Societe Generale posts record H1 2026 net income of EUR 3.5 billion

Societe Generale reported record first-half 2026 Group net income of EUR 3.487 billion, up 13.9% from H1 2025, as higher revenue and lower costs lifted profitability and prompted the French bank to raise its 2026 targets. In the second quarter, Group net income reached a record EUR 1.790 billion, up from EUR 1.453 billion a year earlier and above the EUR 1.59 billion analyst consensus compiled by the bank, while revenue rose 4.5% to EUR 7.096 billion, beating the EUR 6.98 billion consensus. For H1 2026, revenue rose 2.4% to EUR 14.202 billion and operating expenses fell 5.0% to EUR 8.485 billion, improving the cost-to-income ratio to 59.7% and lifting Return on Tangible Equity, or ROTE, to 12.0%. Societe Generale said it now expects a 2026 cost reduction of around 4%, versus around 3% previously, and raised its 2026 ROTE target to around 11% from above 10% previously. The bank also announced an extraordinary EUR 1.5 billion share buy-back for cancellation, expected to start on 3 August 2026 at the earliest, and said it would pay an interim cash dividend of EUR 0.751 per share for H1 2026, up 23% from last year. Its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.2% after the planned buy-back, around 290 basis points above the regulatory requirement.