Sydney, May 10, 2026, 23:04 (AEST)
Macquarie Group Ltd. posted a 30% jump in full-year profit to A$4.85 billion, its second-largest annual result, as commodity trading and asset sales pushed the Australian financial group past market forecasts. The company said profit for the six months to March 31 rose 93% from the first half to a record A$3.19 billion.
The result matters now because it came with a familiar question for investors: how much of Macquarie’s earnings power is durable, and how much came from market stress. Reuters reported that the profit beat a Visible Alpha consensus of A$4.39 billion, helped by higher activity in oil and gas trading during the Middle East conflict.
Macquarie shares were not trading on Sunday night in Sydney, with the ASX closed. The stock last closed on Friday at A$239.23, down 1.09%, after touching A$249.49 during the session, according to Macquarie’s investor page and market data cited by Reuters.
Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake said the group’s businesses used “specialist expertise” to navigate the environment and find growth opportunities. Net operating income rose 13% to A$19.48 billion, while expenses rose 5%, giving the bank wider operating leverage. Return on equity, a measure of profit generated from shareholder capital, rose to 14.0% from 11.2%. Macquarie
The biggest driver was Commodities and Global Markets, where net profit contribution rose 49% to A$4.22 billion. Macquarie said the division benefited from the sale of the OnStream meters platform, higher client hedging — trades used to protect against price swings — and stronger inventory management and trading income in gas, power and oil.
Macquarie’s chair, Glenn Stevens, said the U.S.-Iran war was a hard shock for policymakers because “supply is constrained, prices rise.” Simon Wright, who runs Commodities and Global Markets, told Reuters that while volatility can help trading desks, “prolonged volatility” can also dampen client appetite. Reuters
The bank also kept a tighter grip on private credit, or direct lending outside public bond markets. Reuters reported that Macquarie’s investment in the sector rose 5% to A$27.3 billion, slower than the prior year, with Wikramanayake saying the firm wanted to avoid concentration risk.
Its Australian banking arm is still growing into territory long held by bigger mortgage rivals such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac. Macquarie said on its earnings call that home loan balances reached A$181 billion, equal to 7% market share, while deposits rose to A$215 billion, or 6.5% share; Canstar data from earlier this year showed CBA and Westpac still far larger in mortgages.
CLSA analyst Ed Henning described the result as a “large beat” and said the outlook was positive, the Australian Financial Review reported. That view sits against a sharp share-price run: Reuters Breakingviews said Macquarie’s stock was trading at about 2.5 times forward book value, a rich level that depends on stronger returns holding up. Afr
The risk is that the strongest pieces of the result prove hard to repeat. Reuters Breakingviews noted that the OnStream sale was a one-off, while trading income tied to conflict and market dislocation could fade if commodity flows normalise; Macquarie itself listed interest rates, inflation, geopolitical events, tax changes and regulation among factors that could affect its short-term outlook.
The board declared a final dividend of A$4.20 a share, lifting the full-year dividend to A$7.00. Macquarie also ended its on-market buyback after buying A$1.01 billion of stock, saying strong business growth and market conditions meant it did not expect further purchases under the program.
For now, the story is not weak demand. It is whether Macquarie can keep enough earnings momentum once the asset-sale boost passes and markets calm. Wikramanayake said the group remained “well-positioned” for medium-term performance, citing diverse income streams, a conservative balance sheet and risk management. Macquarie
