National Australia Bank
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SYDNEY — Shares of Ltd. rose 2.7% on Friday, recovering part of a heavy selloff that followed the lender's disappointing full-year results a day earlier.

NAB shares gained A$1.04 to close at A$40.00, after trading between A$39.09 and A$40.29. About 11.7 million shares changed hands, and the bank's market value stood at roughly A$125 billion.

Thursday's slide

The rebound followed a steep drop. NAB shares were on track for their worst one-day decline since February 2025 on Thursday after bad debt charges nearly doubled and came in well above analyst expectations.

Results missed forecasts

Cash earnings for the year ended Sept. 30 declined 13.4% to A$6.14 billion, below the Visible Alpha consensus of about A$6.33 billion.

One-off items weighed on the headline number. Excluding A$1.35 billion in large notable items, cash earnings were broadly flat at A$7.09 billion.

Bad debts were a major concern. Credit impairment charges rose 86% to A$1.55 billion, including a A$403 million top-up to forward-looking economic provisions.

There were positives. Net interest margin rose 6 basis points to 1.80%. NAB declared an 85-cent fully franked final dividend, payable Dec. 15, 2026.

Restructuring

NAB is cutting costs. Chief Executive Andrew Irvine said the bank's actions, including axing up to 2,500 jobs before September next year, were designed to meet current challenges. He said the moves would "better position NAB to respond to customer expectations, to rising competition" and rapid technological change.

Brokers split

UBS and Morgans both cut their price targets on NAB after the result, but UBS rates the bank a buy while Morgans advises clients to trim their holdings.

Defensive buying

Friday's gain came amid a broader shift toward banks. Banks caught a defensive bid as miners and tech stocks slumped on the global AI rout.

The stock remains about 7% lower than a year ago.