Jefferies analyst Brian Johnson said this month’s earnings season could be weak for banks, but he was positive on the ABC, arguing it was outperforming its peers and had provisions for losses on excessive lending.
Some in the market are wary of CBA’s lofty valuation, with Citi saying in a recent note that the bank was valued at a 100% premium to its peers, when judged on its return on equity. On Friday, the CBA had a market capitalization of $159 billion, ahead of Australia’s second most valuable bank, NAB, at $90 billion.
Barrenjoey analyst Jonathan Mott also said margins could be an area of disappointment in CBA’s result, and wondered if the bank could come under pressure to follow rivals and start cutting costs. more aggressive way.
National Australia Bank will also issue a quarterly trading update on Thursday, with markets expecting profits of around $1.6 billion, while ANZ Bank will provide a market update on Monday.
Macquarie Group Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake will provide a quarterly update on Tuesday, as part of an in-depth operational briefing. Morgan Stanley said peers Macquarie reported strong results for the December quarter, although they say the year-ago quarter benefited from a post-COVID rebound.
The country’s two largest home and auto insurers, Suncorp and Insurance Australia Group, are also releasing their half-year results this week. Insurance premiums have risen in recent quarters, but some believe insurers’ margins could come under pressure from rising labor and material costs.