Strong Quarterly Net Income
Managerial net income of BRL 12.3 billion in Q1 2026, a 10% year-over-year increase; normalized net income would have been BRL 12.7 billion if not for an early BRL 20 billion dividend distributed in Q4 2025.
Itau Unibanco
· ITUB
May 5th, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-05-05
- Change Since:
- -5.64%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-08-04
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe earnings call presents a strong and consistent performance: high profitability (ROE), solid loan growth (notably payroll and guaranteed SME programs), superior delinquency metrics versus the market, record efficiency, and a resilient capital base. Offsetting factors include margin pressure from an early dividend and calendar effects, modest compression in risk-adjusted margin, seasonality/volatility in fee-related revenues, some expected increases in SME delinquency due to benefit-program mechanics, and elevated macro/geopolitical uncertainty. Overall, management emphasizes disciplined portfolio and capital management, and while near-term revenue and credit-cycle risks exist, results and metrics remain robust and largely under control.
Company Guidance
Management reaffirmed 2026 guidance emphasizing recurring profitability above 20% ROE (cost of equity ~14.5%), portfolio growth around 5–9%, and a midpoint target for annual expense growth of 3.5%; Q1 generated BRL 12.3bn managerial result (BRL 12.7bn normalized), Brazil efficiency reached a record 34.9% (34.4% adjusted for early dividend) and CET1 is being managed around a 12% reference (board floor 11.5%, AT1 ~1.4%). They expect annualized credit cost to remain stable, highlighted solid capital generation (0.8% in Q1 vs. 0.4% capital uses and 0.5% RWA consumption) and reiterated disciplined provisioning/write‑off policies; margins were modestly affected in Q1 (core margin would be BRL 27.8bn, net interest margin with clients BRL 31.5bn after a BRL 600m dividend effect; consolidated risk‑adjusted margin ~‑10bps, Brazil ~‑20bps) while delinquency trends remain well behaved (NPL15‑90 +10bps q/q, Brazil short‑term +20bps; over‑90s: personal loans 5.1%, cards 5.1%, auto 3.5%, private payroll 4.2%).
High Profitability / ROE
Reported consolidated ROE of 24.8% (Brazil ROE 26.4%); when adjusted to an 11.5% capital reference, consolidated ROE ~25.8% and Brazil ROE ~27.6%, indicating very strong profitability metrics.
Loan Portfolio Growth
Total loan portfolio grew 1.2% quarter-over-quarter and 9% year-over-year excluding FX; Brazil portfolio +7.8% YoY and +0.3% q/q; average balances by segment increased (individuals +2.2% q/q, SMEs +4.6% q/q, corporate +1.6% q/q, Latin America +3.6% q/q).
Successful Product Growth — Payroll & SME Programs
Private payroll lending expanded 19% q/q and 63% YoY; government-backed SME programs grew 4% q/q and 52% YoY, supporting both volume growth and credit quality via guarantees.
Superior Delinquency Performance vs Market
Over-90-day NPLs materially below market across key products: personal loans 5.1% vs market 9.3% (–21% since Dec-2019 vs market +18%), credit cards 5.1% (~half the market), auto loans 3.5% vs market 6.2%, private payroll 4.2% vs market 7.1% — demonstrating better levels and trends than peers.
Improved SME & Large Corporate Risk Profile
Guaranteed lending share rose (total SMEs 36%→55%; micro & small 37%→70% since Dec-2019), reducing volatility; large corporate portfolio doubled since Dec-2019 while top-10 concentration fell from 20% to 15% and ~80% of corporate exposures are investment-grade internally.
Record Efficiency
Brazil efficiency ratio reached a record low of 34.9% (adjusted for early dividend would be 34.4%), with Q1 Brazil expenses down 5.6% vs Q4 and +5.2% YoY, supporting the efficiency program targets.
Solid Capital Position
Despite large Q4 dividend payout, the bank generated capital in Q1 (0.8% CET1 generation), ended the quarter with CET1 approximately 12.0% and AT1 ~1.4%, with capital generation sufficient to fund uses and RWA growth.
Positive Market and Insurance Results
Market margin delivered a positive BRL 800 million in a volatile quarter (despite a BRL 700 million hedge cost headwind), and insurance revenues grew 17% YoY; services & insurance revenues up 5.3% YoY.
Before handing the floor over to Milton, I would like to share a few instructions to help you make the most of today's event. For those accessing the webcast through our website, there are three audio options available
the entire content in Portuguese, the entire content in English, or the original audio. The first two options offer simultaneous translation. To select your preferred option, simply click on the flag icon located in the upper left corner of your screen. Questions can also be submitted via WhatsApp.
When we look at payments and collections, this was indeed a quarter affected by several factors. There are multiple explanations here
seasonality effects, mix, particularly on the collection side, and repricing of funding within the receivables of the acquiring business. It is worth remembering that we've captured all these impacts within this line. Therefore, this reflects the complete payments and collections corporate flow. The most important thing here is the client perspective. We are not managing the business through isolated lines, but rather with a strong focus on being the primary bank for our clients on long-term relationships and on customer lifetime value. As a result, some degree of volatility is in fact expected.
Good morning, Gustavo, Milton, Gabriel. Thank you for the opportunity. Congratulations on the results. I wanted to understand the trajectory of the ROE of the bank. Itaú delivered 25% of ROE recurrent, very high threshold, even in a seasonably weaker quarter. When you see that profitability, the natural question is
how many levers do you still have to maintain or even expand this ROE through the year? In your opinion, the sustainability will come from margin of the client efficiency, mix of credit, revenues of services, capital. Is there any point that you think that the market is still not capturing well the capacity of Itaú in keeping that ROE structurally above the system? Thank you.