Westpac (ASX:WBC) Share Price Today: Latest News, Dividend Update, Analyst Forecasts and 2026 Outlook (20 Dec 2025)

Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) heads into the final stretch of 2025 with two forces pulling in opposite directions: a “big bank bid” that’s kept Australian financials resilient, and a growing pile of evidence that earnings growth in mortgages is getting harder (and pricier) to extract.

As of Saturday, 20 December 2025, the ASX is closed for the weekend — so the most recent market read is Friday’s close. Westpac ended the last session at A$38.76, up about 1.33% on the day, with the stock trading in a A$38.35–A$38.93 range. ^[1]

That price action lands at an awkwardly fascinating intersection: Westpac has delivered strong 12‑month performance (helped by the sector’s re-rating), yet a number of analyst consensus datasets still show price targets below the current share price — a classic setup for “great business, expensive stock” debates. ^[2]

Below is what matters for Westpac stock right now — the headlines moving sentiment, what analysts are forecasting, and the catalysts investors are lining up for early 2026.

Westpac share price snapshot on 20 December 2025

Because markets are shut today, most “today” price pages reflect the latest close/last trade.

Last price: A$38.76 (as of 19 Dec 2025 close) ^[3]
1‑day move: +A$0.51 / +1.33% (session move reported on FT market data) ^[4]
52‑week range: A$28.44 to A$41.00 ^[5]
1‑year change (FT data): +20.94% ^[6]

This matters because Westpac is trading not far from the top end of its 52‑week range — and when bank stocks get that stretched, the market typically demands a clean story on margins, cost control, and credit quality.

Dividend update: Westpac’s final dividend just hit accounts

A key reason investors tolerate “boring bank stocks” is the cash yield — and Westpac has just delivered its latest payment.

Westpac’s shareholder calendar shows the final dividend was payable on 19 December 2025, following the ex‑dividend date (6 Nov) and record date (7 Nov). ^[7]

That aligns with Westpac’s FY2025 results reporting, which included a final dividend of 77 Australian cents per share, taking the full‑year dividend to A$1.53. ^[8]

Why it matters for the stock (right now): the day after dividends are paid, investors often mentally “reset” to the next catalyst — and for Westpac, that’s less about the rear‑view mirror and more about whether 2026 brings (a) relief on funding/margins, or (b) a nastier credit cycle.

The macro backdrop: rates are steady, but confidence is wobbling

For bank investors, the economy doesn’t need to be booming — it just needs to be predictable enough that borrowers keep paying and deposit competition doesn’t turn into a knife fight.

Two very current signals are worth watching:

1) Consumer mood just slipped back into pessimism.
The Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index fell 9% in December to 94.5, dropping below 100 (where pessimists outnumber optimists). Reuters tied the move to renewed inflation and rate anxiety after upside surprises in inflation data. ^[9]

2) Westpac’s own economics team has shifted to “higher for longer.”
ABC reported that Westpac backtracked on a forecast of two RBA cuts and is now forecasting the RBA to stay on hold through 2026. ^[10]

These two signals can point in different directions for bank shares:

“Rates stay higher” can support earnings via margins (depending on deposit pricing pressure).
But weaker household confidence can eventually show up in slower credit growth or higher arrears — especially if unemployment rises or mortgage buffers shrink.

Mortgage competition is still the core battlefield

Westpac’s latest annual result showed the problem in plain numbers: profits didn’t collapse, but the home lending market is intensely competitive, which keeps pressure on pricing and margins.

Reuters reported Westpac’s annual profit slipped to A$6.99 billion (from A$7.11b), with net interest margin at 1.94%, and pointed directly to competition in home lending as a major factor. ^[11]

Meanwhile, Reuters also highlighted how the “Big Four” are trying to rebalance distribution economics: broker reliance has been rising at Westpac, with broker‑written loans increasing from 52% (2023) to 67.5% (2025), raising questions about proprietary channel strength and profitability. ^[12]

Translation for investors: even if Westpac grows its housing book, the market is watching how expensive that growth is — in pricing concessions, broker economics, and retention offers.

Governance and reputation headlines: board vote protest and scam pressure

Westpac’s share price isn’t just an earnings story; it’s also a “trust and governance” story — and the bank has faced visible scrutiny this month.

Reuters reported that Westpac director Peter Nash was re‑elected, but with a large protest vote (about 40% against) tied to concerns over his links to the Australian Securities Exchange during a period of operational upheaval. ^[13]

Earlier, Reuters reported major proxy advisers urged votes against Nash’s re‑election, citing governance concerns and oversight issues related to ASX failures. ^[14]

At the same annual meeting, CEO Anthony Miller also pushed for stronger action from social media platforms on scams, noting Westpac had spent more than A$500 million over five years on scam and fraud prevention — a reminder that compliance and fraud costs are now structurally “part of the business model,” not a temporary spike. ^[15]

Regulation watch: capital and rule changes that could alter the math

Two regulation-linked developments are on investor radar because they affect capital intensity and long‑run returns on equity.

APRA capital add‑on removal (Australia):
Reuters reported the prudential regulator removed the remaining A$500 million capital add‑on after Westpac completed a multi‑year risk transformation program. Westpac said the change would lift its CET1 ratio by about 17 basis points, reflecting a reduction in risk‑weighted assets. ^[16]

RBNZ capital review (New Zealand):
Reuters reported New Zealand’s central bank will lower some capital requirements, including reducing common equity tier 1 requirements for the large Australian‑owned banks (including Westpac) from 16% to 12%, while adjusting other elements such as tier 2 and internal loss‑absorbing capacity requirements. ^[17]

Neither change is a magical profit wand — but capital settings shape how much balance sheet capacity banks can deploy per dollar of equity, which ultimately influences dividend capacity and valuation.

Westpac analyst forecasts: why so many targets sit below today’s price

Here’s the key tension for WBC bulls: the stock is trading around A$38.76, but multiple consensus datasets imply the market is already pricing in a lot of good news.

Investing.com’s analyst consensus shows an average 12‑month price target around A$33.93, with a high of A$40 and low of A$30.5, and an overall “Sell” tilt (0 buy, 8 sell, 5 hold in that dataset). ^[18]
TradingView lists an analyst price target around A$33.41, with a max estimate of A$40.00 and min estimate of A$23.03, also summarising the overall rating as sell based on recent analyst inputs. ^[19]

And there’s a very “today” datapoint that adds colour: MarketIndex’s 20/12/2025 wrap notes Morgans retained a sell stance on Westpac, lifting its price target to A$32.20 from A$31.30. ^[20]

Why would targets lag the share price?

Analysts typically anchor bank valuations to some blend of:

expected earnings growth (often modest for mature banks),
net interest margin trajectory (sensitive to deposit competition),
bad debt expectations (credit cycle risk),
and the “acceptable” premium/discount to book value.

When the stock rallies hard without a matching upgrade cycle in earnings forecasts, targets can look stale — or it can mean analysts think the stock has simply outrun fundamentals.

The bullish case for Westpac stock

If you’re building the optimistic story for WBC into 2026, it usually sounds like this:

Westpac remains a core “Big Four” franchise with scale and a dividend profile that investors still prize. The bank has also been able to keep asset quality relatively contained, with Reuters noting home loan arrears over 90 days at 0.83% in the latest annual reporting context. ^[21]

Add to that two structural tailwinds:

capital relief after APRA removed the remaining capital add‑on (supporting balance sheet flexibility), ^[22]
and a rate outlook that Westpac economists have shifted toward “on hold through 2026,” which can be margin‑supportive if deposit competition doesn’t accelerate. ^[23]

The bear case: expensive banks don’t forgive small mistakes

The skeptical story is simpler — and that simplicity is what makes it dangerous.

Westpac itself has flagged the key challenge: mortgage competition is pressuring margins, while operating costs have been rising (Reuters cited operating costs up 9% to A$11.9 billion, driven by restructuring, tech investment and staff expansion). ^[24]

On top of that, governance and conduct issues never completely go away for banks. Westpac has faced court and regulatory outcomes tied to mortgage and broker conduct, including a Federal Court penalty against a Westpac unit over home loan misconduct reported by Reuters. ^[25]

When a bank stock is priced near the upper end of its 52‑week range, the market tends to punish any combination of:

margin disappointment,
cost blowouts,
or a turn in credit quality.

That’s one reason you’re seeing “sell” recommendations persist even as the share price holds up.

What could move Westpac shares next

For a stock like WBC, the next big move is usually triggered by one of three things: a rates surprise, a credit surprise, or a margin/cost surprise.

Here are the near-term catalysts investors are watching into early 2026:

Quarterly update: Westpac’s calendar shows First Quarter Results on 13 February 2026. ^[26]
Macro pulse checks: consumer sentiment and inflation prints (which have already been stirring anxiety) ^[27]
New Zealand capital details: the RBNZ is expected to provide more detail and consult on rules in February 2026, per Reuters. ^[28]
Ongoing governance pressure: after the large protest vote at the AGM, the market will watch board refresh and risk oversight messaging closely. ^[29]

Bottom line for Westpac stock on 20 December 2025

Westpac shares are ending 2025 on firm footing — A$38.76 at the latest close — supported by dividends and the market’s continued appetite for large, liquid bank exposure. ^[30]

But the forward-looking picture is more complicated than the share price suggests. Mortgage competition remains fierce, consumer confidence has softened, and a range of analyst consensus views still imply limited upside from here, with several datasets clustering targets in the low‑to‑mid A$30s. ^[31]

In other words: Westpac is behaving like a classic late‑cycle bank trade — sturdy, cash-generative, and heavily scrutinised. For investors, the deciding question isn’t whether Westpac is a “good bank.” It’s whether the current price already assumes it will be a good bank in a tougher mortgage market, with higher compliance costs, and possibly rates staying higher for longer.