active users. Investors will be encouraged to see the group grow its user base as its platforms enter maturity and competition from the likes of TikTok heats up.

Meta shares were 5% higher in the US premarket at the time of writing.

“Meta shares are racing higher in after-hours trading after a strong set of results – and, more importantly, a confident outlook. This was never really about the quarter just gone for Meta; all eyes were on guidance for the second quarter and capex for the full year – and neither disappointed,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The midpoint of the revenue guide is bang in line with consensus but Meta usually hits the top end, and the big surprise was another bump to capex as Meta goes full throttle on investments in AI.

“There was a distinct lack of commentary on tariffs, so we’ll have to wait for the call to hear more. Meta is more insulated than other names in the ad space, like Snapchat, which tumbled after ditching guidance. But with about 10% of ads tied to Chinese sellers, Meta’s still got some serious skin in the game. Full-year expectations may need to be revised slightly from the 10% revenue growth currently priced in, but Meta has some levers to pull in other areas if it needs to limit the impact on profits.”

The FTSE 100 continued its upward march on Wednesday, as corporate earnings helped lift the index despite lingering concerns about Trump’s tariffs.

London’s leading index rose about 20 points in early trade before the rally faded to trade just above flat at the time of writing.

Anyone who bought into the Trump tariff-induced sell-off is being handsomely rewarded. The FTSE 100 is now over 10% higher than its closing low record in the aftermath of Trump’s liberation day tariffs and more than 2% higher year-to-date in 2025.

“There’s a footloose feeling to the footsie, with the blue-chip index shrugging off global economic worries and heading higher on a winning streak,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“It’s already clocked the best run since early 2017, and investors appear to have appetite for the defensive nature of the index, as they look set to tiptoe round more volatile US assets.”

London’s winning streak was further extended on Wednesday by another strong day of earnings for FTSE 100 companies, with Barclays, Taylor Wimpey, and GSK all giving investors reason to be optimistic.

Barclays

There was a lot to like about Barclays first quarter results. Profit before tax rose 19% to £2.72bn, smashing estimates of £2.49bn helped by strong investment performance. The bank also increased its 2025 net interest income to £12.5bn.

“Barclays has quite comfortably beaten expectations, after its investment banking arm cashed in on market volatility over the first quarter,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“In the main, trends across the portfolio look strong, from stable US credit card write-offs to low default levels on UK cards and loans. In fact, the only real sign that there could be an impending US or global recession was a slightly higher reserve build for its US consumer bank. If that wasn’t enough, management has raised guidance to add a confident cherry on top of the strong quarter – investors should be happy with what they’ve seen today.”

Barclays shares were 1.5% higher at the time of writing.

GSK provided a reassuringly strong set of Q1 results that helped shares rise over 1%.

Mark Crouch, market analyst at eToro, said: “GSK posted a Q1 earnings beat this morning, with rising profits and sales driven by continued growth in its Specialty Medicines division.”

A positive assessment of trading conditions by Taylor Wimpey and the reaffirmation of their competition guidance for 2025 helped the stock to marginal gains of 0.5% at the time of writing.

Natural Resource weakness

Upbeat reports from GSK, Barclays and Taylor Wimpey were offset by weakness in the natural resources stocks after Trump’s 100-day address to supporters overnight served as a reminder that the US President was seemingly hell bent on disrupting the world order.

Weak Chinese manufacturing data also added to the downside pressure on natural resources shares.

“Concerns about US tariffs are resurfacing, after a defiant Trump rallied his supporters, and a weaker than expected manufacturing update from China added to concerns about global growth prospects,” Streeter explained.

Glencore shares were at the FTSE 100 leaderboard at the time of writing having lost 3% of their value.