SBI Cards and Payment Services delivered exceptional financial results for the September quarter, with standalone net profit surging 75% year-on-year to ₹778 crore compared to ₹445 crore in the corresponding period last year. According to the company's earnings release dated October 23, revenue from operations increased 3% to ₹5,302 crore from ₹5,136 crore a year earlier. Total income rose 3% year-on-year to ₹5,302 crore in Q2 FY27 from ₹5,136 crore in Q2 FY26. Profit before tax increased 74% to ₹1,046 crore from ₹600 crore, demonstrating the company's strong operational performance. The significant jump in bottom line was aided by a decline in impairment on financial instruments to ₹819 crore from ₹1,293 crore YoY, which outweighed the rise in finance costs and operating expenses. The company's standalone net profit beat consensus analyst estimates of ₹700 crore by 11.43%, demonstrating strong earnings momentum and disciplined credit risk management.
The company showed significant improvement in asset quality metrics during the quarter. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 1.90% of gross advances as of September 30, 2026, down from 2.04% QoQ and 2.85% a year earlier, representing a 14 basis points improvement. Net NPAs declined to 0.77% from 0.83% QoQ and 1.29% in the corresponding quarter last year. Gross write-offs fell 34% year-on-year to ₹849 crore, reflecting an improvement in the credit quality of its portfolio. The company has steadily tightened credit underwriting over the last few quarters to tackle asset quality stress and higher delinquencies in credit cards. Loan loss provisions dropped 37% year-on-year to ₹819 crore, contributing to improved profitability. The reduction in credit costs outweighed the rise in finance costs and operating expenses, driving the strong bottom-line performance. The earnings beat is likely to support positive market sentiment toward SBI Cards stock in near-term trading, with the company's robust quarterly profitability highlighting sound operational delivery across card portfolios.
SBI Card demonstrated strong business expansion during the quarter, with cards-in-force increasing 8% year-on-year to 2.32 crore as of September 2026, compared with 2.15 crore a year earlier. The company added 11.06 lakh new accounts during the quarter, up from 9.36 lakh in Q2 FY26, marking an 18% YoY increase and 8% QoQ rise. However, growth in the underlying business remained modest with overall credit card spends increasing just 3% year-on-year to ₹1.11 lakh crore from ₹1.07 lakh crore. Retail spends rose 6% to ₹95,299 crore from ₹89,611 crore, driven by broad-based category growth, while corporate spends declined 12% to ₹15,390 crore from ₹17,452 crore. The company's market share in spends expanded to 18.2% from 17.7% based on RBI data available until August 2026, despite a slight dip in cards-in-force share to 18.5% from 19% a year earlier. Online spends constituted 62.8% of retail spends YTD FY27, reflecting the digital transformation in consumer spending patterns.
The company's revenue streams showed mixed performance during the quarter. Interest income rose 1% year-on-year to ₹2,511 crore, while fees and commission income increased 6% to ₹2,434 crore, indicating diversified income streams. Total revenue from operations rose 3.6% year-on-year to ₹5,141 crore in Q2 FY27, demonstrating the company's ability to grow its top line despite challenging market conditions. Growth was supported by higher fee and other income, which rose 6% to ₹2,630 crore. However, net interest margin narrowed by 42 basis points year-on-year to 10.8%, reflecting the challenging operating environment. Finance costs rose 4% to ₹787 crore and total operating costs increased 7% to ₹2,649 crore, reflecting higher business expansion costs. The reduction in credit costs outweighed the rise in finance costs and operating expenses, driving the strong bottom-line performance. The earnings beat is likely to support positive market sentiment toward SBI Cards stock in near-term trading, with the company's robust quarterly profitability highlighting sound operational delivery across card portfolios.
SBI Cards achieved significant improvements in key profitability ratios during Q2 FY27. ROAA (Return on Assets) rose to 4.4% from 2.6% in Q2 FY26, representing an 180 basis points improvement, while ROAE (Return on Equity) increased to 18.4% from 12.1% in the corresponding quarter last year, marking a 630 basis points increase. The company's gross Stage 3 ratio improved to 1.90% from 2.04% QoQ, reflecting a reduction in stressed assets on the book, while net Stage 3 also declined to 0.77% from 0.83% QoQ. These enhanced metrics demonstrate the company's improved operational efficiency and asset quality management, positioning it well for continued growth in the competitive credit card market. The company has maintained an additional impairment provision of ₹100 crore (including ₹30 crore made in the current quarter) over and above the ECL model, citing uncertain macroeconomic conditions due to prolonged geopolitical tensions. The earnings beat signals disciplined credit risk management and sustained customer spending momentum during the second quarter.
