Santander posts record profit as cost cuts, new customers lift returns

Banco Santander SA ( (SAN) ) has shared an announcement.

Banco Santander reported a record underlying first-quarter 2026 profit of €3.56 billion, up 12%, as it added eight million customers over the past year to reach 176 million and grew lending and deposits by 5% and 4% in constant euros. Net interest income rose 4% and fee income 6%, driven by higher customer activity and strong performance in global businesses, including rapid expansion at its Mexican digital bank Openbank.

The bank’s ONE Transformation programme helped cut costs by 3%, improving the cost-to-income ratio to 42.8% and lifting underlying EPS by 17% and RoTE to 15.2%. Capital strength also improved, with the CET1 ratio at 14.4% and TNAV plus cash dividend per share up 19%, underpinning higher shareholder payouts and reinforcing management’s confidence in maintaining its current strategy and medium-term targets despite geopolitical uncertainty.

The most recent analyst rating on (SAN) stock is a Hold with a $8.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Banco Santander SA stock, see the SAN Stock Forecast page.

More about Banco Santander SA

Banco Santander SA is a global banking and financial services group headquartered in Spain, with a strong presence in retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and digital platforms such as Openbank. The group focuses on diversified geographic exposure across Europe and the Americas, targeting growth in both traditional lending and deposits as well as fee-based services, while leveraging shared global platforms to improve efficiency and scalability.

Average Trading Volume: 15,438,548

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: $179.4B

For an in-depth examination of SAN stock, go to TipRanks’ Overview page.