Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) shares spiked 4% Thursday morning (30 April) on the back of a record first quarter, at a time when other banks have been generating less enthusiasm over results.
Only the day before, Lloyds Banking Group posted better-than-expected results. But the shares ended the day down 1.5%. So what’s so different about Standard Chartered? It has to be the lack of reliance on high street retail banking, with the heightened risks from inflation and interest rates that come with it.
In the words of CEO Bill Winters:
We delivered a record first quarter performance in 2026, with double digit growth in Wealth Solutions and Global Banking. Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty, our advantaged market presence and disciplined risk management give us confidence in our ability to perform.
Full-year outlook
Despite the fallout from the Middle East conflict, the bank still kept its 2026 full-year guidance unchanged. We should expect to see operating income hit around the bottom end of a 5%–7% growth range, year on year.
Near the top end would be nicer, but even 5% against this year’s economic backdrop seems more than acceptable to me. Net interest income, however, is likely to be “broadly flat” at constant currency. So that’s something we need to keep an eye on, with a year of uncertain interest rates ahead of us.
Record quarter
Within this set of results, a few highlights caught my eye:
- Operating profit of $5.9bn, up 9%.
- Profit before tax up 17% to $2.5bn.
- Return on tangible equity (RoTE) up to 17.4%.
This record quarter comes even as Standard Chartered faced $296m in impairment charges — with $190m of that related to Middle East fallout. But compared to the profit levels we’re seeing here, I’d say those are comfortable levels.
The resilience of Standard Chartered shares shows in the above comparison with Lloyds, which is firmly at the other end of the domestic/international banking scale.
But it does come with what might be a full valuation — as forecasts suggest a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11. Does that allow enough safety room for the risks that come with so much exposure to emerging markets? I’m really not sure. And we only have fairly modest dividends to look forward to, with a 2.6% yield on the cards for 2026.
Looking forward…
As well as the profit guidance mentioned above, management expects reported costs for the full year to remain broadly flat. And we should see a statutory RoTE of “greater than 12%.” That might turn out a little disappointing if it’s too far below this quarter’s 17.4%.
So, at today’s valuation, do I rate Standard Chartered shares as something for ISA investors to consider buying? For those who can stand the potential volatility I think we could see in the short term, I’d say yes.
