Barclays announces £1bn share buyback as profits rise 13% to £9.1bn, reports BritPanorama.
Barclays unveiled plans to return substantial amounts of cash to shareholders on Tuesday after the bank’s profits exceeded expectations for the 2025 financial year.
The FTSE 100 lender announced a new £1bn share buyback programme following a 13 per cent surge in pre-tax profit over the past 12 months to £9.1bn. This surpassed internal analyst consensus of £9bn.
The bank stated it planned to return £15bn through dividends and buybacks between 2026 and 2028 in pursuit of sustainable high returns. Barclays is targeting a return on tangible equity – a key measure indicating a firm’s profitability relative to shareholder equity – of above 14 per cent.
Total returns hit £3.7bn in 2025 with the inclusion of the latest buyback – an increase of 23 per cent from 2024.
The fresh plans follow chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, confirming the bank achieved all its financial targets in 2025. This announcement was reported by City AM.
The American banker has led efforts to restructure the lender’s investment banking arm with a flagship commitment to reduce its proportion of group risk-weighted assets from 58 per cent to a trimmer 50 per cent by 2026.
The powerhouse division still delivered a substantial £13.1bn to the bank’s revenue – accounting for 45 per cent of a total £29.1bn. In the earnings report, the investment bank still accounted for 55.1 per cent of the group’s total risk-weighted assets, marking a clear reduction from previous highs but still leaving a gap to Venkat’s target.
As part of the mission to make the division leaner, the bank has pared back costs with the investment bank’s cost-to-income ratio – a key metric of financial stability – falling to 62 per cent from 67 per cent.
Our progress in the past two years provides a strong foundation to deliver more for our customers, clients and shareholders,” said Venkat.
The Barclays chief has also outlined plans to utilise AI to drive the bank’s £2bn of cost cuts over the next three years.
I really think of this as an empowering technology for our colleagues and our employees because I think it equips them for what will be the new age of technology,” he said.
The bank maintained it was now aiming towards headcount objectives and was focused on improving and harmonising the legacy technology it currently possesses.
Analysts at UBS stated last month that banks would be pressed hard this year to share a coherent financial story for AI implementation: what is being spent now and what it means for the future shape of expenses overall and headcount in particular.
Reflecting on Barclays’ recent announcements, one notes the increasingly strategic role of AI in shaping operational efficiencies. The company’s clear commitment to returning value to shareholders amid challenging market conditions underscores the balancing act faced by major financial institutions today. As Barclays maneuvers towards its ambitious targets, its approach could serve as a model for others in the sector.
