Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 9,090,951 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 6,266,232 shares.The stock last traded at $12.5840 and had previously closed at $12.23.

The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.85%.The company had revenue of $18.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.89 billion.

Key Headlines Impacting Banco Santander

Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported record 2025 results, beat Q4 estimates and announced a large share buyback (around €5bn), supporting earnings quality and shareholder returns. Banco Santander Delivers Record 2025 Results and Launches €5 Billion Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement of Brazilian tax disputes (with other banks) removes a regulatory overhang but involved ~2.4bn reais of payments — clears uncertainty but has a cash impact. Itau, Santander, Citi strike deals to end Brazilian tax disputes
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets on related Chilean depositary receipts (BSAC), a regional note that could affect parts of Santander’s Latin America valuation but is not a company‑wide catalyst. BSAC price target increased
• Negative Sentiment: Announced acquisition of Webster Financial (~$12.2–12.3bn) to expand U.S. presence; the deal triggered investor skepticism about short‑term execution, share dilution and integration risk — the market reacted negatively. Santander shares fall on proposed $12.2 billion Webster deal
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation and governance questions emerged after the Webster deal: a law firm is investigating the adequacy of the price/process for Webster shareholders, increasing near‑term legal/PR risk. Webster Financial investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Santander issued supplementary disclosures clarifying its use of non‑IFRS metrics and explicitly flagged broad risks to its outlook (including acquisition execution), which has weighed on investor confidence. Santander clarifies non-IFRS metrics and flags risks

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 67.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,034 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 14,482,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,392 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 8.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,844,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $134,605,000 after buying an additional 1,000,811 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,211,673 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,981,872 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,130,000 after purchasing an additional 376,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.87 and a 200 day moving average of $10.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.72.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.