Axis Bank Q3 profit beat has investors cheering. Margin recovery next test
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Axis Bank’s investors heaved a sigh of relief after the lender delivered a strong profit beat for the December quarter (Q3FY26), following several quarters weighed down by one-offs and disappointments. Net profit rose 3% year-on-year to ₹6,490 crore, sharply surpassing estimates that had anticipated a decline.
The stock surged over 5% on Tuesday, hitting a fresh 52-week high of ₹1,333.20 during trading hours. The impressive profit scorecard was underpinned by a higher-than-expected acceleration in net interest income (NII), along with improved operating efficiency. NII rose 5% year-on-year to ₹14,286 crore, while core pre-provision operating profit grew 7%, aided by headcount reductions and reversals of accruals that offset higher employee costs under the new labour codes.
Sequentially, profits jumped 28%, benefiting from the absence of one-offs that had weighed on Q2 results. In the September quarter, the bank had set aside ₹1,231 crore in additional provisions mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over misclassified priority sector loans. It is worth noting that Axis Bank was among the few lenders where deposit growth outpaced credit growth.
Advances rose 14% year-on-year, while deposits grew 15%, driven largely by institutional inflows. This is particularly striking in a fiercely competitive deposit environment, a longstanding challenge for the industry, as highlighted by Axis Bank’s managing director and chief executive officer Amitabh Chadhury while speaking on the sidelines at Davos 2026. Credit growth at the private sector lender was largely driven by the corporate segment, which makes up less than a third of the loan book, as the bank maintained a cautious approach to
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