Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $17.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.48 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from Banco Santander’s conference call:

• Record Q1 profit of EUR 3.6 billion (up 12% YoY) with revenue +6% (NII +5%, fees +7%), underlying ROTCE at 15.2% and efficiency improving ~2 percentage points, which management attributes to its One Transformation program.
• Strong commercial momentum — +8 million customers YoY toward the 210m 2028 target, Openbank has gathered EUR 11 billion in U.S. deposits (c. EUR 150m annual funding cost savings) and Payments (Getnet) revenue rose ~20%, supporting deposit-led funding and fee growth.
• Credit and provisioning pressure in specific areas — the group booked a EUR 210 million motor finance provision in the U.K. and Argentina drove elevated LLPs (Argentina cost-of-risk spiked, management expects normalization toward ~7%), weighing on near-term volatility.
• Very strong capital metrics with CET1 at a record 14.4% and EUR 7 billion returned via buybacks, but management warns the planned TSB and Webster deals will consume ~210 bps of CET1 phased across Q2–Q3.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Banco Santander stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $12.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,443,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,424,999. Banco Santander has a 52 week low of $6.93 and a 52 week high of $13.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.1473 dividend. This represents a yield of 254.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 96.2% during the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 111.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,479 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 73.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 271.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,276 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 7,508 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 673.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 5,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record underlying Q1 profit and reaffirmed targets — Santander reported a record underlying first‑quarter profit (€3.56bn) driven by top‑line growth and cost cuts, and the bank reaffirmed its targets, supporting confidence in management’s execution. Santander posts record profit as cost cuts, new customers lift returns
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS forecast for SAN to $1.40 (from $1.37), signaling improving analyst sentiment versus the consensus, which can support multiple expansion.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic fintech investment — Santander will invest £50m (~$67m) in Ebury as part of larger funding rounds, strengthening its cross‑border payments capabilities and growth optionality in international payments. Santander to invest $67 mln in Ebury via Centerbridge-led funding rounds
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary on valuation — Analysts and outlets (e.g., Zacks) argue the shares may be undervalued relative to earnings momentum and the bank’s metrics, which can support medium‑term interest but is not an immediate catalyst. Are Investors Undervaluing Banco Santander (SAN) Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Presentation cautions on non‑IFRS and ESG metrics — Santander flagged limits around some non‑IFRS and ESG measures in its Q1 materials, a disclosure that may temper enthusiasm among ESG‑focused investors or those relying on adjusted metrics. Santander Flags Limits of Non-IFRS and ESG Metrics in 1Q 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss — Q1 EPS was $0.27, missing the $0.28 consensus by $0.01, which may prompt short‑term seller activity despite other positives. Banco Santander Q1 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Big one‑offs lifted headline profit — Santander’s reported net profit rose ~60% YoY, but roughly €1.9bn came from the sale of its Polish unit; that makes the headline figure less indicative of recurring earnings. Santander’s Q1 net profit up 60% vs same period in 2025 boosted by one-off
• Negative Sentiment: UK motor‑finance cost hit — Santander UK reported further costs tied to a motor‑finance scandal, which will pressure UK profitability and keep some risk premium on the shares. Santander UK takes profit hit from further costs of motor finance scandal

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SAN. Kepler Capital Markets raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Banco Santander from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Santander Company Profile

Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.