Sydney, June 11, 2026, 17:45 (AEST)
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia finished the session at A$156.42, losing 2.38%. Shares moved in a range from A$156.42 to A$159.09.
- The S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.23% to close at 8,633. CBA dropped more than the index.
- Short interest kept up on Australia’s big banks, with CBA again seen as taking the most pressure among the four.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped on Thursday, closing at A$156.42, off A$3.82 or 2.38%. Shares started at A$158.60 and touched an intraday high of A$159.09 before ending at the session low, with around 2.56 million shares traded. The country’s largest bank lagged the wider Australian market.
Australian shares finished weaker, but the wider market held up better than some. The S&P/ASX 200 closed off 0.23% at 8,633, recovering some early losses as energy names drew buyers, ABC reported.
CBA stock kept sliding after its latest drop. Shares have fallen 5.06% over the past week, according to Intelligent Investor data. CBA closed at A$160.24 on June 10 and finished at A$164.76 on June 3. The stock is still trading well under its 52-week high of A$192.00, but is above its 52-week low of A$146.98.
Short bets against the big four banks caught some focus. Hedge funds have built nearly A$11 billion in shorts across Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ, according to a report out Thursday. CBA held about A$5.66 billion of that total. ASIC said its short-position data comes from reports filed by short sellers, but also said it can’t check every single report for accuracy.
Dr David Allen at Plato Investment Management said valuation worries, not immediate balance sheet risk, were driving the pressure. “I don’t think they’re in trouble, but the valuations were extreme. Everyone knew they were extreme,” he told news.com.au. News
CBA shares came under more pressure after the bank’s March-quarter update. The bank posted unaudited statutory net profit after tax of around A$2.6 billion and cash-basis net profit after tax of about A$2.7 billion. Cash profit dropped 1% from the first-half quarterly average, but was up 4% on the same quarter a year ago. Loan impairment expense came in at A$316 million as collective provisions increased with ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.
CBA reported its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio at 11.6% as of March 31, still above APRA’s minimum requirement of 10.25%. That’s after accounting for its first-half dividend. That capital level keeps market talk focused on price or earnings risk instead of questions over solvency.
CBA posted a statutory net profit after tax of A$5.412 billion and cash net profit after tax of A$5.445 billion for the half ending December 31, 2025. Net interest margin for the period was 2.04%. The bank also set a fully franked interim dividend of A$2.35 per share.
CBA finished Thursday with a market cap of about A$261.76 billion, according to Google Finance. The bank is trading on a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32 and a dividend yield at 3.16%. Numbers like these keep the stock exposed to any hint of weaker credit growth, bigger bad-debt charges or softer demand for Australian banks.
CBA’s next set to report its full-year results and announce its final dividend on August 12, 2026. According to the bank’s financial calendar, the ex-dividend date for the final dividend lands on August 19, with a record date of August 20, and payment due September 29. All dates could change if CBA tells the ASX.
