LONDON, May 2, 2026, 16:01 BST
HSBC Holdings Plc faces its first-quarter results next week, with eyes on both the looming dividend call and the question of whether hefty share gains can hold. The London-listed lender is set to announce earnings at 5 a.m. BST Tuesday, May 5, and according to a stock-exchange notice, directors will weigh a first interim dividend for 2026. HSBC shares ended Friday at 1,359.40 pence. HSBC
Timing’s key here, since HSBC has shifted expectations higher. Back in February, the bank bumped up its return on tangible equity (RoTE) goal, aiming for at least 17% between 2026 and 2028. Buybacks are off the table until the common equity tier 1 ratio—a key buffer against losses—moves back into or above the 14%–14.5% range it’s targeting. HSBC
So Tuesday’s results have taken on added significance beyond an ordinary quarter. HSBC reported a 7% drop in 2025 pretax profit to $29.9 billion, weighed down by $4.9 billion in one-off charges. Still, the bank topped analyst expectations and built on a strong 2024. Chief Executive Georges Elhedery, back then, described HSBC as a “simple, more agile, focused bank.” Reuters
Credit risk remains front and center after peer results. NatWest on Friday posted a 12% bump in first-quarter profit, but also recorded a 283 million-pound impairment, with 140 million pounds of that reflecting fallout from the Iran war. Over at Standard Chartered, HSBC’s closest UK-listed rival in Asia, profit jumped 17%, topping estimates, but a $190 million charge cropped up from the same conflict. Reuters
Two senior HSBC executives picked up more shares via automatic reinvestment of the bank’s fourth interim dividend for 2025, according to a Friday filing. David Liao, co-CEO for Asia and the Middle East, received 22,167 shares at a price of 13.46739 pounds each. Barry O’Byrne, who heads international wealth and premier banking, got 45 shares. The filing specified these were part of the dividend reinvestment plan, not regular market buys. HSBC
HSBC made its usual capital filings ahead of the results, disclosing the issue of 14,171 ordinary shares under its 2011 share plan between March 28 and April 29. As of April 29, the bank’s issued share capital and total voting rights came to 17,183,560,530 ordinary shares, with none held in treasury. HSBC
The setup isn’t straightforward. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould called this first-quarter reporting stretch “a chance for the lenders to back up analysts’ forecasts,” but he singled out HSBC and Standard Chartered as potential outliers on net interest income, pointing to a drop in HIBOR, the Hong Kong interbank lending rate, during the quarter. Mould added that if tensions in the Middle East persist or intensify, banks may opt for a more cautious stance on loan loss provisions. AJ Bell
HSBC faces some straightforward issues: Can Asia wealth and transaction banking make up for soft Hong Kong rates? Will credit costs remain inside the stated range? And as the bank moves to rebuild capital, is there still space for cash returns in the back half? The dividend decision arrives first—it’ll be an early clue before analysts dig into the details.
