Westpac (ASX:WBC) Share Price on 5 December 2025: FY25 Result, Dividend Boost, Job Cuts and 2026 Outlook

Investors in Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) head into the final weeks of 2025 with the stock trading near multi‑year highs, a fresh full‑year result, a higher dividend on the way, and a very noisy backdrop of cost‑cutting and governance debates.

Below is a deep dive into Westpac’s share price today, the FY25 numbers, current broker forecasts, and the key risks and catalysts shaping the stock as of 5 December 2025.

Westpac share price today: flirting with A$38 after a strong 2025 run

Around midday on 5 December 2025, Westpac shares are trading at roughly A$38.0 (about A$37.97–38.14 based on different data vendors), up around 1% intraday. ^[1]

Key price and valuation snapshots:

Live price: ~A$38 per share at midday 5 December
Last close (4 Dec): A$37.66 ^[2]
Market capitalisation: about A$129–129.9 billion, making Westpac Australia’s number‑two bank by market cap behind CBA. ^[3]
Trailing P/E: ~18.9x on recent earnings. ^[4]

On a year‑to‑date basis, Westpac’s share price has climbed roughly 17% in 2025, from around A$32.24 at the start of the year to just under A$38 now. ^[5] The stock is also trading roughly 30% above its 52‑week low around the high‑A$20s reached in April. ^[6] Reuters puts the 2025 rise at a bit over 15%, depending on the exact cut‑off date used. ^[7]

In other words: 2025 has been a good year to own WBC so far, and the share price already bakes in a decent amount of optimism.

FY25 result: flat profit, better margins, and strong balance sheet

Westpac released its full‑year 2025 results (year to 30 September) on 3 November. The headline numbers were solid but not spectacular: ^[8]

Statutory net profit attributable to owners: A$6.92 billion, down about 1% from FY24’s A$6.99 billion.
Net interest income: A$19.38 billion, up 3% year‑on‑year.
Non‑interest income: A$3.00 billion, up 6%.
Net operating income: A$22.38 billion, up 4%.
Operating expenses: A$11.92 billion, up 9%, reflecting higher staff and technology spend plus restructuring charges.
Impairment charges: A$424 million, down 21%, thanks to improving credit quality.

Margins are critical for bank investors, and here Westpac finally delivered some relief:

Group net interest margin (NIM) excluding notable items was 1.95% in 2H25, up 3 basis points on 1H25.
Core NIM improved to 1.82%, up 2 basis points. ^[9]

Balance‑sheet growth was respectable rather than explosive:

Customer deposits grew 7% over the year to about A$723 billion.
Gross loans grew 6% to around A$856 billion, with strong contributions from business and institutional lending. ^[10]

Credit quality remains a bright spot. Stressed exposures as a share of tangible equity eased from 1.45% to 1.28%, and impairment charges equated to just 4 basis points of average loans in 2H25, down from 6 bps in the first half. ^[11]

Capital: CET1 stuffed well above regulatory minimums

Westpac’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio sits at 12.5% on an APRA basis, comfortably above the bank’s new target of more than 11.25% in normal conditions and well above APRA’s minimum requirement of 10.5% that will apply from 1 January 2026. ^[12]

That CET1 surplus equates to around A$3.1 billion of capital above target even after allowing for the second‑half dividend, giving the board plenty of flexibility for buybacks or further organic growth. ^[13]

The upshot: Westpac’s 2025 result was a classic “big, boring bank” set of numbers – modest revenue growth, stubborn costs, low bad debts and a fortress balance sheet.

Dividends: 77‑cent final, 153 cents for the year and a fully franked yield

Income‑focused investors have a lot of attention on the final ordinary dividend:

Final dividend: 77 cents per share, fully franked, with NZ imputation credits attached.
Payment date: 19 December 2025, with the stock having traded ex‑dividend on 6 November. ^[14]
Full‑year ordinary dividend: 153 cents per share, up around 8% on FY24. ^[15]
Payout ratio: about 76% of net profit, at the upper end of Westpac’s preferred 65–75% range. ^[16]

At today’s share price near A$38, the cash dividend yield is roughly 3.9–4.1%, and when you gross up the franking credits, the grossed‑up yield is around 5.5–5.7%, depending on whose numbers you use. ^[17]

Westpac’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) is operating without a discount, with shares purchased on‑market over 15 trading days from 12 November. ^[18]

On consensus estimates compiled by Intelligent Investor, dividends are expected to edge up towards A$1.55–1.60 per share over the next couple of years, implying a forward fully‑franked yield trending towards the mid‑4% area at current prices. ^[19]

Transformation, job cuts and the A$273m “Fit for Growth” charge

If the P&L is the calm surface of the lake, there’s a lot of churn underneath.

In October, Westpac flagged a restructuring expense of A$273 million in 2H25 under its “Fit for Growth” productivity program, on top of the ongoing UNITE simplification project. ^[20]

Multiple reports through 2025 outline what that actually means:

The bank is planning to cut more than 1,500 roles, its biggest redundancy round in a decade, largely in head‑office and support positions. ^[21]
A Sovereign Magazine analysis describes a technology overhaul aimed at cutting Westpac’s technology stack by around two‑thirds, pushing harder into cloud infrastructure and AI‑driven processes, with management targeting about A$750 million in cost savings by decade‑end. ^[22]
Banks across the sector are swinging the axe: one recent piece tallied more than 5,000 roles cut by the major banks in 2025, including roughly 1,700 roles at Westpac. ^[23]

Unions and staff representatives have been publicly critical, arguing that Westpac is cutting jobs despite multi‑billion dollar profits and warning of risks to customer service – particularly in mortgage hardship and regional communities. ^[24]

For shareholders, the question is whether the promised cost savings and digital efficiencies actually show up in future expense lines, or whether they’re eaten up by new investment and ongoing regulatory programmes. So far, expenses in FY25 were still up 9% year‑on‑year, so the “growth” part of “Fit for Growth” has yet to be accompanied by obvious cost shrinkage. ^[25]

Governance flare‑up ahead of the 11 December AGM

Just to keep things interesting, Westpac also heads into its Annual General Meeting on 11 December 2025 with a governance headache.

Two influential proxy advisers – ISS and CGI Glass Lewis – have both urged institutional investors to vote against the re‑election of non‑executive director Peter Nash, who chairs the board’s audit committee. ^[26]

Their concerns centre on:

Nash’s prior six‑year stint on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) board, which suffered high‑profile operational failures including a major trading platform outage.
His former senior partnership at KPMG, which is now Westpac’s external auditor, raising perceptions of a conflict of interest. ^[27]

Westpac has declined to comment, and Nash hasn’t responded publicly to these criticisms. So far the market seems relaxed – Reuters notes that Westpac shares are still up more than 15% year‑to‑date – but corporate governance‑sensitive funds will be watching the AGM vote closely. ^[28]

It’s unlikely to change the bank’s earnings trajectory in the short term, but it does add a reputational overhang just as Westpac is trying to convince regulators and investors that its risk culture has been overhauled.

What analysts and valuation models say about Westpac stock

This is where things get spicy. Despite the strong 2025 share‑price run, broker research and quant models are generally cautious on WBC at current levels.

Consensus target prices: mid‑30s, not A$38

Across several data providers, the average 12‑month target price for ASX:WBC clusters in the A$34–35 per share range:

Investing.com (13 analysts): average target A$33.9, with a range from A$30.5 to A$40 and an overall “Sell” consensus (0 Buys, 8 Sells, 5 Holds). ^[29]
TipRanks: average target about A$34.5, with “no upside potential” versus the current share price. ^[30]
Stockopedia: consensus target A$34.06, about 9% below a recent close around A$37.59, and next‑year EPS forecast of about A$2.07. ^[31]
Fintel (ASX listing): one‑year target around A$34–35, with a range stretching roughly A$28–42 depending on the broker. ^[32]

A recent piece from StocksDownUnder notes a consensus target around A$33, with brokers split: UBS more constructive with a Buy rating and a A$37 target, while others such as Morgans and Ord Minnett see fair value nearer A$30–31. ^[33]

On average, then, analysts are signalling modest downside from today’s price – not a train wreck, but not screamingly cheap either.

Valuation multiples: premium to peers, discount to CBA

Using both Westpac’s own numbers and external platforms: ^[34]

Trailing P/E for WBC: about 18–19x.
Consensus forward P/E: around 16x based on forecast EPS of ~A$2.11 for the next full year. ^[35]
For comparison, 2025F P/E multiples on consensus numbers:
- ANZ: ~13.7x
- NAB: ~16.8x
- CBA: ~22.9x. ^[36]

So Westpac trades:

At a premium to ANZ, which the market views as cheaper but a bit more cyclical.
Roughly in line with NAB on forward earnings.
At a sizeable discount to CBA, which investors consistently pay up for thanks to its dominant retail position and track record.

A popular valuation platform, Simply Wall St, currently flags WBC as roughly 20–22% overvalued versus its intrinsic value estimate after the recent rally, with revenue and earnings growth expected to be fairly modest. ^[37]

Quick numbers: what do the earnings imply?

Broker forecasts compiled by Intelligent Investor point to: ^[38]

NPAT rising into the low‑A$7 billion region over the next two years.
EPS climbing to about A$2.22 on a 2026‑style horizon.
Dividend per share nudging up to A$1.60, fully franked.

If that 2026‑ish EPS of ~A$2.22 proves accurate:

At a more conservative 13–15x P/E (closer to ANZ’s multiple), you’d get a theoretical value range around A$29–33 per share.
At Westpac’s current 17–18x multiple, you get high‑A$30s, in line with today’s price and some of the more optimistic broker targets.

So a lot depends on whether the market keeps rewarding WBC with a near‑NAB multiple, or decides it should be more ANZ‑like in valuation once the excitement around the transformation fades.

Offshore investors: the OTC line looks cheaper

For global investors looking at the OTC‑traded WEBNF line, Fintel reports an average one‑year price target of US$23.50, up from US$21.35 previously, versus a recent closing price around US$17.40 – implying roughly 35% upside on that line. ^[39]

That gap is mostly about FX and cross‑market valuation quirks rather than a free lunch, but it’s notable that US‑based coverage sees more upside than Australian brokers do on ASX:WBC.

Macro backdrop: rates, housing and New Zealand

The environment around Westpac is finally starting to look less hostile than in 2023–24, but it’s not exactly a party.

From Westpac’s own macro assumptions in the FY25 results: ^[40]

Australian GDP growth is expected to lift from around 1.3% in 2024 to 2.1% in 2025 and 2.4% in 2026.
The unemployment rate is forecast to stabilise near 4.5%.
Housing credit growth is projected to be roughly 6.6% in 2025 and 6.5% in 2026, helped by ongoing housing under‑supply.
Business credit demand is expected to remain strong, with forecasts around 9% growth in 2025 and a bit over 7% in 2026.

Westpac also reports that credit impairment provisions remain robust, at just under A$5.0 billion, and collectively assessed provisions sit at about 1.25% of credit risk‑weighted assets, giving the bank some cushion if the economy wobbles. ^[41]

On the New Zealand side, Westpac’s economics team expects the Recovery Formerly Known As “Imminent” to remain slow: export demand is soft, households are under pressure and rate cuts are taking time to filter through because of NZ’s prevalence of fixed‑rate mortgages. Credit growth is expected to re‑accelerate in 2026, but the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has signalled that the official cash rate is likely at its trough, with future moves more likely upward from late 2026. ^[42]

All of this feeds directly into Westpac’s book: softer margins in 2025 as rates fell, but improving borrower health and a better lending outlook into 2026–27.

2025 in context: margins under pressure, then stabilising

Zooming back, 2025 has really been a story of margin pressure followed by stabilisation.

In Q1 2025, Westpac’s core NIM fell to 1.81%, down 2 bps from the second half of 2024, and the stock fell as much as 6% in a day on the update. ^[43]
By the first half result in May, net profit for the half was down about 1%, as technology and UNITE‑related costs grew 6% and margins were squeezed by intense mortgage competition and deposit mix shifts. ^[44]
The full‑year result shows that margins stabilised and even ticked higher in the second half, helped by better pricing in business and institutional lending and a slight easing of funding cost pressures. ^[45]

So while the FY25 numbers aren’t dazzling, they are at least moving in the right direction on margin – which is precisely what the market had been worried about for much of the year.

Westpac share price outlook: key upside and downside drivers

Putting all the current news, forecasts and analyses together, the medium‑term outlook for Westpac’s share price revolves around a handful of big levers.

What could push WBC higher?

Execution on cost‑out: If the A$273m restructuring charge and 1,500+ job cuts translate into visible, sustained reductions in the cost base while revenue grows mid‑single digits, the market could be willing to maintain or even expand today’s P/E multiple. ^[46]
Benign credit cycle: With provisions high and stressed exposures falling, a continued run of very low bad debts would keep returns on equity solid even if margins don’t expand much. ^[47]
Macro upside: Stronger‑than‑expected GDP growth, a housing market that stays firm, and business credit demand nearer the top end of Westpac’s forecasts would support loan growth and fee income. ^[48]
Capital returns: With CET1 well above target, there’s room for further buybacks or special distributions if regulators are comfortable and growth doesn’t soak up all the surplus capital. ^[49]

What could drag the share price down?

Valuation gravity: If the market decides a mid‑teens multiple is more appropriate than ~18x for a low‑growth bank, share price math starts pointing back towards the low‑ to mid‑A$30s, broadly in line with consensus targets. ^[50]
Margin disappointment: Renewed deposit competition, unexpected rate moves or a deterioration in funding spreads could reopen the NIM story on the downside. Past quarters have shown how quickly the stock can sell off when margins surprise negatively. ^[51]
Execution and reputational risk on restructuring: Large job cuts and offshore moves are politically and socially sensitive. Missteps that damage customer service, IT stability or brand could quickly offset the financial benefits of cost savings. ^[52]
Governance or regulatory shocks: A messy AGM, further criticism around board oversight, or new regulatory actions could force additional investment in risk and compliance, lifting costs again. ^[53]

Bottom line: a high‑quality franchise that the market already likes – a lot

As of 5 December 2025, Westpac is:

A well‑capitalised, systemically important bank with improving margins, robust credit quality and a fully‑franked yield around 4% cash.
Trading around A$38, near the top of its 2025 range and comfortably above most published 12‑month broker targets. ^[54]
In the middle of a major restructuring and digital transformation, with all the usual execution risk that entails. ^[55]

For long‑term investors, the current setup looks like this: the franchise is strong, the balance sheet is robust, and the dividend stream is attractive – but a lot of that story is already priced in. Future share price performance is likely to hinge less on big macro surprises and more on the unglamorous work of cutting costs, modernising systems and keeping regulators and customers happy.

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