Royal Bank of Canada stock (“RBC stock”, TSX: RY, NYSE: RY) is trading near all‑time highs on December 4, 2025, after the bank delivered record 2025 results, raised its dividend and upgraded its profitability goals. Here’s a detailed look at today’s price action, the latest earnings, analyst forecasts and key risks investors are watching.
RBC stock price today (December 4, 2025)
As of late morning on December 4, 2025, Royal Bank of Canada shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange are trading around C$224, up from a previous close of C$218.64. That’s roughly a 2.5% gain on the day, pushing the stock right up against its 52‑week high of C$224.22. Google
Key snapshot for TSX:RY today: Google
- Last price: ~C$224.04
- Day range: C$219.71 – C$224.22
- 52‑week range: C$151.25 – C$224.22
- Market cap: ~C$314 billion
- Trailing P/E: ~15.9
- Dividend yield (on current price): ~2.9%
On the NYSE, the U.S.-listed RY shares are trading around US$160–161, according to recent quotes and forecast platforms. Walletinvestor
RBC stock has also logged a strong performance for 2025 overall, with Canadian bank sector coverage noting that RBC and Bank of Montreal are each up around 30% year‑to‑date, while TD has gained even more. Investors
Q4 2025 and full‑year results: a record year for RBC stock
Royal Bank of Canada’s latest leg higher is driven by record fiscal 2025 earnings and an especially strong fourth quarter.
According to the bank’s official results for the year ended October 31, 2025: Newswire
- 2025 net income: C$20.4 billion, up about 25% year‑over‑year
- 2025 diluted EPS: C$14.07, also up about 25% YoY
- 2025 return on equity (ROE): 16.3%, up from 14.4% the prior year
- Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio: 13.5%, comfortably above regulatory minimums
For Q4 2025 specifically, the bank reported: Newswire
- Net income: ~C$5.4–5.6 billion, about 25–29% higher than a year ago
- Diluted EPS: C$3.76 (C$3.85 on an adjusted basis), beating analyst expectations of about C$3.53 per share
- ROE: Around 16.8% reported, 17.2% on an adjusted basis
- Total provisions for credit losses (PCL): ~C$1.0 billion, up year‑on‑year but still manageable relative to earnings
A Reuters summary highlights that the capital markets division drove much of the upside, with segment net income up about 45%, powered by stronger trading revenue, more M&A activity and higher lending revenue. Wealth management earnings climbed roughly 32%, supported by rising fee‑based client assets. Reuters
An investing.com transcript of the earnings call describes the quarter as another record, emphasizing that: Investing
- Q4 net income reached C$5.4 billion,
- The stock moved higher in pre‑market trading after the release,
- AI and technology investments (including an internal “RBC Assist” tool and a partnership with NVIDIA) were a visible theme of management’s commentary.
Dividend hike and capital returns: what changed for income investors?
For dividend‑focused investors, the headline move this week is a 6% increase in RBC’s quarterly common share dividend.
A December 3 press release confirms that the quarterly dividend has been lifted by C$0.10 to C$1.64 per share, payable on or after February 24, 2026 to shareholders of record on January 26, 2026. Investing News Network (INN)
In addition:
- The board also declared dividends on several series of non‑cumulative preferred shares, continuing RBC’s pattern of regular returns to preferred shareholders. Investing News Network (INN)
- RBC repurchased about 4.8 million shares during the fourth quarter. Investing
- Across the full fiscal year, the bank returned approximately C$11.3 billion to shareholders via common dividends and buybacks, according to American Banker’s summary of management’s commentary. American Banker
At today’s TSX share price, the raised dividend works out to a yield of just under 3%, complementing RBC’s double‑digit ROE and making the stock attractive to investors seeking a mix of income and growth. Google
New profitability targets: RBC raises the bar
The earnings beat wasn’t the only positive surprise for RBC stock. Management also raised its medium‑term profitability targets, signaling confidence that the current strength isn’t a one‑off.
- Reuters reports that RBC has lifted its return‑on‑equity target to “above 17%” for fiscal 2026, up from a prior goal of 16% or higher. Reuters
- American Banker notes that the bank now expects to achieve a 17%+ ROE by around 2027, and that on an adjusted basis RBC is already running above that level (Q4 adjusted ROE was about 17.2%). American Banker
Management attributes this confidence to: American Banker
- Strong capital markets and wealth‑management franchises in both Canada and the U.S.
- Improved results at U.S. subsidiary City National Bank, which posted a steep year‑over‑year rebound in net income.
- Rising adoption of AI tools internally – RBC says around 30,000 employees are now using generative AI in their workflows, which it expects to translate into cost efficiencies over time.
Despite increased M&A activity across North American banking, CEO Dave McKay again downplayed the likelihood of a large near‑term U.S. acquisition, stressing that share buybacks and organic growth remain higher priorities while the bank integrates recent moves such as the HSBC Canada acquisition. American Banker
Analyst reactions and price targets for RBC stock
Fresh target from BMO Capital (December 4, 2025)
The most notable new forecast today comes from BMO Capital Markets, which has raised its price target on RBC stock to C$229 (from C$226) while maintaining an Outperform rating. Investing
BMO cites several factors for the higher target: Investing
- Q4 adjusted EPS of C$3.85, beating both its own and the Street’s estimates by roughly 8–9%.
- Strong performance in Capital Markets and Wealth Management, which helped drive an adjusted ROE of 17.2% on a CET1 ratio of 13.5%.
- Continued capital return via share buybacks and the 6% dividend increase.
- Management’s decision to raise the medium‑term ROE target to 17% or more, prompting BMO to boost its fiscal 2026 and 2027 estimates.
At today’s TSX price near C$224, the new C$229 target implies only a modest additional upside in Canadian‑dollar terms — essentially signalling that BMO sees RBC as fairly valued to slightly undervalued after the recent rally. Google
Street‑wide analyst consensus
Aggregated forecast sites give a broader snapshot of how analysts view RBC stock right now:
- StockAnalysis shows a “Strong Buy” consensus on NYSE:RY with an average 12‑month price target of about US$177.50, versus a recent price around US$160. That implies roughly 10–11% upside, with a target range from US$162 to US$193. StockAnalysis
- The TS2.Tech digest of various forecast pages notes that TradingView’s consensus for TSX:RY is around C$223, with a C$206–C$238 range and an overall “Buy” rating across 16 recent opinions. In Canadian dollar terms, many targets are now essentially clustered around the current price. TechStock²
- TS2.Tech also highlights data from sources like Ticker Nerd and Public.com, which together show a broad pattern: RBC is widely seen as a high‑quality bank, but with only modest expected upside over the next 12 monthsunless earnings again come in ahead of current models. TechStock²
Quant and technical models: mixed messages
Not all models are purely bullish, and several data‑driven forecast tools show a wide range of potential outcomes:
- StockScan’s long‑term model projects an average price around US$108 for 2026 and US$126 for 2027, which would actually mean material downside from today’s U.S. share price. These projections are algorithm‑driven and assume a re‑rating to lower multiples. StockScan
- In contrast, WalletInvestor’s technical analysis suggests that a five‑year holding period could deliver total returns of roughly 23%, with a 2030 price target around US$197 from a base near US$161 today. Walletinvestor
Taken together, human analysts generally see moderate upside from here, while quantitative models disagree widelyabout how much multiple compression or expansion RBC might see over the rest of the decade.
How RBC’s earnings beat is reshaping the investment case
Beyond the headline numbers, RBC’s 2025 story shifts a few key elements of the investment thesis for RBC stock:
- Earnings power and growth
- Revenue and EPS growth in 2025 were both in the mid‑20% range, a strong result for a mature megabank. Newswire
- Forward‑looking consensus data compiled by StockAnalysis show analysts expecting revenue to rise to about C$70 billion in 2026 and C$73 billion in 2027, with EPS projected to climb to C$15.72 in 2026 and C$17.35 in 2027, implying low‑double‑digit EPS growth. StockAnalysis
- Capital markets and wealth management increasingly central
- Capital markets and wealth management delivered the strongest growth in Q4, benefitting from heightened trading, more deal activity and higher fee‑based assets. Reuters
- This tilts RBC’s earnings mix more toward fee‑ and market‑driven businesses and slightly away from traditional spread‑based retail banking.
- Technology and AI as a profit lever
- Management is putting unusual emphasis on AI deployments, with tens of thousands of employees using generative AI tools and new initiatives like RBC Assist designed to automate internal workflows. Investing
- The raised ROE target implicitly assumes that these investments will continue to support operating leverage and cost efficiency.
- Capital strength and flexibility
- With a CET1 ratio of 13.5% even after buybacks and a dividend increase, RBC has room to keep returning capital while still funding growth opportunities and absorbing higher credit losses if needed. Newswire
Key risks and what investors are watching
Despite today’s upbeat tone, analysts and the bank itself flag several risks that matter for RBC stock from here:
- Credit cycle and housing exposure
- RBC’s total provisions for credit losses reached C$4.4 billion for 2025, with the PCL‑on‑loans ratio ticking higher year‑over‑year. Newswire
- Management and external coverage (including Reuters and TS2.Tech) note that rising unemployment and a still‑fragile housing market in Canada remain pressure points, particularly as borrowers roll into higher mortgage rates. Reuters
- Rich valuations across Canada’s Big Six
- Reuters has highlighted that Canadian banks as a group now trade at a premium to their 10‑year average forward P/E, leaving less room for error if credit costs or growth disappoint in 2026. TechStock²
- TS2.Tech points out that many 12‑month price targets cluster very close to current prices, suggesting that much of the good news is now reflected in valuations. TechStock²
- Macro uncertainty
- CEO Dave McKay continues to describe the economic backdrop as uncertain, citing elevated markets, geopolitical tensions and the need for major domestic projects (like energy infrastructure and defense spending) to be executed well for Canada’s growth to remain robust. Reuters
- Model risk in long‑term forecasts
- The wide spread between bearish algorithmic models (like StockScan’s sub‑US$130 projections) and bullish ones (like WalletInvestor’s near‑US$200 five‑year target) illustrates how sensitive long‑term outcomes are to assumptions about interest rates, credit losses and valuation multiples. StockScan
Quick note: “RBC stock” vs. “RBC Bearings (RBC)”
Searches for “RBC stock” can sometimes surface RBC Bearings Incorporated (NYSE: RBC), a U.S. industrial bearings maker whose ticker symbol is literally RBC. Investing
This article is about Royal Bank of Canada, the Canadian bank whose shares trade as RY on the TSX and NYSE, and which is commonly referred to simply as RBC in financial media and by investors. Wikipedia
Bottom line: where RBC stock stands on December 4, 2025
Putting everything together, the RBC stock story as of December 4, 2025 looks like this: Google
- Fundamentals: RBC just delivered record 2025 earnings, strong Q4 numbers and mid‑teens ROE, with capital markets and wealth management leading the way.
- Shareholder returns: The bank has raised its dividend by 6% to C$1.64, continues to buy back shares and returned more than C$11 billion to shareholders in 2025.
- Guidance and strategy: Management has lifted its medium‑term ROE target to 17%+, leans heavily on AI‑driven efficiency and remains focused on organic growth and buybacks rather than big U.S. takeovers (for now).
- Valuation: With TSX shares at all‑time highs and consensus price targets only slightly above current levels, near‑term upside may be limited unless RBC can outperform already‑upgraded expectations.
- Risk‑reward: For existing holders, today’s news flow is broadly reassuring: a stronger dividend, clean capital metrics and upbeat guidance. For new investors, the key question is whether the combination of premium valuation, credit‑cycle risks and macro uncertainty still leaves enough margin of safety at current prices.
As always, this overview is for information and news purposes only and should not be taken as personalized investment advice. Anyone considering buying or selling RBC stock should look at their own risk tolerance, time horizon and financial situation, and may want to consult a licensed adviser.
