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Introduction & Market Context
Qatar National Bank (QNB) has released its financial highlights for the first half of 2025, showing consistent growth across all key performance indicators despite the impact of newly implemented global minimum taxes. The presentation, released on July 14, 2025, reveals that QNB continues to strengthen its position as one of the leading financial institutions in the EMEA region.
The bank, with a market capitalization of USD 40.3 billion, has maintained its growth trajectory from Q1 2025, when it reported a 3% year-on-year increase in net profit. QNB’s stock closed at USD 17.50 as of July 9, 2025, trading well above its 52-week low of USD 14.74, reflecting investor confidence in the bank’s performance.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
QNB reported a net profit of QR8.4 billion for the first half of 2025, representing a 3% increase compared to the same period in 2024. However, when excluding the impact of Pillar Two Taxes, the bank’s net profit growth was significantly higher at 11%, reaching QR9.1 billion.
As shown in the following chart of QNB’s net profit growth over the past five years:
The bank’s operating income saw an 8% increase to QR21.8 billion, accelerating from the 6% growth reported in Q1 2025. This suggests stronger performance in the second quarter of the year.
The operating income growth trend is clearly illustrated in this five-year comparison:
Total (EPA:TTEF) assets grew by 7% to reach QR1,354 billion, maintaining the same growth rate reported in Q1 2025. This consistent expansion of the balance sheet demonstrates QNB’s continued market penetration and business development.
The asset growth trajectory is shown in the following chart:
Detailed Financial Analysis
QNB’s loan portfolio expanded significantly, with loans and advances increasing by 9% to QR962 billion compared to June 2024. This growth rate matches what was reported in Q1 2025, indicating sustained lending momentum throughout the first half of the year.
The five-year trend in loans and advances shows consistent growth:
Customer deposits grew at a more moderate pace of 5% to reach QR935 billion, slightly slower than the 6% growth reported in Q1. This creates an interesting dynamic where loan growth is outpacing deposit growth, potentially indicating an aggressive lending strategy and possibly impacting the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio.
The customer deposits growth is illustrated in this chart:
The bank’s earnings per share (EPS) increased by 4% to QR0.85, while total equity grew by 8% to QR119 billion, strengthening the bank’s capital position. These figures are part of a comprehensive performance summary presented in the following table:
A notable aspect of QNB’s H1 2025 results is the significant impact of the newly implemented Pillar Two Taxes, which reduced the bank’s net profit growth from 11% to 3%. This global minimum tax framework is clearly having a material effect on the bank’s bottom line, though the underlying business performance remains strong.
The difference between pre-tax and post-tax profit growth is clearly illustrated in this comparison:
Forward-Looking Statements
Based on the H1 2025 results and previous guidance provided during the Q1 earnings call, QNB appears to be on track to meet its upgraded profitability guidance of 10-12% growth before global minimum taxes and 2-4% growth after taxes for the full year.
The bank had previously projected balance sheet growth of 5-7% for 2025, and the current 7% growth in total assets indicates performance at the upper end of this range. Similarly, the strong 9% growth in loans and advances suggests that QNB is executing effectively on its lending strategy.
QNB had also anticipated two 25 basis point rate cuts in the latter half of 2025, which could influence its net interest margin and overall profitability in the coming quarters. How the bank manages this changing interest rate environment while maintaining its growth momentum will be a key focus for investors moving forward.
The consistent performance across key metrics, despite the headwind of new global minimum taxes, demonstrates QNB’s resilience and strong market position as it continues to execute its growth strategy throughout 2025.
Full presentation:
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