UBS
Nice start to the year
UBS came out swinging in Q1, reporting a much bigger profit than a year ago as revenue picked up across its core franchises. For a bank, that’s basically the equivalent of the engine not just starting — it’s purring.
The buyback carrot
The bigger headline for shareholders: UBS said it remains on pace to buy back $3 billion worth of shares. That matters because buybacks are the corporate version of saying, “We’ve got enough cash, and we’d like your slice of the pie to get bigger.”
Why investors should care
Banks live and die by a few boring-but-important things: revenue momentum, cost discipline, and capital returns. UBS is checking at least two of those boxes here, which helps explain why the stock could get some love from anyone looking for a European bank that’s not acting like a drama queen.
Big picture
If UBS can keep delivering solid core revenue while returning cash to shareholders, that’s a pretty friendly setup. Less hand-wringing, more buyback math — the kind of trade investors usually don’t mind.