5 big analyst AI moves: Apple lifted to Buy, AI chip bets reassessed
Investing.com -- NatWest Group shares rose 3% Friday after the company lifted its full-year outlook for revenue and profitability for the second time in 2025 as strong customer activity pushed third-quarter results ahead of forecasts.
The U.K. lender said operating pretax profit rose 30% from a year earlier to £2.18 billion ($2.91 billion) in the three months to September, topping the £1.83 billion expected by analysts polled by the company. Total income climbed 16% to £4.33 billion, also beating projections of £4.10 billion.
Net interest income (NII) excluding Central items and notables came in at £55 million. The result was 1.7% above consensus, according to Jefferies.
"Market expectations appeared low to us, but this is a more sizeable beat than we thought," analyst Jonathan Pierce said in a note.
"In our view, the shares are far from expensive - particularly given the predictability of the earnings outlook for any given set of interest rate assumptions
The net interest margin (NIM) rose to 2.37%, up about 8 basis points from the second quarter, supported by slightly wider lending margins and the structural hedge," they noted.
NatWest, typically cautious with its guidance, now sees 2025 total income excluding notable items at about £16.3 billion, supported by loan growth and structural hedges that continue to cushion the effect of Bank of England rate cuts.
The new forecast compares with its previous target of more than £16 billion and market expectations of £16.22 billion.
The bank also upgraded its full-year return on tangible equity forecast to above 18%, citing a stronger-than-anticipated quarterly return of 22.3%. It had earlier guided for a return above 16.5%, while analysts had expected about 17.3%.