DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) has quietly turned into one of Asia’s most watched bank stocks: near-record share price, a hefty dividend that’s still growing, and a long list of big‑ticket digital and cross‑border initiatives. As of 2 December 2025, the conversation has shifted from “Is DBS cheap?” to “How much premium is too much for a best‑in‑class bank?”
Let’s walk through what’s happening with the DBS share price today, the latest results, analyst forecasts, and the key opportunities and risks investors are debating right now.
DBS share price today: still near record highs
On the morning of 2 December 2025, DBS shares were trading around S$54.10–S$54.20 on the Singapore Exchange. Beansprout shows S$54.10 at 09:21 SGT, while SGinvestors quotes S$54.20 at 11:48 SGT. [1]
Based on the last available close from Yahoo Finance (around S$54.23), DBS is: [2]
- Up roughly 24% year‑to‑date
- Up about 27% over the past 12 months
- Up nearly 150% over five years
Put simply: this is not a neglected bank stock. DBS is trading close to its all‑time high near S$55–S$56, reached right after its November Q3 2025 earnings beat. [3]
At this level, DBS changes hands at over 2.2× price‑to‑book (P/B), versus roughly 1.4× for OCBC and 1.2× for UOB, according to a comparative analysis by The Smart Investor. [4] The market is very clearly treating DBS as the “premium growth and quality” play among Singapore banks.
Q3 2025 results: record income, small profit dip, big dividend
DBS’ latest set of numbers – Q3 2025 – is the main reason the stock is perched up here.
Earnings beat despite lower margins
For the quarter ended 30 September 2025, DBS reported: [5]
- Net profit: S$2.95 billion
- Down 2% year‑on‑year
- But above analyst estimates of about S$2.72 billion
- Total income: S$5.93 billion
- A record, up roughly 3% year‑on‑year
- Net interest margin (NIM): 1.96%
- Down from 2.11% a year ago, reflecting lower rates and stiffer deposit competition
- Return on equity (ROE): ~17.1% for the quarter – among the highest globally for large banks
Non‑interest income was the real muscle here. Fee income hit about S$1.58 billion, up more than 20% year‑on‑year, with wealth management fees surging roughly 31% and accounting for just over half of total fee income. [6]
Despite the margin squeeze, DBS grew loans about 4–5% year‑on‑year to around S$443 billion, cushioning the impact of lower NIM. [7]
Dividends: 75 cents now, more on the way
The board declared a total Q3 2025 dividend of S$0.75 per share – up from S$0.54 a year earlier – broken down as: [8]
- S$0.60 ordinary dividend
- S$0.15 “capital‑return” dividend
At around S$54–55 per share, that works out to roughly S$3.00 per share annualised, or a trailing yield in the 5.3–5.5% range depending on which price snapshot you use. TS2 Tech+1
The bigger story is guidance:
- DBS has an S$8 billion capital‑return programme running through 2027, including S$3 billion of share buybacks and S$5 billion of special “capital‑return” dividends. About 15% of this has already been completed. [9]
- Management plans to lift the quarterly dividend to S$0.81 in 2026, made up of a 66‑cent ordinary dividend plus the same 15‑cent capital‑return top‑up. TS2 Tech
That implies S$3.24 per share in dividends in 2026, giving a forward yield of roughly 6% at today’s share price – a key pillar of the bull case. TS2 Tech+1
2026 outlook: normalisation, not collapse
DBS is coming off record earnings in 2024 (net profit of about S$11.4 billion, up 11% year‑on‑year). TS2 Tech Management has been careful to cool expectations from here.
Guidance from management
Following the Q3 2025 results and recent investor briefings, DBS has guided that: TS2 Tech+2Reuters+2
- 2026 net profit is likely to be slightly below 2025, mainly because of lower NIM in a cutting‑cycle interest‑rate environment.
- Total income should be broadly stable versus 2025 – more fee income and volumes, but offset by weaker net interest income.
- ROE is still expected to remain in the mid‑teens, supported by capital efficiency and fee‑driven growth.
In other words, DBS is signalling a “soft landing”: profits ease from the peak, but not in a cliff‑like way.
Street forecasts
Analyst models broadly line up with that story. Simply Wall St, summarising the views of about 14 analysts, notes that for 2026 the consensus is: [10]
- Revenue: ~S$23.7 billion (around 6% growth from the last 12 months)
- Earnings per share (EPS): ~S$3.99 (roughly 2% year‑on‑year growth)
Crucially, those forecasts barely budged after the Q3 beat – suggesting the quarter reassured analysts more than it fundamentally changed the story. [11]
DBS stock forecast: what analysts see from here
Here’s where things get spicy. As of 2 December 2025, you can almost treat DBS’s target prices like a mini survey of investor psychology.
Consensus targets and ratings
Across different aggregators, a few patterns emerge:
- Beansprout / SGX consensus
- Average target price: S$60.43
- Based on a current price of S$54.10, that implies about 11.7% upside on price alone. [12]
- SGinvestors target‑price compilation (5 research houses)
- Target range: S$55.00–S$62.79
- Median: S$58.00
- Average: S$58.06, representing about 7% upside from S$54.20. [13]
- Investing.com / MarketScreener data
- Simply Wall St
- Consensus target: S$55.08
- High estimate: S$64.50
- Low estimate: S$46.00. [16]
Big broker calls
Major houses are generally positive, but the degrees of enthusiasm differ:
- J.P. Morgan recently pushed its DBS target to S$70 by December 2026, arguing that Singapore’s financial‑centre upgrade and capital flows justify a multi‑year re‑rating. The analysts even say DBS could become “unjustifiably expensive” before the cycle is done – which is a bullish way of saying “we think it can overshoot”. [17]
- A Phillip Securities analyst maintains a Buy rating with a S$58 target, citing strong Q3 performance, the fixed dividend policy, and the S$8 billion capital‑return plan as key supports. [18]
- CGS‑CIMB is also reportedly at around S$60.50 with an Outperform/Buy stance, and RHB sits at about S$59 with a Buy, emphasising a forecast ~6% dividend yield in 2026. [19]
Put together, the central scenario is fairly straightforward:
- Analysts see modest capital upside (roughly mid‑single to low‑double‑digit percentage),
- Plus 5–6% in annual dividends,
- For a total expected return that’s attractive versus bonds, but not “deep value” territory.
Valuation: DBS as the premium Singapore bank
The Smart Investor’s comparison of the three Singapore banks makes the market’s view bluntly clear: [20]
- DBS – P/B ~2.2×, trailing dividend yield ~5.3%
- OCBC – P/B ~1.4×, similar ~5.3% yield
- UOB – P/B ~1.2×, highest yield ~5.9% (including specials)
Their conclusion: DBS is the “premium play”, while OCBC and UOB are priced more as value‑plus‑yield ideas.
Why does DBS command that premium?
- ROE is consistently higher (around 17% recently). TS2 Tech+1
- Fee income – especially wealth management – is larger and growing faster. [21]
- The bank has been aggressive (and mostly successful) in digital transformation and regional expansion.
From a purely numbers‑based perspective, DBS looks fair‑to‑slightly‑undervalued relative to consensus targets, but expensive relative to peers on book value multiples. Whether that’s justified depends on how much you believe in its growth, its franchise quality, and the durability of its technology and risk controls.
Strategy in motion: Malaysia, China, the Gulf and tokenisation
Beyond the spreadsheets, a lot is happening strategically that could shape DBS’s earnings profile over the next few years.
1. Malaysia: still chasing Alliance Bank
The freshest headline dated 2 December 2025 is a report from The Edge Malaysia that DBS is still actively pursuing a stake in Alliance Bank Malaysia, despite earlier regulatory delays. [22]
Key points:
- DBS is trying to acquire about 29–30% of Alliance Bank via its largest shareholder, Vertical Theme.
- With Bank Negara Malaysia slow to approve formal talks, DBS is now pushing the issue through government‑to‑government channels, and the deal has reportedly become entangled with broader negotiations over the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone. [23]
- Foreign ownership of Malaysian banks is typically capped at 30%, meaning any move to a controlling stake would face further regulatory hurdles.
If successful, Alliance Bank would plug DBS’s biggest geographic gap – a commercial banking foothold in Malaysia – and help it match OCBC and UOB’s long‑standing presence there. But resistance from local competitors and regulators means this is far from a done deal. [24]
2. China: tech‑driven growth and onshore wealth
New CEO Tan Su Shan has been outspoken about China’s importance to DBS’s next chapter. In a Reuters NEXT interview, she pointed to “pockets of exciting growth” in deep tech, AI, biotech, humanoid robots and drones, even as the property market struggles and consumer sentiment remains soft. [25]
Recent moves include:
- Raising DBS’s stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank to 19.4% to deepen its Greater Bay Area footprint. [26]
- Opening a wealth centre in Shanghai to tap onshore wealth management demand as savings move away from property towards investment products. [27]
The strategy is evolutionary, not revolutionary: lean harder into wealth, trade, and cross‑border flows, rather than chasing giant, risky acquisitions.
3. Cross‑border payments and fintech partnerships
DBS is also knitting itself deeper into Asia’s fast‑moving payment rails:
- A partnership with Ant International (Alipay+) will let DBS PayLah! users pay via QR codes at more than 150 million merchants across 100+ markets, and aims to build near‑instant cross‑border remittance corridors. [28]
- A tie‑up with Banque Saudi Fransi in Saudi Arabia targets trade finance and payment flows between Asia and the Gulf, positioning DBS as a connector between the two regions. [29]
These moves are not headline profit drivers yet, but they expand DBS’s fee‑income and ecosystem potential – crucial in a world where lending margins are under pressure.
4. Tokenisation and digital assets
DBS is one of the most active mainstream banks in regulated digital assets:
- In September 2025, it teamed up with Franklin Templeton and Ripple to list the tokenised sgBENJI money‑market fund and Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the DBS Digital Exchange, allowing accredited investors to swap between them and earn yield. [30]
- The bank is exploring using sgBENJI tokens as collateral for credit, either through repo transactions or third‑party platforms. [31]
If tokenised funds and stablecoins become mainstream in institutional portfolios, DBS’s early experiments could give it a useful head start.
Leadership, governance and credit strength
From Piyush Gupta to Tan Su Shan
After more than a decade at the helm, long‑time CEO Piyush Gupta stepped down in March 2025. He is now Temasek’s chairman in India, underscoring how closely intertwined DBS is with Singapore’s broader financial ecosystem. TS2 Tech+1
Tan Su Shan, previously Deputy CEO and head of institutional banking, took over as the first woman to lead Southeast Asia’s largest bank. Her early signals: TS2 Tech+1
- Focus on China tech‑led growth and wealth management.
- Preference for bolt‑on acquisitions, not mega‑deals.
- Heavy use of AI and automation to cut costs – including a plan to reduce around 4,000 contract and outsourced roles over three years, while adding about 1,000 technology and AI positions. TS2 Tech
Credit ratings and balance sheet
On the balance sheet, DBS remains one of the most highly rated banks globally:
- It carries AA‑ and Aa1‑level ratings from major agencies, among the highest for any commercial bank, reflecting strong capital, asset quality and earnings power. [32]
Fitch and other agencies have recently reaffirmed DBS’s strong credit profile and capital buffers, even after the additional capital requirement imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for past IT outages. [33]
The technology‑outage shadow: MAS penalties and operational risk
If DBS has an Achilles’ heel, it’s technology resilience.
Following a string of major digital disruptions in 2021–2023, MAS imposed a significant penalty:
- DBS Bank must apply a 1.8× multiplier to its risk‑weighted assets for operational risk, translating to about S$1.6 billion in additional regulatory capital. [34]
- In November 2023, MAS also slapped a six‑month pause on non‑essential IT changes and new business ventures, which it lifted in April 2024 – but the 1.8× multiplier remains in place until DBS can prove its systems are consistently reliable. [35]
TS2’s deep‑dive notes that DBS also suffered fresh disruptions in 2025, including an hours‑long outage in March that affected mobile banking, ATMs and payment services, and intermittent login issues in June. TS2 Tech
For investors, that implies three things:
- Capital drag – that extra operational‑risk capital modestly reduces flexibility for lending and capital returns.
- Reputational risk – another major outage could hurt trust and bring harsher regulatory action.
- Execution risk – DBS must fix its tech stack while simultaneously rolling out new AI‑driven systems and digital features.
So far, the market has chosen to look through these issues, given the strong earnings and dividends – but it’s the obvious “known unknown” in the DBS story.
Key risks and what could move the stock next
Macro and rate risk
All three Singapore banks are guiding for lower NIM in 2026 as global interest rates ease. DBS is not immune: margin pressure combined with slower loan growth or an economic downturn would hit profits. [36]
Regulatory and political risk
- The Alliance Bank pursuit depends on regulators and political goodwill in Malaysia; pushback from local banks and policymakers could block, delay or shrink the opportunity. [37]
- MAS could decide to keep the 1.8× capital multiplier in place longer than investors expect, or tighten rules further if outages recur. [38]
Competition and disruption
DBS faces:
- Traditional competition from OCBC and UOB, both cheaper on valuation. [39]
- Fintech and digital‑first competitors encroaching on payments, wealth, and SME lending.
- A global environment where tokenisation, digital assets and AI are open fields – where early movers aren’t guaranteed winners.
Putting it together: how DBS stock looks on 2 December 2025
As of 2 December 2025, DBS Group Holdings stock can be summed up like this:
- Quality: Very high – strong ROE, robust capital, top‑tier credit ratings, and a leading regional franchise in wealth, trade finance and digital banking. [40]
- Income: Attractive – a 5.3–5.5% trailing yield today, with management signalling a move towards ~6% in 2026 via higher quarterly dividends. TS2 Tech+2The Smart Investor+2
- Growth: Moderate but resilient – analysts expect single‑digit revenue and EPS growth as higher fee income offsets lower NIM. [41]
- Valuation: Demanding vs local peers (P/B >2×), but not wildly detached from fundamentals when you factor in ROE and dividends. [42]
- Risks: Technology outages and regulatory capital, execution on cross‑border deals (Malaysia in particular), and the usual macro/cycle risks for a big bank. [43]
For long‑term investors, the debate is less about whether DBS is a good bank – the numbers and ratings answer that – and more about how much premium you’re willing to pay for that quality in a world of lower interest rates and rising digital expectations.
References
1. growbeansprout.com, 2. finance.yahoo.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 7. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. simplywall.st, 11. simplywall.st, 12. growbeansprout.com, 13. sginvestors.io, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.investing.com, 16. simplywall.st, 17. www.theedgesingapore.com, 18. www.tipranks.com, 19. sginvestors.io, 20. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 21. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 22. theedgemalaysia.com, 23. theedgemalaysia.com, 24. theedgemalaysia.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. growbeansprout.com, 33. www.fitchratings.com, 34. www.mas.gov.sg, 35. www.finextra.com, 36. www.reuters.com, 37. theedgemalaysia.com, 38. www.mas.gov.sg, 39. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 40. growbeansprout.com, 41. simplywall.st, 42. thesmartinvestor.com.sg, 43. theedgemalaysia.com
