Barclays Plc (BCS)
NYSE:BCS
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Barclays
(NYSE:BCS)
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Rating:62Neutral
Price Target:
$25.00
â–²(4.52% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/04/26
The score is primarily held back by financial consistency risks—high and recently rising leverage and volatile/negative cash flow—despite solid profitability. Valuation is a key offset with a low P/E, while the earnings call was broadly supportive on returns, capital and shareholder distributions but acknowledged elevated credit costs and notable one-off charges. Technicals are mildly positive but not strong enough to materially lift the overall rating.
Positive Factors
Net interest income resilience
Sustained NII growth and a multi-year structural hedge (duration ~3.5 years) underpin predictable core earnings and margin stability. This durable interest income base supports lending, funds return capacity, and cushions the firm versus trading-cycle swings over the medium term.
Negative Factors
Leverage spike
A sharp increase in leverage materially raises financial risk and reduces strategic flexibility. Higher debt ratios increase sensitivity to funding shocks, tighten regulatory scrutiny, and limit capacity for organic lending or buybacks without rebuilding capital, making balance sheet management a multi‑quarter constraint.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Net interest income resilience
Sustained NII growth and a multi-year structural hedge (duration ~3.5 years) underpin predictable core earnings and margin stability. This durable interest income base supports lending, funds return capacity, and cushions the firm versus trading-cycle swings over the medium term.
Read all positive factors
Barclays (BCS) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$77.45B
Dividend Yield1.71%
Average Volume (3M)6.94M
Price to Earnings (P/E)6.2
Beta (1Y)1.26
Revenue Growth12.95%
EPS Growth21.64%
CountryUS
Employees93,000
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryBanks - Diversified
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.74
Shares Outstanding3,402,843,500
10 Day Avg. Volume6,528,019
30 Day Avg. Volume6,941,849
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.36
Price to Book (P/B)0.84
Price to Sales (P/S)1.28
P/FCF Ratio-8.08
Enterprise Value/Market Cap-0.50
Enterprise Value/Revenue-1.38
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit-1.50
Enterprise Value/Ebitda-4.30
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)2.82
Revenue Forecast (FY)$41.90B
Barclays Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK; Barclays UK Corporate Bank; Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management; Bar...
How the Company Makes Money
Barclays makes money primarily by earning interest income and fee-based income across its banking and investment banking activities.
1) Net interest income (interest spread): A core revenue source is the difference between interest earned on inte...
Barclays Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 28, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 28, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a broadly positive operational and financial picture: strong top-line growth, improving returns (group RoTE 13.5%), rising NII momentum, disciplined capital (CET1 14.1%) and continued delivery of efficiency savings. Material one-off charges (GBP 228m fraud-related write-down, GBP 105m motor finance provision) and elevated Q1 impairments (loan loss rate 74bps) are near-term headwinds but management framed these as identifiable or legacy issues, reinforced by prudent provisioning and constrained targeted exposures. Given the scale and recurrence of strategic improvements, diversified revenue strength across divisions, and manageable capital and liquidity positions — balanced against the notable but largely non-recurring charges and some structural industry-level capital concerns — the overall tone is constructive.Positive Updates
Strong overall profitability and returns
Group RoTE of 13.5% in Q1 2026 with profits before impairment up 8% year-on-year and profit before tax up 3%. Earnings per share increased 8% to 14.1p supported by share count reduction.
Negative Updates
Single-name fraud charge and securitized products loss
A GBP 228 million single-name charge in the securitized products business related to a sophisticated fraud was recognized in Q1, prompting tighter lending constraints to certain structured finance counterparties.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong overall profitability and returns
Group RoTE of 13.5% in Q1 2026 with profits before impairment up 8% year-on-year and profit before tax up 3%. Earnings per share increased 8% to 14.1p supported by share count reduction.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Barclays reiterated medium‑term financial guidance: a group RoTE of >12% in 2026 and >14% in 2028 (Q1 RoTE 13.5%), a circa £31bn group income target for 2026 and full‑year group NII >£13.5bn (Barclays U.K. NII £8.1–8.3bn), with £18.3bn gross structural hedge locked across 2026–28 (95% of 2026 hedge income locked, reinvestment assumed ~3.5% though Q1 rolls were ~3.9%). Cost targets include delivering ~£2bn of gross efficiency savings over 3 years (≈£150m achieved in Q1), a group cost‑to‑income in the high‑50s (Q1: 56%) with Barclays U.K. moving to the low‑50s and U.S. Consumer Bank to a mid‑40s ratio in 2026. Credit guidance assumes a group loan‑loss rate around the top of the 50–60bp through‑the‑cycle band in 2026 (Q1 charge £823m; Q1 loan‑loss rate 74bp; Q1 included a £228m single‑name charge), U.K. loan‑loss ~30bp and U.S. Consumer loan‑loss ~550bp for 2026 (Q1 USCB 491bp). Capital and returns guidance: CET1 ~14.1% with 53bp organic capital generation in Q1, on track to return at least £15bn to shareholders by 2028 (Q1 buyback £500m; £500m accrual toward a £2bn dividend), while deploying ~£30bn of U.K. business‑growth RWAs by end‑2026 (£22bn deployed since 2024).Barclays Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
68
Positive
Balance Sheet
55
Neutral
Cash Flow
42
Neutral
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 50.83B | 57.02B | 49.77B | 33.30B | 25.12B |
| Gross Profit | 29.14B | 29.05B | 25.86B | 23.55B | 21.95B |
| EBITDA | 10.89B | 8.78B | 7.03B | 7.65B | 9.87B |
| Net Income | 7.17B | 6.44B | 5.17B | 5.95B | 7.01B |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 1.54T | 1.52T | 1.48T | 1.51T | 1.38T |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 407.56B | 509.67B | 538.31B | 542.42B | 521.33B |
| Total Debt | 219.94B | 185.75B | 176.55B | 183.37B | 166.59B |
| Total Liabilities | 1.47T | 1.45T | 1.41T | 1.44T | 1.31T |
| Stockholders Equity | 77.78B | 71.82B | 71.20B | 68.29B | 69.05B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | -8.07B | 5.54B | -2.65B | 28.48B | 47.20B |
| Operating Cash Flow | -6.21B | 7.11B | -927.00M | 30.23B | 48.92B |
| Investing Cash Flow | 1.59B | -17.89B | -23.41B | -21.67B | 4.27B |
| Financing Cash Flow | 27.21B | 784.00M | -1.39B | 696.00M | 107.00M |
Barclays Technical Analysis
Positive
23.92
Price Trends
22.45
Positive
23.89
Negative
22.46
Positive
Market Momentum
0.04
Positive
57.14
Neutral
51.12
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For BCS, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 23.92 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 23.10, above the 50-day MA of 22.45, and above the 200-day MA of 22.46, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.04 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 57.14 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 51.12 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for BCS.
Barclays Risk Analysis
Barclays disclosed 18 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Barclays reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Barclays Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $307.76B | 9.62 | 12.07% | 4.14% | -6.12% | 12.49% | |
72 Outperform | $181.23B | 6.78 | 15.73% | 1.85% | -14.46% | 36.76% | |
71 Outperform | $85.58B | 10.46 | 12.71% | 4.14% | 10.57% | 19.15% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
66 Neutral | $209.92B | 8.51 | 7.53% | 1.94% | 3.02% | 27.74% | |
64 Neutral | $60.36B | 3.74 | 14.55% | 3.67% | 7.21% | 26.24% | |
62 Neutral | $77.45B | 6.17 | 9.46% | 1.71% | 12.95% | 21.64% |
* Financial Sector Average
BCS
Barclays
23.87
6.64
38.55%
C
Citigroup
124.82
53.03
73.86%
HSBC
HSBC Holdings
91.99
35.41
62.59%
ING
ING Groep
30.36
9.89
48.30%
NWG
NatWest Group
15.76
2.60
19.73%
SAN
Banco Santander SA
12.38
4.60
59.19%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.