Itaú Unibanco expands buyback to 200M shares, targeting employee incentives and cancellations
- Itaú Unibanco approved buying up to 200 million preferred shares between Feb 2026 and Aug 2027.
- Itaú Unibanco will deliver shares for employee incentives and cancel repurchased shares, optimizing cash use.
- Itaú Unibanco says buyback has limited accounting impact, funded from cash, may raise dividend per share and ownership.
SÃO PAULO — Itaú Unibanco expands buyback plan, shifts focus to incentives and cancellations
Itaú Unibanco resolves to end its previous buyback program early and approves a new, larger repurchase plan that runs from Feb. 4, 2026 through Aug. 4, 2027. The board authorizes purchases of up to 200 million preferred shares, to be executed on stock exchanges at market value and intermediated by Itaú Corretora de Valores S.A. The bank specifies that the program does not involve capital reduction and cites Attachment G to CVM Resolution No. 80/22 for rules on trading its own shares; Gustavo Lopes Rodrigues is listed as the company’s Investor Relations officer.
The new programme targets two main uses: delivery of shares to employees and management under compensation and long‑term incentive plans and institutional projects, and the cancellation of repurchased shares. Itaú frames the programme as a tool to optimise use of available cash and to support employee compensation frameworks while maintaining compliance with Brazilian corporate and securities law. The 200 million preferred‑share cap represents about 3.74% of the preferred free float, based on the company’s Dec. 31, 2025 free float of 5,349,627,055 preferred shares and 456,130,473 common shares; the bank holds no common shares and 344,662 preferred shares as treasury stock.
Itaú signals limited accounting impact from the buyback even if the programme runs to full capacity, saying the financial amount spent would have no significant effect on reported results, though share cancellations could raise dividend per share and increase remaining shareholders’ ownership percentage. The bank notes potential effects on capital ratios but states the repurchases are not expected to materially change its operational strategy or risk profile through Aug. 4, 2027 and beyond. All repurchases are funded from available cash and will be periodically disclosed to investors and regulators.
2026 operating outlook and guidance
Itaú releases 2026 projections using a 2025 adjusted income statement baseline, forecasting total credit portfolio growth of 5.5%–9.5% (6.5%–10.5% in Brazil), client financial margin growth of 5.0%–9.0%, market financial margin between R$2.5 billion and R$5.5 billion, cost of credit of R$38.5 billion–R$43.5 billion, commissions/insurance growth of 5.0%–9.0%, non‑interest expense growth of 1.5%–5.5% and an effective tax rate of 29.5%–32.5%. For business management, it uses a circa‑15% annual cost of equity.
Disclosure and investor resources
The bank emphasises that its outlooks are forward‑looking and dependent on market and macroeconomic conditions, and it directs investors to the Management Discussion & Analysis, the fourth‑quarter 2025 earnings presentation and downloadable adjusted income statement spreadsheet on its Investor Relations website for assumptions and methodologies. Contact details for Investor Relations (Gustavo Lopes Rodrigues) are provided in the release.