State Bank of India shares plunged more than 11% over two trading sessions after the country's largest public-sector bank reported a miss on the bottom line in its Q4FY26 results, with net interest margin slipping below 3% and treasury losses adding to the pressure. Eight prominent global and domestic brokerages have since weighed in with a broad range of ratings, highlighting resilient loan growth and broadly stable asset quality, while flagging margin headwinds from repo-linked repricing as a key concern.

Q4FY26 Financial Performance

SBI's net profit rose 5.60% year-on-year but fell 6.40% quarter-on-quarter to ₹1,618.84 crore in Q4FY26, falling short of analyst estimates. Net interest income grew 4% year-on-year but declined 1% quarter-on-quarter to ₹44,380 crore, missing forecasts despite strong loan book expansion. NIM fell to 2.80% amid the transmission of repo rate cuts, marking the sharpest compression among large banks. The following table captures the key financial metrics from the quarter:

SBI stock declined 4.52% on the BSE on Monday, taking its two-day fall to more than 11%, compared to a 1.70% decline in the Sensex over the same period. The stock moved from ₹1,091.80 on May 7 to a peak of ₹1,094.87 on May 8 before closing at ₹973.50 on May 11.

Management Guidance

Management guided for credit growth of 3–4.5% going forward and expects to sustain domestic NIM above 3% in FY27, with Return on Assets (RoA) staying above 1%. The bank maintained its credit cost guidance at 50 basis points, while also guiding for 13–15% loan growth, Return on Equity (RoE) above 15%, and long-term profitability targets.

Brokerage Ratings and Target Prices at a Glance

The following table summarises the current ratings and target prices assigned by all eight brokerages:

Bullish Stances: BoFA, CLSA, JPMorgan, Kotak, and Macquarie

BoFA Securities maintains a Buy rating with a target price of ₹1,200, noting that 6% YoY PAT growth, driven by strong loan growth and lower credit costs, was sufficient to offset pressure on net interest margins from repo-linked repricing and lower non-interest income. Management has guided for 13–15% FY27 loan growth, NIM above 3%, credit costs below 50bps, and RoA above 1%, which BoFA views as supportive of its positive stance.

CLSA maintains an Outperform rating at ₹1,275, the highest target among all eight brokerages. The firm notes that a Q4FY26 pre-tax profit beat was achieved on the back of lower operating expenses, lower credit costs, and higher recoveries, even as net interest income came in weak and NIM compression from repo-linked repricing was sharper than expected. CLSA points to strong 17% loan growth, improving deposits, stable CASA ratios, and healthy asset quality as factors that kept the overall performance solid.

JPMorgan maintains an Overweight rating at ₹1,225, acknowledging a weaker-than-expected quarter characterised by softer NII growth and sharper-than-anticipated NIM contraction. The brokerage notes that management remains confident of margin recovery in FY27, while asset quality stayed healthy with low credit costs despite a slight seasonal uptick in slippages.

Kotak Institutional Equities maintains a Buy rating at ₹1,250, noting that 5% YoY earnings growth driven by sharply lower provisions and strong 17% loan growth offset weaker operating profits and a 20bps QoQ NIM decline. The brokerage expects a near-term pause in rerating until margin recovery becomes visible.

Macquarie maintains an Outperform rating at ₹1,150, acknowledging that Q4FY26 earnings missed estimates due to weaker margins and trading losses from a higher floating-rate loan mix. However, strong asset quality and expected 15% ROEs keep valuations attractive at 1.6x FY27E P/BV.

Cautious Views: UBS, Bernstein, and Morgan Stanley

UBS retains a Neutral rating at ₹1,080, highlighting a QoQ decline in net interest income and an 18bps NIM compression attributable to loan repricing, which offset healthy corporate-led loan growth and stable asset quality. UBS expects RoA pressure to persist over FY27–28, driven by normalisation of treasury gains and credit costs alongside subdued margin trends.

Bernstein maintains a Market Perform rating at ₹1,300, noting that strong 17% YoY loan growth and improved asset quality were offset by the sharpest NIM compression among large banks, a seasonal rise in slippages, and treasury MTM losses. Management reaffirmed FY27 growth, profitability, and asset quality guidance with a long-term commitment to 1%+ RoA and 15%+ RoE.

Morgan Stanley maintains an Equal-weight rating at ₹980, the most conservative target among all brokerages, highlighting concerns over the sharp NIM decline despite management expecting recovery through better loan yields. The brokerage has cut its FY27–28 NIM and EPS forecasts, though the bank still guides for healthy 13–15% loan growth assuming stable macro conditions.

Key Themes Across Analyst Views

Across all eight brokerage assessments, several common themes emerge:

• NIM pressure from repo-linked loan repricing is a shared concern, with compression noted across QoQ and YoY comparisons, including a 20bps QoQ decline flagged by Kotak and the sharpest compression among large banks highlighted by Bernstein
• Loan growth remains a positive driver, with 17% YoY growth and management guidance of 13–15% for FY27 cited as supportive across multiple brokerages
• Asset quality is broadly described as stable with low credit costs, though a seasonal uptick in slippages was flagged by JPMorgan and Bernstein, with fresh slippages rising to ₹5,548 crore from ₹4,860 crore in the prior quarter
• Provisions and credit costs are identified as a key earnings support, with provisions declining 36.30% QoQ to ₹2,870 crore and Kotak specifically noting sharply lower provisions as a driver of earnings growth
• Management guidance on NIM above 3%, credit costs below 50bps, RoA above 1%, and RoE above 15% for FY27 underpins the bullish cases, while UBS and Morgan Stanley remain cautious on the timeline for margin recovery

State Bank of India reported its highest-ever annual net profit of ₹80,032 crores in FY26, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 12.88%, driven by higher Net Interest Income and Non-Interest Income. The bank's analyst presentation for the quarter and year ended 31.03.2026 was submitted to the stock exchanges on 08.05.2026, in compliance with Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The filing, bearing reference CC/S&B/AND/2026-27/105, was digitally signed by Aruna N. Dak, DGM (Compliance & Company Secretary). Subsequently, in compliance with Regulation 47 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, the bank submitted a newspaper publication disclosure bearing reference CC/S&B/SD/2026-27/117, confirming that the financial results for the quarter and year ended 31.03.2026 were published on 09.05.2026 in the Economic Times (English), Navbharat Times (Hindi), and Maharashtra Times (Marathi). This disclosure was digitally signed by Shima Devi, AGM (Company Secretary), State Bank of India, Shares & Bonds Department.

Key Financial Performance – FY26

State Bank of India's operating profit for FY26 stood at ₹1,23,015 crores, registering an 11.25% YoY growth. Return on Assets (ROA) improved to 1.12% and Return on Equity (ROE) stood at 18.57% for FY26. The Whole Bank Net Interest Margin (NIM) was 2.91%, while Domestic NIM stood at 3.03%. The cost-to-income ratio improved by 153 bps to 50.11% in FY26 from 51.64% in FY25. Capital Adequacy Ratio strengthened to 15.40%, up 115 bps YoY, with CET 1 Ratio at 12.29%.

The following table summarises key financial indicators for FY26:

Quarterly Financial Snapshot

For Q4FY26, the bank reported a net profit of ₹19,684 crores, up 5.58% over Q4FY25, though down 6.39% sequentially from Q3FY26. Net Interest Income for Q4FY26 stood at ₹44,380 crores, a 4.13% rise over Q4FY25. Total provisions for Q4FY26 declined sharply by 36.56% YoY to ₹8,020 crores, reflecting improved asset quality. Earning Per Share (EPS) for FY26 stood at ₹87.59. The standalone financial results also reflect a Net Worth of ₹4,72,894.50 crores and a Debt Equity Ratio of 0.56 as at 31.03.2026, compared to ₹3,89,071.49 crores and 0.68 respectively as at 31.03.2025.

The standalone results were approved and taken on record by the Board of Directors at their meeting held on 08.05.2026. The Board of Directors, chaired by Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, authorised the submission of results. The full format of the quarterly and annual financial results is available on the stock exchange websites and on the bank's website at sbi.bank.in.

Credit and Deposit Growth

Whole Bank advances crossed ₹49 trillion, registering a YoY growth of 16.87%. Domestic advances grew 16.33% YoY to ₹41,89,686 crores, led by robust growth across segments — SME at 20.99%, Agri at 19.68%, and Retail Personal at 15.22%. Foreign Offices Advances grew 20.01% YoY. On the liability side, total deposits crossed ₹59 trillion, growing 11.03% YoY. CASA deposits stood at ₹22,62,011 crores, up 9.53% YoY, with Savings Bank Deposits growing 10.60% and Term Deposits rising 11.90% YoY.

Asset Quality

Asset quality showed consistent improvement, with the Gross NPA Ratio declining to 1.49% in Mar 26 from 1.82% in Mar 25, and the Net NPA Ratio easing to 0.39% from 0.47%. Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) stood at 74.36%, while PCR including AUCA was at 91.97%. Total non-NPA provisions not included in PCR stood at ₹29,713 crores, approximately 158% of Net NPAs at the end of FY26. The credit cost for FY26 was 0.37%, marginally lower than 0.38% in FY25.

Digital Banking and YONO

Digital banking continued to be a key growth driver, with 98.7% of transactions conducted through alternate channels. YONO, the bank's digital platform, recorded 10.02 crore registered customers, with 66% of savings accounts opened through YONO in FY26. New YONO crossed 4 crore registrations. In Q4FY26, YONO registrations grew 18.2% YoY to 37.59 lakh, while Regular Savings Bank Accounts opened through YONO grew 25.0% YoY to 7.29 lakh. The bank maintained digital leadership in debit card spends, ATMs, and mobile banking transactions by both value and volume.

Subsidiaries and Group Financials

The SBI Group reported a consolidated net profit of ₹83,299 crores for FY26, up 7.40% YoY, on total income of ₹7,12,644 crores. Group ROA stood at 1.07% and ROE at 17.56%. Total Group Assets grew 13.77% YoY to ₹83,21,569 crores. Key subsidiary performances are summarised below:

SBI-sponsored Regional Rural Banks (9 RRBs post-amalgamation) reported a net profit of ₹2,638 crores, up 14.66% YoY, with Gross Advances growing 9.50% YoY to ₹1,24,539 crores and Gross NPA declining 84 bps YoY to 2.45%.

CSR and Sustainability

State Bank of India spent ₹709 crores on CSR activities during FY26. The bank's sustainable finance portfolio stood at ₹1,67,617 crores (fund-based) and ₹21,408 crores (non-fund-based), with renewable energy capacity financed exceeding 59 GW. The total workforce stood at 2,45,131, with women comprising 28.5% of the workforce. Under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, 7,906 cycles were distributed to girl students and 6,80,418 sanitary pad kits were distributed across schools during FY26.