UBS in Red at Open

UBS (NYSE:UBS) shares lost ground after the lender’s fourth-quarter results and up to $3 billion share buyback plans failed to impress.Switzerland’s largest bank on Tuesday reported net profit attributable to shareholders of $770 million, compared with a $483 million estimate in a company-provided consensus estimate and with a mean forecast of $886.4 million in a LSEG poll of analysts.Group revenue over the period hit $11.635 billion, versus analyst expectations of $11.64 billion in a LSEG analyst poll.The bank also announced plans to repurchase $1 billion of shares in the first half of 2025, along with up to an additional $2 billion over the second half of this year — but caveated that this target is subject to the lender achieving its “financial targets and the absence of material and immediate changes to the current capital regime in Switzerland.”The group further proposes a $0.90-per-share dividend for the 2024 financial year, up 29% year-on-year.Investment banking, according to news reports, shone over the fourth quarter, with underlying revenues up 37% year-on-year amid “strong growth” in global banking and global markets performance. The group’s global wealth management division logged a 10% hike in revenues over the fourth-quarter stretch, “largely driven by higher recurring net fee income, a decrease in negative other income and higher transaction-based income.”Shares of UBS opened down $2.38, or 6.8%, to $32.56.