Key Highlights

• For the year ended 31 March 2026, Macquarie reported net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of A$4,847 million, up 30% on FY25.

• The second half delivered A$3,192 million, a record for any half-year and 93% higher than the first half.

• Net Operating Income was A$19,477 million, up 13%, while operating expenses rose 5% to A$12,748 million.

• Earnings per share were A$12.77 and Return on Equity was 14.0%, compared with 11.2% a year earlier.

Why are investors paying close attention to Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) as it approaches its next half-year report? Because the financial group is coming off a record second half, has told the market it remains cautious, and is preparing for a change of chief executive. Together, those facts frame what the coming update needs to show.

What Macquarie does and how it earns

Macquarie is a diversified financial group with four operating businesses. Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) manages money for institutions and others, earning fees and performance income. Banking and Financial Services (BFS) provides home loans, deposits, Business banking and Wealth platforms. Commodities and Global Markets (CGM) trades and finances energy, metals and other commodities, and also includes asset finance. Macquarie Capital provides advisory, Underwriting and principal Investment services, plus private credit.

Roughly two thirds of income is earned outside Australia, which makes the group sensitive to global markets and currency movements as well as domestic conditions.

The FY26 result

For the year ended 31 March 2026, Macquarie reported net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of A$4,847 million, up 30% on FY25. The second half delivered A$3,192 million, a record for any half-year and 93% higher than the first half. Net operating income was A$19,477 million, up 13%, while operating expenses rose 5% to A$12,748 million. Earnings Per Share were A$12.77 and return on equity was 14.0%, compared with 11.2% a year earlier. International income made up 68% of the total.

The total ordinary Dividend for FY26 was A$7.00 per share, 35% franked, including a final dividend of A$4.20. The Payout Ratio was 55% for the year, inside the group's stated 50 to 70% range.

All four operating groups improved, according to the company. Net profit contributions were A$4,221 million for CGM (up 49%), A$2,602 million for MAM (up 27%), A$1,610 million for BFS (up 17%) and A$1,491 million for Macquarie Capital (up 43%). Those figures are management accounting contributions before unallocated corporate items, profit share and tax.

The first-quarter update

On 23 July 2026, ahead of its annual general meeting, Macquarie described trading conditions as satisfactory for the three months to 30 June 2026. It did not disclose a group profit figure for the quarter, and it gave no numerical guidance for FY27.

Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, the company said MAM's contribution fell, mainly because of the divestment in the second half of FY26 of its North American and European public investments business. BFS rose on Loan and deposit growth, although lower margins from portfolio mix and competition partly offset that. CGM was significantly higher as commodities rebounded from subdued conditions and asset finance grew. Macquarie Capital also rose, helped by investment-related and brokerage income, with advisory fees lower against a encouraging comparison period.

Balance sheet and capital

At 30 June 2026, the Bank Group's APRA Basel III common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 13.8%, up from 12.8% at 31 March. The Leverage Ratio was 4.5%, the Liquidity coverage ratio 192% and the net stable funding ratio 113%. Macquarie says it exceeds APRA's requirements.

Business metrics at that date included MAM Assets under management of A$748.0 billion, up 4% on 31 March, and A$20.3 billion of capital available to deploy. BFS deposits were A$223.3 billion and its home loan portfolio A$191.5 billion. Macquarie Capital's committed private Credit portfolio was A$27.2 billion.

Leadership change

Managing Director and Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake has announced her upcoming retirement. The release also said Jillian Broadbent will step down from the Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank boards in December 2026, and that remediation of past regulatory and compliance issues is continuing.

Leadership transitions at a large financial group are not unusual, but they add a variable to a business whose culture and risk framework are central to how it operates.

Sector conditions and competitive position

Macquarie competes with global asset managers and investment banks in its wholesale businesses, and with the major banks and non-bank lenders in Australian retail finance. Its model differs from a traditional bank because a large share of earnings comes from markets, advisory and investment activity, which tends to be more variable than interest margins.

Its strengths include breadth and a diversified income base. In retail banking, the company itself notes Margin pressure from competition, a reminder that growth in loans and deposits does not automatically translate into proportional profit.

Risks and what to watch

Management lists global economic conditions, inflation, interest rates, volatility, geopolitical events, foreign exchange, transaction timing and potential tax or regulatory changes as factors that could affect the short-term outlook. CGM, which produced the largest share of FY26 contributions, is also the most exposed to Commodity volatility, as the weaker prior year showed.

Upcoming developments include the half-year result for the six months to 30 September 2026, which Macquarie has reported in early November in recent years. Other items to watch include any interim dividend, the CET1 ratio, MAM's inflows after the divestment, and details of the chief executive transition.

Macquarie's own stance is that it is positioned for superior performance over the medium term. Whether that proves right depends on conditions it does not control.