Macquarie Group Limited

Macquarie reported net profit after tax of $4.847 billion, up 30% on FY25, with return on equity at 14% versus just over 11% a year earlier. Group net operating income rose 13% to $19.5 billion. Net interest and trading income increased 14% to $10.2 billion; fees and commissions rose 6% to $7.2 billion; investment income increased to $2.8 billion. Operating expenses rose 5% to $12.7 billion, credit impairment charges were $478 million, and the effective tax rate was 27.6%. By segment, MAM profit was just over $2.6 billion, BFS $1.61 billion, CGM $4.221 billion, and Macquarie Capital $1.491 billion. On the balance sheet, deposits were over $220 billion and the capital surplus was $9.3 billion. The board declared a second-half dividend of $4.20, bringing the full-year dividend to $7.00, up from $6.50 last year. Forward guidance: MAM expects base fees to be broadly in line excluding one matter, and net other operating income to be up, including the divestment of Macquarie Air Finance. BFS expects ongoing growth in loans, funds on platform and deposits, but results will be affected by market dynamics and margin pressure. Macquarie Capital expects broadly in line income from transaction activity and investment-related income, subject to market conditions. CGM also expects net operating income to be broadly in line, excluding the FY26 OnStream meters realization. At the group level, compensation ratio and effective tax rate are expected to be broadly in line with historical levels.

Shemara Wikramanayake emphasized Macquarie’s diversified model, saying all four operating groups are in structurally attractive areas and are backed by a strong risk-management and funding platform. She repeatedly framed the outlook as constructive but cautious, noting that volatility can help results but prolonged volatility can also dampen client appetite. She also said the firm has capital and funding to support inorganic opportunities, but acquisitions must be complementary and deliver good returns for shareholders.

Frank Kwok said the year’s results were driven by broad revenue growth, with net operating income up 13% to $19.5 billion and expenses up only 5% to $12.7 billion. He highlighted performance fee strength in MAM, client-led income in CGM, and growth in BFS home loans and deposits, while also noting $478 million in credit impairment charges and $230 million in other impairments. He said the balance sheet remains conservative and well funded, with $30 billion raised in term funding, deposits at $222 billion, a 4.1-year weighted average life for term funding, a CET1 ratio of 12.8%, and capital allocated to the businesses of $2.7 billion over the year.

Analysts pressed management on whether FY27 guidance for CGM and MacCap implies a slowdown from FY26’s unusually strong environment. Management said the guidance does assume current market conditions, but emphasized that these businesses are still mainly driven by repeat client income, private credit, and equity realizations. Questions also focused on private credit growth, with management saying returns remain around 4% to 4.5% and growth is more constrained by concentration limits than by deal supply, so they want to bring in third-party capital. On BFS, management said cost leverage should improve further as scale rises, with the cost-to-income ratio already improving from 54% to 51%.