HSBC Holdings reported a 26% drop in first-half pretax profit, missing analyst expectations as exposure to China’s Bank of Communications and Hong Kong’s troubled property market weighed on earnings.
The bank posted $15.8 billion in pretax profit for the first six months of 2025, down from $21.6 billion a year earlier and below the $16.5 billion average estimate.
A fresh $2.1 billion impairment tied to its stake in Bank of Communications added to February’s $3 billion hit, reflecting mounting bad loans in China.
Credit losses also climbed by $900 million year-on-year to $1.9 billion, driven partly by stress in Hong Kong’s commercial real estate sector.
Despite the earnings miss, Europe’s largest bank — valued at $225 billion — announced a new share buyback of up to $3 billion, adding to an earlier $3 billion program this year.