TORONTO, May 25, 2026, 14:02 EDT
- Bank of Nova Scotia was up 0.5% at C$110.83 in Toronto afternoon trading, reaching as high as C$111.35, its 52-week high.
- Scotiabank will release its fiscal Q2 numbers on May 27. The earnings call is set for 7:15 a.m. ET.
- U.S. markets were closed for Memorial Day on Monday, so its New York-listed shares didn’t trade.
Bank of Nova Scotia stock touched a 52-week high in Toronto on Monday. Buyers moved into Canadian bank names ahead of a quarterly report that will put the recent rally to a test.
Scotiabank shares rose 0.5% to C$110.83 at 1:41 p.m. EDT, after trading as high as C$111.35. The stock is trading close to its one-year high, giving the bank a market cap of around C$136.5 billion.
Scotiabank reports fiscal Q2 before markets open Wednesday, May 27. Analysts looking for EPS of C$1.94, according to a Refinitiv preview on TradingView.
Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite set a new intraday high Monday morning, gaining 0.7% to 34,778.98 by 10:21 a.m. ET. The move tracked gains across broader markets, helped by optimism around U.S.-Iran talks and weaker oil prices. “Even a non-zero chance the conflict ends is enough to push stocks higher and oil lower,” said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel, to Reuters. Reuters
Scotiabank’s shares saw little action on the U.S. board. The NYSE was closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. BNS’s last New York trade came Friday at $79.78.
Canada’s big banks are in the spotlight this week. Visible Alpha, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the group heads into the April-quarter earnings stretch with strong capital markets performance, solid loan growth and stable credit, but with margins squeezed by lower rates. The firm projects net income gains for Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal at around 24% and 25%, with Royal Bank of Canada seen up 19%. TD, though, is expected to see less revenue growth.
Scotiabank’s net interest margin is in focus, with investors set to watch that figure more closely than headline EPS. Visible Alpha is calling for the margin to drop to 2.06% from 2.45% last quarter, which would be one of the bigger drops among the major Canadian banks.
Scotiabank is coming off a strong first quarter. The bank posted adjusted net income of C$2.70 billion and adjusted earnings per share of C$2.05, up from C$1.76 a year ago. Adjusted return on equity climbed to 13.0%. “2026 is off to a strong start for Scotiabank,” CEO Scott Thomson said back in February. Scotiabank – Press Releases
Dividend figures are a factor here. Scotiabank’s common shares paid C$1.10 for both the first and second quarters of 2026. The yield was around 4% in Monday’s trading. The board reviews payouts, citing capital, liquidity, and regulatory considerations as part of its dividend policy.
The bar has gone up. Scotiabank’s provisions for credit losses were C$1.18 billion in the first quarter, a bit higher than last year. If credit costs climb faster than the market expects, or if lower rates squeeze margins harder than analysts have in their models, the current dividend yield that’s been propping up the stock could start to look less like a cushion, and more like something investors want for protection.
