CBA’s $10.98 billion year, and why the market shrugged
Australia’s biggest bank posted another record cash profit as margins narrowed.
Commonwealth Bank reported a cash net profit of $10.98 billion for the 2026 financial year, up about 7 per cent, and lifted full-year dividends by 20 cents to $5.05 a share, fully franked.
The net interest margin, the gap between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits, narrowed by 3 basis points to 2.05 per cent as competition for mortgages and deposits intensified. Return on equity improved to about 14 per cent, and the cost-to-income ratio held at 45.5 per cent.
Chief executive Matt Comyn said the bank could find a path through the domestic economy’s pressures. The market was less enthusiastic: the shares fell nearly 3 per cent after the result, a reminder of how much good news is already priced into one of the world’s most expensive bank stocks.
The result arrives as households face the prospect of another rate rise before Christmas.
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