Australia’s Macquarie rallies on stronger Q3, firmer outlook for key units

By Roushni Nair and Scott Murdoch

Feb 10 (Reuters) – Macquarie Group said on Tuesday that profit improved across its key units in the third quarter, underpinning what it described as satisfactory trading conditions, while a stronger near-term outlook helped push its shares higher.

The stock rose as much as 4% to A$221.32 by 0030 GMT, its biggest single-day percentage gain since mid-October, outperforming a 0.3% rise in the broader benchmark index.

In its short-term markers, the bank said it expects investment-related income at Macquarie Capital to be up, net other operating income at Macquarie Asset Management to be significantly higher, and commodities income at Commodities and Global Markets (CGM) to rise.

The Sydney-headquartered firm, which does not disclose quarterly profit figures for the whole group, said the asset management unit delivered a strong performance, helped by gains from the sale of its North American and European public investments business.

Assets under management edged up 3% sequentially to A$736.1 billion ($521.75 billion) at December-end.

CGM posted a solid quarter, while Macquarie Capital benefited from asset realisations and private-credit income.

Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services (BFS) division posted a slightly higher third-quarter profit as it expanded further into Australia’s fiercely competitive mortgage market, with home loans up 7% and deposits up 6%.

BFS is still growing its deposits and loans much faster than the rest of the market, according to UBS, but Macquarie flagged tough competition and the type of loans it’s writing are pressuring its profit margins.

UBS also called the update “strong” on underlying performance, noting CGM guidance now points to rising income rather than flat, but said the message was tempered by Macquarie flagging a higher-than-expected 2026 tax rate of around 31%, at levels similar to the first half.

Citi analysts said the update was unlikely to shift 2026 consensus, arguing that year-to-date trading looked broadly in line and that stronger commodities income was already priced after U.S. gas volatility.

($1 = 1.4108 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Roushni Nair and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Sriraj Kalluvila)