Societe Generale Raises 2026 Profitability Target

By Adria Calatayud

Societe Generale raised its profitability target for this year, projecting higher revenue and lower costs, after reporting a stronger net profit for the fourth quarter.

The French bank said Friday that it expects a return on tangible equity--a key profitability metric for banks--of more than 10% this year, up from a previous target range of 9% to 10%.

SocGen forecast revenue growth of more than 2% this year and a decline in costs of around 3%.

The lender said it plans ordinary distributions of 2.68 billion euros, equivalent to $3.16 billion, to shareholders for 2025, including a share buyback of 1.46 billion euros due to start next week. It also declared a final dividend of 1 euro a share, on top of an interim dividend of 0.61 a share paid in October.

For the fourth quarter, Societe Generale reported net profit of 1.42 billion euros, up from 1.04 billion euros a year earlier, resulting in a return on tangible equity of 9.5%. Analysts had forecast a net profit of 1.17 billion euros.

Net banking income rose 1.6% on year to 6.725 billion euros, as gains in French retail banking the mobility and international businesses offset a decline in the global banking and investor solutions segment.

SocGen also said its board had renewed the mandate of Slawomir Krupa as chief executive for a four-year term starting in 2027.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2026 01:10 ET (06:10 GMT)