Leonteq AG

In H1 2026, Leonteq reported total operating income of CHF 111.6 million, down from CHF 124.3 million in the prior-year period. Net fee income increased 10% year over year to CHF 96.8 million, net trading result was CHF 13.4 million, and net interest expense improved to CHF 0.6 million from CHF 4.9 million. Operating expenses declined 10% year over year to CHF 99.2 million. Profit before tax was CHF 12.2 million, net profit was CHF 12.7 million (+37% year over year), and EPS was CHF 0.71 (+34% year over year). Return on tangible equity improved to 4%. Platform turnover rose 10% to CHF 15.9 billion. For full-year 2026, management reiterated cost guidance of approximately CHF 200 million and confirmed it expects a positive pretax result.

Christian Spieler framed H1 2026 as a pivotal turnaround period and said the company has returned to profitability in line with guidance. He emphasized that the closure of all regulatory legacy matters removed a key growth constraint and immediately improved client engagement and activity. Strategically, he stressed disciplined execution across resizing, optimization, and expansion into less volatility-dependent businesses such as AMC, QIS, retail flow, and digital distribution, while saying the company is not pursuing growth at any price.

Hans Widler focused on IFRS results after the company stopped reporting underlying numbers. He highlighted net fee income of CHF 96.8 million, operating expenses of CHF 99.2 million, profit before tax of CHF 12.2 million, net profit of CHF 12.7 million, and EPS of CHF 0.71, as well as a CET1 ratio of 16.5% versus 16.9% at year-end 2025. He also cited personnel expenses of CHF 51.6 million, other operating expenses of CHF 30.4 million, depreciation of CHF 16.5 million, total assets of CHF 12.4 billion, eligible capital of CHF 655 million, and reiterated about CHF 200 million of full-year operating expenses; he said future costs should rise only moderately due to selective investments, while the platform remains highly scalable.

Analysts pressed management on how much the end of regulatory proceedings has already boosted client activity, what the midterm volume outlook is for AMC, and whether full-year guidance implied a clearer pretax target. Management said the uplift is real but hard to quantify, with stronger engagement and more requests for high-value-added products like AMC and QIS, and repeated only that it expects a positive pretax result. Questions also covered margin trends, the trading-result breakdown, buyback mechanics, CET1 expectations, and the German retail flow launch; management said margins are not the main operating target, the treasury carry was minus CHF 8.2 million and hedging contribution was CHF 21.6 million in H1, and the buyback depends on sustained capital strength above the 15% CET1 threshold.