ABN Amro unveils capital return but misses Q4 profit targets

(Sharecast News) - Dutch lender ABN Amro reported higher profits in the fourth quarter but missed market forecasts, with shares falling on Wednesday as investor shrugged off the news of an additional �500m capital return.

The bank, the third-largest in the Netherlands, reported a net profit for the final three months of 2025 of �410m, up from �397m the year before but below the company-compiled consensus estimate of �466m.

Net interest income came in at �1.665bn, up �85m over the year and ahead of the �1.603bn estimate, bringing full-year NII in line with guidance of "more than �6.3bn".

However, total operating income rose by a less-than-expected 1% to �2.259bn, missing the �2.290bn expected by the market.

"ABN AMRO delivered another solid performance in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting continued progress on our strategic priorities. The period was marked by tangible advances in portfolio management and the optimisation of risk-weighted assets," said chief executive Marguerite Bérard.

"We made further progress on right-sizing our cost base and realising profitable growth, particularly in mortgages and wealth management."

Cost actions included the reduction of 1,500 full-time equivalent roles in 2025, with 580 FTEs leaving the business in the fourth quarter.

The company said it is now 30% of the way through its planned reduction of the workforce, with a total of 5,200 FTE roles expected to be cut by 2028.

ABN Amro also said it plans to distribute an additional �500m back to shareholders, comprising �250m in cash dividends and �250m through a share buyback, on top of the �0.70-a-share final dividend for 2025.

The CET1 capital ratio, which already takes into account these additional distributions, improved to 15.4% in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8% in the third quarter and 14.5% the year before.

The stock was down 0.6% at �30.81 by 1341 GMT, having fallen as much as 2.7% earlier on.