Sydney, Feb 27, 2026, 18:36 AEDT — Market closed
- QBE ended up 0.28% at A$21.73 at the close on Friday
- A filing showed 753,934 shares were bought back on Feb. 24 as the group works through a A$450 million on-market program
- Separate notices detailed employee share issuances, vesting and lapses tied to incentive plans
QBE Insurance Group Limited shares ended higher on Friday after a run of ASX filings flagged continued buybacks and another round of staff share-plan activity. The stock closed at A$21.73, up 0.06 Australian dollars, or 0.28%. 1
The updates matter now because QBE is walking into its next dividend dates with a buyback running in the background. The insurer’s final dividend is 78 Australian cents a share, 30% franked — meaning part of it carries Australian tax credits — with a record date of March 6 and payment due April 17, the company said. 2
In a daily buyback notice, QBE said it repurchased 753,934 shares on Feb. 24 for about A$16.4 million, paying between A$21.48 and A$22.05. That lifted the tally to about 5.39 million shares for roughly A$107.5 million under its on-market buyback, which it has said will run up to A$450 million. 3
A separate filing showed QBE applied for quotation of 4.5 million ordinary shares issued on Feb. 23 under an employee incentive scheme. The same document said conditional rights linked to 5,260,288 shares would vest between Feb. 25 and March 2, and listed allocations to key management personnel including CEO Andrew Horton. 4
On Friday, QBE also disclosed it issued or transferred 77,363 employee conditional rights on Feb. 23 that are restricted and not quoted until those limits end. The company described the “QShare” program as a benefit plan launched in 2023 to encourage employee share ownership and retention. 5
Another notice showed 416,088 employee conditional rights lapsed on Feb. 23 because conditions were not met or became incapable of being satisfied. QBE said the lapses covered the period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 23, including rights held by key management personnel that lapsed on Feb. 23. 6
For investors, the push and pull is simple enough: buybacks shrink the share count, while employee plans can add stock over time, depending on how much is issued versus sourced on-market. The net effect is what matters for earnings per share and dividend coverage, not any single form lodged on a given morning.
QBE has pitched capital returns as part of the story since its annual results last week, when Horton said “the year ahead appears constructive for further growth.” 7
But insurers do not get to pick their weather. A burst of catastrophe claims, higher reinsurance costs or a bad run of large losses can chew through margins fast, and buybacks are easy to slow if markets turn or capital needs change.
The next test is calendar-driven. Traders will look for further buyback disclosures when the market reopens on Monday, with attention tightening into QBE’s March 6 dividend record date and the closing window for participation decisions in its dividend and share plans.
