Barclays Profit Rises 12% as Bank Announces £500 Million Buyback

Barclays reported a 12% increase in third-quarter pretax profit on 22 October and announced a new share buyback of up to £500 million, as growth in net interest income helped offset a mixed quarter in its investment bank.

Profit before tax reached £2.3 billion for July to September, compared with £2.1 billion a year earlier. Group income rose 3% to £7.4 billion, while total operating expenses increased 1% to £4.6 billion.

The investment bank's income was £3.1 billion, below the £3.3 billion average analyst forecast cited by Reuters. Equities income increased 47%, but income from fixed income, currencies and commodities fell 19%, showing how uneven trading conditions remained.

Barclays booked £201 million of structural cost actions in the quarter and said it plans about £300 million more in the final three months of the year.

The bank reported a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 14.2%. The new buyback takes announced distributions for the year to £2.8 billion, up 46% from a year earlier.

Management said Barclays remains on track for its 2026 and 2028 targets, including a return on tangible equity above 12% this year. Its third-quarter return was 11.7%, compared with 10.6% a year earlier.

Sources: Reuters via MarketScreener; Barclays Q3 2026 Results Announcement.

Archival photo: Barclays headquarters, London, 2018. GroupEditor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9 by Morval Universal; cropped image available under the same licence.