When will CBA report its latest earnings?
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is set to report its results for the half-year ending 31 December 2025 on Wednesday, 11 February 2026.
This report comes amidst a complex landscape: banking fundamentals remain resilient, but margin and cost pressures are mounting. The market is bracing for the potential impact of higher interest rates, with approximately 40 basis points (bp) of Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hikes now priced in for this year.
FY 2025 highlights
In its full-year (FY) 2025, delivered back in mid-August, CBA posted a solid scorecard. Cash net profit after tax (NPAT) climbed 4% to A$10.25 billion, buoyed by lending growth across home and business segments. The bank’s net interest margin (NIM) held steady at 2.08% (up 9 bp), while loan impairment expenses dropped 9% to A$726 million, demonstrating benign credit conditions.
Operating income rose 5% to A$28.47 billion, though expenses increased by 6% as inflation, tech investments, and staffing costs took their toll. Shareholders were rewarded with a record full-year dividend of A$4.85 per share (fully franked, up 4%) and an extension of the A$1 billion share buyback.
Despite these solid numbers, the market gave CBA the thumbs down. On the day of the release (13 August 2025), it’s shares took a 5.41% dive to $169.12.
Investors fixated on the stock’s high valuation – trading at approximately 30 times forward earnings, well above local and global peers. When you are priced for perfection, a result that is merely ‘in line’ with expectations without a shiny earnings upgrade often feels like a letdown.
The selling pressure was further fuelled by anxieties over margin compression (thanks to fierce competition for deposits), rising operating costs, and a soft spot in retail banking earnings. Essentially, the cautious FY 2026 outlook lacked the positive surprises investors needed to justify paying a premium price.
The sell-off gathered pace on 11 November 2025 following CBA’s first quarter (Q1) 2026 trading update as its shares finished 6.59% lower at $163.40. While the update showed unaudited cash NPAT around A$2.6 billion – up 2% year-on-year (YoY) – driven by strong retail deposit growth and lending expansion, the headwinds were hard to ignore.
- Core earnings of approximately A$3.9 billion missed consensus by about 2%, largely due to unexpected costs, including a NZ$136 million class action settlement
- Operating expenses (excluding one-offs) crept up by 4%, driven by stubborn wage and vendor inflation
- Operating income managed a 3% rise, helped by higher markets income and volume-driven fees
- Crucially, NIM was reported as ‘slightly lower’, a victim of deposit switching, competition, and shifting cash rate dynamics.