Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) said it met all of its 2025 targets, posting record profitability, continued revenue growth, and higher shareholder distributions, according to management’s remarks on the bank’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 preliminary results call.

2025 results: targets met, record profit, and strong revenue momentum

Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing opened the call by saying the bank “delivered on all our 2025 targets,” supported by “strong momentum across all our businesses.” Deutsche Bank reported revenues of €32 billion for 2025, which Sewing said represents 6% compound annual revenue growth since 2021, within the bank’s targeted range.

Cost performance was another focal point. Sewing said the bank achieved €2.5 billion of operational efficiencies and delivered a 64% cost-income ratio, in line with the goal of below 65%. Non-interest expenses were €20.7 billion, down 10% year over year, which management attributed to strong cost discipline and lower non-operating costs, including lower litigation expenses.

Profitability reached a new high in 2025. The bank reported pre-tax profit of €9.7 billion and net profit of €7.1 billion. Post-tax return on tangible equity was 10.3%, meeting the bank’s full-year target of above 10%. Sewing framed the result as an initial step toward the bank’s longer-term goal of achieving a post-tax return on tangible equity greater than 13% by 2028.

Capital, distributions, and balance sheet metrics

Deutsche Bank ended 2025 with a 14.2% Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, even after what Sewing described as “a number of capital headwinds” in the fourth quarter. CFO James von Moltke added that the proposed €2.9 billion of distributions for 2025—including dividends and share buybacks—was already deducted from CET1 capital, meaning the 14.2% CET1 ratio is the bank’s starting point heading into 2026.

Von Moltke also highlighted liquidity, with the liquidity coverage ratio at 144% and the net stable funding ratio at 119% at year-end.

Shareholder distributions for 2025 were raised again. Management said it plans to propose a €1 per share dividend (around €1.9 billion in total) and announced an authorized €1 billion share buyback, for total distributions of €2.9 billion, aligned with the bank’s stated 50% payout commitment for 2025. Sewing said cumulative distributions for 2021–2025 would reach €8.5 billion, exceeding the original €8 billion target. Looking forward, management said it is increasing the payout ratio to 60% starting in 2026, with “modest but continuous” dividend per share growth complemented by buybacks, and it aims to deliver additional shareholder distributions in the second half of 2026 subject to customary authorizations.

Operating drivers: NII, costs, and credit provisions

Von Moltke said revenues increased 7% year over year in both the fourth quarter and the full year, while non-interest expenses were 15% lower in the fourth quarter and 10% lower for the full year versus the prior year, citing normalized non-operating costs and broadly flat adjusted costs.

Net interest income (NII) across key banking book segments and other funding was €3.4 billion in the fourth quarter and €13.3 billion for the full year. For 2026, Deutsche Bank expects NII to increase to around €14 billion, driven by targeted portfolio growth in deposits and loans and structural hedge rollover, with around 90% of that rollover “locked in through swaps.”

Provision for credit losses for the full year was €1.7 billion, down 7% from 2024. Management said releases in Stage 1 and 2 provisions were driven mainly by improved macroeconomic forecasts and portfolio effects, partially offset by higher overlays. Stage 3 provisions included higher provisions in the corporate bank and commercial real estate-related provisions in the investment bank, including “one larger single name event.” The bank said it expects provisions to trend moderately downward in 2026 relative to 2025.

Divisional performance: corporate bank strength, FIC resilience, private bank transformation, and DWS growth

Management pointed to broad-based progress across the bank’s four main businesses, including reductions in cost-income ratios and double-digit returns in 2025.

• Corporate Bank: Von Moltke reported a full-year post-tax return on tangible equity of 15.3% and a 62% cost-income ratio. Fourth-quarter revenues were stable sequentially, with a significant €25 billion deposit volume increase in the quarter. Loans grew €2 billion sequentially (adjusted for FX) and €7 billion year over year, driven by trade finance transactions. Management expects a modest revenue increase in 2026, with growth accelerating as the year progresses and headwinds in rates and FX affecting first-half comparisons.
• Investment Bank: Fourth-quarter revenues increased 5% year over year on strength in fixed income and currencies (FIC). FIC revenues rose 6% and were described as the “strongest fourth quarter on record,” led by foreign exchange and emerging markets. Investment banking and capital markets (IBCM) revenues were slightly lower in the quarter due to weaker advisory versus a strong prior-year period; for the full year, IBCM revenues declined 6% due to mark-to-market losses on leveraged debt capital markets (LDCM) exposures early in the year, which management said would have left the business essentially flat excluding those losses. The bank said the IBCM pipeline entering the first quarter is the strongest at this point in several years.
• Private Bank: The division delivered a full-year post-tax return on tangible equity of 10.5%. Fourth-quarter revenues were €2.4 billion, with NII up 10% year over year. Non-interest expenses fell 11%, and the bank cited ongoing transformation efficiencies. Management said it closed additional branches in the quarter, totaling 126 branch closures for the year, contributing to workforce reductions of nearly 1,600, with further net reductions expected in 2026. Net inflows into assets under management were €27 billion for the full year.
• Asset Management (DWS): Deutsche Bank said DWS overachieved its 2025 financial targets, including reporting €4.64 in EPS for the full year. In the fourth quarter, profit before tax improved 73% year over year and return on tangible equity increased by 20 percentage points to 41%. Assets under management rose to €1.08 trillion, supported by market effects and €10 billion of quarterly net inflows.

2026 outlook and leadership transition

Looking ahead, Deutsche Bank said it expects full-year 2026 revenues to increase to around €33 billion, supported by the projected NII increase to €14 billion and growth in net commission and fee income. For the first quarter, management’s baseline expectation is for revenues to be flat year over year, citing normalization in corporate and other revenues and a difficult comparison versus a very strong FIC performance in the prior-year quarter, while noting a “very good start” in January.

Non-interest expenses in 2026 are expected to rise to slightly above €21 billion, including about €900 million of incremental investments intended to support growth and efficiency initiatives.

The call also marked a leadership milestone: von Moltke said it was his final results presentation before handing the CFO role to Raja Akram, with Sewing praising von Moltke’s contributions during the bank’s transformation and citing a “seamless transition.”

About Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB)

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded in 1870 to support German foreign trade, the firm has grown into a full-service bank offering a wide range of banking, advisory and transaction services to corporate, institutional, and private clients. Over its history the bank has expanded internationally and developed capabilities across capital markets, investment banking, retail and commercial banking, and wealth management.

The bank’s core business activities include corporate and investment banking—covering financing, advisory, sales and trading, and capital markets services—along with private & commercial banking for individual and small-to-medium enterprise clients.