UBS plans $1.2 billion share buyback to complete $3 billion program
Key Facts
UBS said it plans to buy back $1.2 billion of shares over the next three months, completing its ongoing $3 billion program. The plan covers the remaining amount of the program, under which the bank bought back $1.8 billion of shares in the third quarter. UBS said it aims to complete the program by the release of its fourth-quarter results, bringing forward the previous target of mid-2027. The move links the return of capital to shareholders to the bank’s earnings trajectory and its ability to maintain capital levels. UBS plans to announce its capital return ambitions for 2027 alongside its fourth-quarter and full-year results, due to be published on February 3, 2027.
Quarterly results were mixed: net profit attributable to shareholders was $2.69 billion, up 8% year on year but below analysts’ consensus of $2.71 billion. Total revenue, meanwhile, rose to $13.35 billion from $12.76 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Operating profit before tax was $3.587 billion, compared with $2.828 billion a year earlier. UBS said third-quarter performance demonstrated the advantages of its diversified global business model and disciplined execution amid a more complex market environment. Reuters quoted analysts at Vontobel Bank as saying underlying profit before tax did not exceed analysts’ estimates for the first time in more than two years.
On efficiency, the cost-to-income ratio was 72.3% in the third quarter, down from 77.0% in the same period a year earlier. The underlying ratio was 68.7%, compared with 69.7% a year earlier, excluding adjustments that are not included in the underlying measure. UBS said it expects to achieve its target of an underlying ratio below 70% on a 2026 exit-rate basis. It raised its estimate for cumulative gross cost savings by year-end to about $13.7 billion, from a previous ambition of about $13.5 billion. Savings already realized totaled $13.2 billion through the third quarter, including $0.6 billion in that quarter.
Global Wealth Management recorded net new assets of $55.1 billion in the third quarter, with strong inflows particularly from Asia-Pacific and the Americas. This bolstered the revenue and inflow side of the bank’s results, while net profit remained below analysts’ consensus. Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said performance demonstrated “the advantages of our diversified global business model and disciplined execution.” These indicators point to results without a single clear direction: revenue was higher than in the comparable period and profit grew year on year, but expectations were not exceeded. The stock fell 1.8% on October 28 after the results were announced, a move coverage linked to weaker-than-consensus profit despite revenue growth.
The pace of buybacks also remains tied to capital and regulatory constraints in Switzerland. UBS said the size and timing of purchases depend on its financial performance and short-term outlook, as well as maintaining a CET1 capital ratio of around 14%. The bank also linked its decisions to how much clarity emerges from the Swiss parliament’s deliberations on the capitalization of foreign subsidiaries. Reuters reported that the acceleration of buybacks comes amid UBS’s concerns about new Swiss capital requirements, which followed Credit Suisse’s collapse in 2023 and its state-backed emergency takeover. In September 2026, the Swiss Senate backed a requirement for systemically important banks to support their foreign subsidiaries with hard capital of 90%, according to Swissinfo coverage.
For the fourth quarter, UBS expects the usual seasonal moderation in transaction volumes across its businesses. It also expects Global Wealth Management net interest income to rise by a low single-digit percentage compared with the third quarter. It expects a slight increase in net interest income at Personal & Corporate Banking, measured in Swiss francs. Fourth-quarter and full-year results will be released on February 3, 2027, the date on which UBS also said it would announce its capital return ambitions for the following year. EL7’s daily data, meanwhile, records a value of 46.79 for UBS stock on October 27, without specifying the currency or describing it as a dollar closing price.