NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) announced its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.08, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. NatWest Group had a return on equity of 12.77% and a net margin of 18.18%.

Here are the key takeaways from NatWest Group’s conference call:

• Delivered a strong FY2025: income (ex-notables) up 12% to £16.4bn, operating profit £7.7bn, attributable profit £5.5bn, EPS +27%, cost?income ratio down to 48.6% and total shareholder distributions of £4.1bn.
• 2026 guidance and 2028 targets show clear growth and return ambitions — 2026: income (ex-notables) £17.2–17.6bn, opex ~£8.2bn, impairment <25bps, ~200bps capital generation and ROTE >17%; 2028 targets include CAL growth >4% p.a., cost?income <45% and ROTE >18%.
• Announced acquisition of Evelyn Partners (adds ~£69bn AUMA) to scale private banking/wealth to ~20% of the group, with management expecting material revenue synergies (~£700m+), ~£100m run?rate cost synergies and accretion to returns by year three (day?one CET1 impact ?130bps).
• Management expects a material hedge income tailwind from its product and equity structural hedges — roughly +£1.5bn in 2026 vs 2025 and further uplift into 2027–2030 — supporting margin expansion under stated reinvestment assumptions.
• Regulatory/RWA headwinds remain — implementation of Basel 3.1 is expected to increase RWAs by ~£10bn from Jan 2027, raising nominal CET1 requirements and creating potential pressure on capital/distribution flexibility despite planned capital generation.

NatWest Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWG traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.07. 7,474,264 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,478,658. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. NatWest Group has a 1 year low of $10.40 and a 1 year high of $19.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.78. The company has a market capitalization of $64.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.96.

Key Stories Impacting NatWest Group

Here are the key news stories impacting NatWest Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — NatWest reported $0.46 EPS vs. $0.37 expected and revenue of $5.74B vs. $5.59B consensus, with robust net margin and ROE that underline the current earnings strength. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Profit and targets raised — Annual profit rose ~24% and management lifted medium?term performance targets while guiding for further income and profitability growth, supporting higher future cash flow expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns boosted — NatWest announced a fresh £750m share buyback for H1 2026 and signalled increased payouts, which directly supports returns to investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Structural hedge and acquisition add durability — Management says the bank’s structural hedge will keep boosting net interest income through 2030, and the £2.7bn Evelyn Partners deal will more than double AUMA and diversify fee income away from NII. These reduce earnings cyclicality. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Zacks moved NWG from Hold to Strong Buy, reflecting uplift in the brokerage view after the print and guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available — Management hosted the earnings call and published an analyst slide deck and presentation, useful for digging into guidance and hedge assumptions. Read More. / Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: ESG backlash — NatWest softened its fossil?fuel lending restrictions alongside results, prompting activist ShareAction to urge investors to oppose the chair’s re?election; this creates reputational and governance risk that can pressure the share price, especially with sustainable investors. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NatWest Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of NatWest Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC acquired a new position in NatWest Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $16,650,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of NatWest Group by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,061,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,044 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in NatWest Group by 150.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 1,612,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,822,000 after acquiring an additional 969,546 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in NatWest Group by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,166,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,803,000 after acquiring an additional 942,059 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in NatWest Group by 318.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 970,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,736,000 after purchasing an additional 738,671 shares during the last quarter. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NatWest Group Company Profile

NatWest Group plc is a major UK-based banking and financial services group headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company traces its roots to the Royal Bank of Scotland, founded in 1727, and adopted the NatWest Group name in 2020 as part of a strategic refocus on its NatWest brand. NatWest Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and also has American depositary shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NWG.

The group provides a broad range of banking services across retail, private, commercial, corporate and institutional segments.