Swiss Giant UBS Posts Fourth-Quarter Profit Beat, Reveals up to $ 3 Billion Buyback

Switzerland’s largest lender UBS On tuesday posted a fourth -Quarter network beat against a company consensus estimate amid investment banking gains, as it launched an up to $ 3 billion shareback cass 2025.

The bank reported net profit attributable to sharehlders of $ 770 million, compared with a $ 483 million estimate in a company-divided consensus estimate and with a means a meaning of $ 886.4 MILG of analysts.

Group Revenue over the period hit $ 11.635 billion, versus analyst expectations of $ 11.64 billion in a lseg analyst poll.

The bank also announced plans to repurchase $ 1 billion of shares in the first half of 2025, along with up to an additional $ 2 billion over the second half of this year Its “Financial targets and The Absence of Material and Immediate Changes to the Current Capital Regime in Switzerland. “

The Group Further Proposes A $ 0.90-P-Share Dividend for the 2024 Financial Year, Up 29% Year-or-Yaar.

Other fourth -Quarter highlights inclined:

• Return on Tangible Equity Hit 3.9%, Compared with 7.3% Over the Third Quarter.
• Cet 1 Capital Ratio, A Measure of Bank Solveency, was 14.3%, Unchanged from the Third Quarter.

Investment Banking Shone Over the Fourth Quarter, with Underling Reveneues Up 37% Year-On-Year AMID “Strong Growth” in Global Banking and Global Markets Performance. The group’s Global Wealth Management Division Logged A 10% Hike in Revenues Over the fourth -Quarter Stretch, “Largely Driven by Higher Recurring Net Fee Income, A Decrease In Negative Ongone Come. “

“What for Us is Always very important in investment bank to match or to get very close to the best in class in that ares area, we want to compe,” UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti TOLDNBC ‘CAROLIN RON RON TUSDAN “So if I look across allies, Capital Markets Activities, You Know, ALSO IN M & A And A and Leverage Finance, We are definitely not on the Growing Oour Revenenes as a Function of CONSTRECTTION Ut we are also gaining market share. “

Addressing the bank’s core wealth management operations, he added, “If you look at return on rises related assets for the wealth management businesses have been capanding, so we we have a couple Risk related assets. “

After Weathering The Storm of a Turbulent Government-Backed Tie-up with Fallen Domestic Rival Credit Suisse in 2023, UBS said it was on trach with its 2024 in integration Oss cost savings in the fourth Quarter. The group had hoped to achieve $ 7.5 billion out of a total of $ 13 bill of $ 13 billion in cost Savings by the end of last year, with ceo sergio ermotti signaling in a bloomberg interviel last monthe tiddanciesInevitable“As part of the process – even as the group aims to relay on voluntary departures.

UBS on Tuesday said it plans to achieve another $ 2.5 billion of gross cost saving this year.

The Swiss belt tightening adds to a picture of broader expense discipline and restructuring across Europe’s banking sectors, as lenders exit a period of high interest rates and claw profitability to keep pace with US peers. On Monday, Fellow Swiss Bank Julius baer Reveled an Additional target of 110 million of swiss francs ($ 120 Million) in Gross Savings, while HSBC Last week said it is preparaing to Wind Down Its M & A And Equity Capital Markets Operations in europe, the uk and the US

Armed with a balance sheet that topped $ 1.7 trillion in 2023 – roughly doublezerland’s Anticipated Economic Output Last Year – UBS has been battling vocal concerns at home that its scale has worked the swiss government’s comfort, depriving the lender of peers that can absorb it and fighting The event of its failure. Questions now linger Over Whinder UBS will face further capital requires as a result.

The swiss economy has alredy been backed into a fragile corner by depressed annual inflation – of just 0.6% in December -And a punctively strong swiss franc, which only Gained Further Ground on Monday as the Global Tumulting from us tarifs pushed jittery investors toward the safe-hansset.

“Of course, the ongoing tariff discussions Sing some of the Volativity has been priced in by markets.

“Of course, an escalation of tariffs, the tariff wars, would be likelike into economyc Consequences in Terms of Potanical Receues or Infectionary Pressure, in Turn to stop the easy path, and potentially even have to reverse that , Would definitely be similaring that the market (has) not been pricing on, and would lead into higher spikes in Volatibles.