Barclays fell short of profit expectations as fixed-income trading sank

Barclays reported third-quarter pretax profit of £2.3 billion on Thursday, up 12% from a year earlier, as income from fixed-income trading fell 19%.

That fell short of the £2.42 billion analysts expected, according to The Wall Street Journal. Attributable profit rose 13% to £1.6 billion.

Fixed-income income was £1.01 billion in the quarter, compared with £1.26 billion a year earlier. Barclays said lower client activity in rates and credit in the second half of the quarter, and further weakness in September tied to the macroeconomic environment, drove the decline.

Equities income rose 47% to £1.01 billion. Total income at the Investment Bank rose 1% to £3.13 billion, and the unit's return on tangible equity fell to 9.5% from 10.1%.

Group income rose 3% to £7.4 billion. Group return on tangible equity reached 11.7%, compared with 10.6% a year earlier, and the cost-to-income ratio improved to 62% from 63%.

Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan called the fixed-income result disappointing on a media call, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Barclays announced a share buyback of up to £500 million, lifting total shareholder payouts so far this year to £2.8 billion, a 46% increase from a year earlier. The Wall Street Journal said the buyback was smaller than the £579 million consensus estimate compiled by the company. The bank's common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 14.2%.

Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs, about one in 20 of its staff, in a cost-reduction drive linked to AI. The total includes 1,000 roles eliminated in the first half of the year.

Barclays booked structural cost actions of £201 million in the third quarter, up from £93 million a year earlier, and plans about £300 million more in the fourth quarter. It expects group total costs of about £18.5 billion in 2026 and about £18.4 billion in 2027.