Photo: Danausi, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain (file photo of No. 1 Martin Place, Macquarie Bank, Sydney).
SYDNEY — Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. Macquarie Group posted a A$2,478 million half-year net profit, up 50% from a year earlier, as its Commodities and Global Markets division nearly doubled earnings and outgoing CEO Shemara Wikramanayake delivered her final result before handing over to Greg Ward.
In its 1H27 announcement dated Nov. 6, Macquarie said net profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2026, rose 50% from A$1,655 million in 1H26 and was down 22% from 2H26. Earnings per share were A$6.52, up 49% on 1H26. The board declared an interim ordinary dividend of A$3.25 per share (35% franked), a 50% payout ratio, with a Nov. 12 record date and Dec. 17 payment date.
What the data shows
TBR calculations from Macquarie’s operating-group table show Commodities and Global Markets contributed A$2,034 million in net profit contribution, up 83% from A$1,113 million in 1H26 — more than the other three groups combined on a contribution basis. Macquarie Asset Management contributed A$1,509 million (+28%), Banking and Financial Services A$841 million (+6%), and Macquarie Capital A$278 million (−61%). Net operating income was A$9,568 million (+10% vs 1H26); operating expenses A$6,317 million (+1%). Annualized ROE was 13.8%, versus 14.0% in FY26.
Balance sheet and leadership handoff
The Bank Group’s APRA Basel III Level 2 CET1 ratio was 12.9% (harmonised estimate 17.7%) at Sept. 30, up from 12.8% at March 31. Leverage was 4.4%, LCR 187%, and NSFR 116%. Total deposits rose 10% from March to A$244.2 billion, and the group raised a further A$16.3 billion of new term funding in the half. Wikramanayake, delivering her last result before retirement, credited diversified businesses and client franchise depth; Ward, CEO designate, said Macquarie remains cautious on capital, funding and liquidity while positioned for medium-term performance.
Macquarie Capital’s 61% drop in contribution reflects lower investment-related income and weaker M&A fees, partially offset by higher brokerage — a reminder that advisory cycles can diverge sharply from commodities trading even inside one balance sheet. MAM’s gain included the sale of Macquarie AirFinance, partially offset by lower performance fees on the timing of asset realisations.
Why U.S. and global desks care
Macquarie is one of the world’s most commodities-exposed investment banks; a CGM book that jumps 83% is a clean read-through on volatility, client hedging and asset sales in the same energy complex that moved European TTF gas 15.5% this week and pushed the Bank of England back to 4% Bank Rate. U.S. readers tracking the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve path care because Macquarie’s trading and infrastructure funds sit across Atlantic LNG, metals and rates markets that transmit into U.S. inflation and credit spreads.
The result also lands beside Australian policy already in focus after the Reserve Bank’s separate November decision — covered elsewhere in today’s wire — and beside European bank consolidation news from Milan. For business news investors, the combination of a 50% profit jump, a maintained 50% payout and a CEO transition is a capital-return story as much as a trading story. Geopolitical energy risk that feeds CGM income remains tied to the conflict monitored on our Iran war tracker.
Outlook caveats
Ward listed the usual near-term swing factors: global growth, inflation and rates, volatility events, geopolitics, transaction timing, FX mix, and tax or regulatory change. None of those are forecasts of a second-half number; they are the bank’s own risk list. The verified Friday facts are the A$2,478 million profit, the CGM-led mix, the A$3.25 interim dividend, and a CET1 ratio that still clears APRA minima with room.
Sources
- Macquarie Group — announces A$2,478 million half-year profit (Nov. 6, 2026)
- Australian Financial Review — Macquarie $2.48b half-year profit (Nov. 6, 2026)
- Anadolu Agency — European gas weekly drop (commodities context, Nov. 6, 2026)
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