By Frank Prenesti
Date: Wednesday 25 Feb 2026
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - HSBC reported a better-than-expected annual results despite a 7.4% fall in pre-tax profits due to the adverse impact from legal provisions, organisational simplification and the sale of its French-retained portfolio of loans.
Pre-tax profits at the lender came in at $29.9bn in 2025, beating estimates of $28.86bn. Revenue rose 4% to $68.27 versus company-compiled consensus forecasts of $67.36bn.
The bank said it was now targeting a return on average tangible equity of greater than 17%, excluding notable items, in up until 2028 compared with 2025's 13.3%.
Results were hit by $4.9bn in charges, including a $2.1bn write-off related to its stake in China's Bank of Communications which had been impacted by dilution and the long-running downturn in the country's property sector. Legal provisions worth $1.4 billion and $1bn of restructuring and related costs also weighed.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
| Currency | UK Pounds |
| Price | 1,552.60p |
| Change Today | 23.60p |
| 52 Week High | 1,597.40p |
| 52 Week Low | 964.30p |
| Volume | 9,107,768 |
| Shares Issued | 17,160m |
| Market Cap | £266,418m |
| Strong Buy | 1 |
| Buy | 4 |
| Neutral | 7 |
| Sell | 3 |
| Strong Sell | 0 |
| Total | 15 |
