Commonwealth Bank of Australia

For the full year ended 30 June 2026, CBA reported statutory profit of $10.9 billion and cash profit of $11 billion, with cash net profit after tax up 7% and statutory profit up 8%. Cash earnings per share increased by $0.44. Operating income grew 6.2%, pre-provision profit rose 6.5%, and underlying operating expenses increased 5.6%. Loan impairment expense was $788 million, equal to an 8 basis point loan loss rate, versus 7 basis points in the prior year. The final dividend was $2.70 fully franked, taking the full-year dividend to $5.05 per share, with a 77% payout ratio. The common equity Tier 1 ratio was 12.0%, total provisions were $6.5 billion, customer deposits grew 8% over the year, deposit funding was 79%, and liquid assets were $191 billion. Looking ahead, management said mortgage credit growth is likely to be in the 4% to 5% range over FY27, and Alan Docherty said the tax rate is expected to remain 30% in FY27. They also said gross benefits from the AI agenda are expected to exceed investment levels next financial year, while annual cash tech spend is expected to be held at $2.4 billion.

Matt Comyn struck an upbeat but cautious tone, calling the year a strong result and emphasizing that CBA grew across all major domestic product categories without sacrificing margin. He framed the bank’s strategy around deepening primary relationships, using technology and AI to improve service and protection, and preserving discipline on volume, margin and capital. He also pointed to a more demanding operating environment for FY27, with higher rates, slower growth, softer housing activity and elevated geopolitical risk.

Alan Docherty focused on the quality of earnings, noting statutory profit of $10.9 billion, cash profit of $11 billion and cash profit growth of 7.1%. He highlighted operating income growth of 6.2%, expense growth of 5.6%, loan impairment expense of $788 million, total provisions of $6.5 billion and a CET1 ratio of 12.0%, while stressing that the balance sheet remains strongly funded by deposits at 79% and supported by $191 billion of liquid assets. He said collective provisioning increased, that the tax rate should remain 30% in FY27, and that the bank expects to hold annual cash tech spend at $2.4 billion while realizing roughly $400 million in incremental cost savings over the past 12 months.

Analysts pressed management on mortgage growth, mortgage pricing, broker-channel mix, provisioning, AI monetization, software capitalization, and money-laundering concerns. Comyn said mortgage applications had stabilized and that home-loan growth is now expected to run around 4% to 5% rather than the higher end of earlier expectations, while reiterating that CBA will not prefer volume over margin. Docherty said the lower provision-to-RWA ratio reflected a mix of factors including higher RWA, earlier provisioning action and strong overall coverage; he also said house-price declines were not a major driver of provisioning sensitivity, which is more tied to unemployment and broader macro conditions. On broker/prop flows, Comyn cited market conditions and tighter settings in some areas due to irregularities, and on AML he said CBA had not identified evidence of professional money laundering or links to organized crime in its investigations to date.