Business News
UBS made a billion-dollar profit in the final quarter of 2025 amid the CS integration and heated capital discussions. The big bank massively exceeded analysts’ estimates.
02/04/2026, 06:51Feb 4, 2026, 6:55 a.m
The bottom line is that UBS Group made a profit of $1.20 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, as it announced on Wednesday. That was 56 percent more than in the previous year. Analysts had expected on average just under 970 million.
Before taxes, the big bank earned a good 60 percent more at 1.70 billion. Adjusted for integration costs, UBS reports a pre-tax profit for the period of 2.87 billion.
Meanwhile, the bank’s revenue rose 4 percent to $12.15 billion, while expenses fell 1 percent to $10.29 billion. The cost/income ratio, which is important for a bank, was 75.2 percent on an adjusted basis.
For the full year 2025, UBS reported a profit of $7.8 billion (+53%). UBS shareholders are to receive a dividend of $1.10 per share for the fiscal year, compared to 90 cents in the previous year.
For the new year, management is planning an increase in the mid ten percent range. The bank is also planning initial share buybacks worth $3 billion in 2026 – with the intention of further buybacks. The amount depends on the final design of the new regulation in Switzerland and the achievement of the financial goals.
In 2026, before the discussion about the stricter capital regulations begins, share buybacks should return to the level before the CS takeover (2022: 5.6 billion).
Operationally, the bank attracted $8.5 billion in net new money in global asset management – its core business – in the fourth quarter. Group-wide, UBS managed assets totaling 7,005 billion at the end of December, compared to 6,910 billion at the end of September.
UBS boss Sergio Ermotti was very pleased: “We have made great progress on one of the most complex integrations in banking history, while regulatory uncertainty in Switzerland continues,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. He spoke of an “excellent” result for the full year 2025. The entire year 2026 will now be needed to achieve the remaining integration milestones.
The bank confirmed its targets for 2026. And the medium-term target of a return on common equity Tier 1 capital (RoCET1) of around 18 percent was resumed after it was temporarily suspended due to the capital discussion. The new goal is a cost/income ratio of around 67 percent by 2028.
At the beginning of the first quarter of 2026, the macroeconomic environment continues to be characterized by steady global growth and declining inflation, according to the bank’s outlook. Market conditions remained constructive overall, with broader equity market diversification and sector rotation supporting client activity and a healthy transaction and capital markets business and pipeline. (awp/sda)