Banco Santander stock: nine-month profit rises 16.1 percent

Banco Santander reported underlying profit of 11.176 billion euros for the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 16.1 percent from the same period a year earlier. The figures were published on Wednesday, October 28, and are detailed on the bank's investor-relations page.

The underlying result excludes a net capital gain of 1.895 billion euros from the sale of Santander's Polish business. Integration costs for TSB and Webster reduced that benefit by 666 million euros. Including these non-recurring items, attributable net profit reached 12.405 billion euros, up 20 percent year on year, according to TodoAlicante.

Revenue and efficiency improve

Total income rose 8 percent to 46.713 billion euros. Net interest income increased 9.5 percent to 34.545 billion euros, while net fee income advanced 8.9 percent to 10.349 billion euros. Gains on financial transactions fell 34.7 percent to 1.079 billion euros, partly offsetting the broader revenue growth.

Santander said costs declined 1 percent excluding the impact of TSB and Webster, or 2 percent in constant euros, as efficiency gains from its ONE Transformation program continued. The efficiency ratio stood at 42.6 percent on the investor-relations page, while underlying return on tangible equity reached 16.0 percent and the phased-in CET1 ratio was 12.7 percent at the end of September.

Growth remains broad but uneven

Retail banking generated attributable profit of 6.445 billion euros, up 14.4 percent, and corporate and investment banking delivered 2.433 billion euros, an increase of 17 percent. Wealth management and insurance profit rose 19.9 percent to 1.651 billion euros. Openbank and consumer and auto finance profit declined 9.9 percent to 1.407 billion euros, showing that growth was not uniform across the group's businesses.

In the third quarter alone, attributable profit was 3.432 billion euros. A 416 million euro non-recurring charge for intangible-asset impairments and merger integration reduced the reported result; excluding those items, quarterly profit reached 3.848 billion euros, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

What investors should watch next

Executive chair Ana Botín said the group had added 17 million customers over the past twelve months and expressed confidence in meeting its 2026 targets and its three-year plan. The next scheduled corporate event is the payment of Santander's interim cash dividend on Monday, November 2, 2026.

The real-time quote of Banco Santander stock was 10.30 euros at Lang & Schwarz on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 09:12 Berlin time.

Market sentiment for Spanish equities remains relevant for the bank's valuation, while Santander's international earnings mix leaves results sensitive to developments across Europe, North America and Latin America. See current IBEX 35 market reports.

For further coverage, see more news and analyses on Banco Santander stock.