Itaú has a profit of R$12.6 billion in 3Q26, but the increase slows down with delays from small companies

Between July and September 2026, Itaú Unibanco (ITUB4) presented R$12.617 billion in recurring gains from a management perspective, which represents growth of 6.2% over the same period in 2025, according to Bloomberg Línea. According to Exame, this is the bank's 12th consecutive quarterly advance, but the pace of growth has been losing momentum.

The slowdown becomes clearer when looking at the sequence of the year. According to Bloomberg Línea, profit growth was 10.4% between January and March and 7.8% between April and June. Seu Dinheiro reports recurring net profit of R$12.6 billion, an increase of 6.7% in the annual comparison and 2.5% over the previous quarter.

The main point of attention is the credit portfolio. The Bloomberg Línea headline attributes the smaller increase in profits to corporate defaults, and in the material released by the bank it appears that the outstanding installments of MSMEs, which include micro, small and medium-sized companies, resumed their upward trend in the period. If we leave aside the Colombian retail business, transferred in July, Exame calculates an increase of 6.2% year on year and 1.7% compared to the previous quarter.

According to Bloomberg Línea, the result followed Bloomberg's average market projection, which pointed to R$12.63 billion. Your Money, however, cites a consensus of R$12.714 billion and classifies the result as below this estimate, which shows that projections vary depending on the source.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the ADR ITUB fell 1.67% in regular trading and closed at US$7.05, according to Bloomberg Línea. After closing, at 4:45 pm in New York, the stock was at US$7.04, a drop of 0.14%.

As a European reference, according to Times Brasil, Crédit Agricole recorded a net profit of €1.99 billion between July and September, compared to €1.69 billion twelve months earlier, with revenue of €7.09 billion, 7.5% higher. The result was driven by asset capture and corporate and investment banking. In France, real estate credit lost strength, while in Italy the portfolio advanced. Visible Alpha's estimate pointed to €1.99 billion in net income and €7.03 billion in revenue.

Impacts for those who invest in paper

For those who follow ITUB4, the central point is the quality of growth. Profit continues to rise, but at a slower pace, and defaults by small companies become the variable to watch in the next balance sheets. As the result was close to consensus in one of the readings, the effect on the share may be limited, and the decline in ADR in the period was not explained by the sources. Without indicating purchase or sale, the investor can monitor whether MSME arrears continue to rise and whether the slowdown in profits continues in the coming quarters.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.