WBC - westpac

 WBC

14-07-26

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Over the last five years, ASX:WBC has traded near a 52-week high around \(\$43.32\) AUD. While the bank maintained strong structural profitability and balance-sheet discipline, revenue growth has been slow due to intense mortgage competition. [1, 2, 3]

Profitability

• Net Income: Hovering around \(\$7.01\) billion AUD in profit annually over the trailing twelve months, with the bank’s 1H 2026 results showing a further 3% increase in net profit to \(\$3.41\) billion AUD. [1, 2]
• Net Margin: Sits at a robust ~31%, with an impressive operating margin above 50%. [1, 2]
• Net Interest Margin (NIM): Currently sitting at roughly 1.93%, outperforming the major bank average despite narrowing margins industry-wide. [1, 2]

Debt & Balance Sheet

• Capital Health: Westpac’s balance sheet remains highly liquid, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 12.4%, well above regulatory requirements. [1]
• Bad Debts: Provisions for bad and doubtful debts have been tightly managed, with credit impairment charges staying remarkably low as household financial stress eases. [1, 2]

Return on Equity (ROE)

• ROE: The Return on Equity has averaged around 9%–9.8% over the period. While deemed solid by traditional banking standards, it sits modestly below the 10%–12% target often achieved by some of its peers. [1, 2, 3]

Shareholder Returns

• Dividends: Westpac maintains a consistent 1H 2026 interim dividend of 77 cents per share, fully franked, providing an annual dividend yield of approximately 4.2%. [1, 2]

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The share price hasn't really kept up with inflation over the decades.

Over the years, only the dividend & franking credits have kept it in my portfolio... I bought this decades ago.

If it dropped to $20 It would probably be a buy. Current price is $36

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