Banco Santander Q2 EPS beats as customers, volumes increase

Banco Santander (SAN) stock gained 1.5% in U.S. premarket trading on Wednesday after it posted Q2 EPS of €0.23, topping the €0.22 consensus.

The quarter's EPS slipped from €0.36 in Q1. Underlying EPS of €0.25 increased from €0.23 in the prior quarter.

Q2 underlying profit before tax, though, rose 5.7% Q/Q and 14% Y/Y to €5.32B, missing the consensus estimate of €5.42B

In the first half of 2026, Y/Y revenue growth of 6% was driven by strong net interest income and net fee income fueled by more customers and increased volumes across its global businesses, the company said.

Banco Santander's H1 underlying profit grew 14% Y/Y, with at least double-digit growth in each of its business lines — retail, Openbank, CIB, wealth, and payments.

Q2 net interest income rose 6.1% from the prior quarter to €11.7B, beating the average analyst estimate of €11.5B. Net fee income of €3.49B increased 4.1% Q/Q.

Its total number of customers climbed 3.5% Q/Q and 7.1% Y/Y to 182.5M at the end of Q2.

Underlying return on tangible equity of 16.0% compared with 15.2% in Q1.

Q2 efficiency ratio of 42.8%, vs. 42.55% consensus, was unchanged from the prior quarter.

The phased-in CET1 ratio stood at 14.0% at the end of June, compared with 14.4% at the end of March and 13.0% at the end of June 2025.

Banco Santander (SAN) repeated its 2026 targets, excluding M&A impacts, of mid-single-digit revenue growth, declining costs, higher profit, and a CET1 ratio of 12.8%-13%.