Barclays Layoffs: How to Play BCS Stock Amid 5,000 New Job Cuts

Popular British bank Barclays (BCS) expects to cut 5,000 jobs by the end of this year, affecting about 5% of its employees. Most cuts are expected to impact operational and functional roles across the bank, as the company recognizes efficiency gains from artificial intelligence (AI). This follows the approximately 1,000 job cuts in the first half of this year. According to group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, AI is supposed to play a bigger role in the bank’s operations in the future. 

This announcement comes as Chancellor John Healey is planning to increase taxes on the UK banking sector. The four biggest banks earned about £15 billion ($20.05 billion) in the first half of the year, and unions are pressing for higher taxes. When Barclays’ Venkatakrishnan was asked about this, he answered that the company has significant businesses outside the UK. Hence, it might not be a big financial hit. 

As the company stays on track with its growth, BCS might be the stock to watch now. 

About Barclays Stock

Barclays, headquartered in London, is a British bank serving customers and businesses worldwide. It offers retail banking, credit cards, mortgages, wealth management, corporate banking, and investment banking. 

The company operates through divisions, including Barclays UK, its investment bank, private bank, and U.S. consumer bank. Barclays is focused on simplifying operations, improving efficiency, and using technology and AI, while continuing to invest in its UK banking network and return capital to shareholders. The company has a market capitalization of $72.46 billion. 

Barclays’ stock is up only 7.6% over the past 52 weeks because investors see improving profits and buybacks but remain cautious about growth quality, costs, and risks. However, it is down 20.2% over the past three months because of weaker trading results, bond-market pressure, and rising UK tax risk. BCS stock reached a 52-week high of $28.68 on Aug. 6, but is down 22% from that level.

Barclays is trading at a lower valuation than its peers. Its forward-adjusted price-to-earnings (non-GAAP) ratio of 8.26x is lower than the industry average of 11.07x.

Q3 Profit Rose, and the Bank Announced a £500 Million Buyback

For the third quarter, Barclays reported a total income of £7.37 billion ($9.85 billion), up 3% year-over-year (YoY), as the company recorded growth across the majority of its segments, including double-digit growth in the UK Corporate Bank and Private Bank and Wealth Management segments. Barclays also registered strong growth in equities, with a common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 14.2%. It also recorded a group RoTE of 11.7%. 

The company is also structurally reducing the cost base through expected technology-enabled FTE reductions. Q3 2026 structural cost actions totaled £201 million ($268.74 million), up from £93 million ($124.34 million) a year earlier, with roughly £300 million ($401.10 million) more planned for Q4 2026.

Based on a strong capital position, Barclays announced a share buyback of up to £500 million ($668.50 million), matching the amount in Q3 2025. This takes year-to-date (YTD) announced shareholder distributions to £2.8 billion ($3.74 billion), up 46% from a year earlier.

Wall Street analysts are also moderately optimistic about Barclays’ bottom-line trajectory. For fiscal 2026, its profit is expected to jump 24.7% YoY to $2.78 per share, followed by a 19.4% growth to $3.32 in fiscal 2027. However, for the current quarter, analysts expect its EPS to drop 2.2% YoY to $0.45. 

Here’s What Analysts Think About BCS Stock

In September, Morgan Stanley analyst Alvaro Serrano downgraded Barclays from “Overweight” to “Equal Weight,” while cutting the price target from £6.10 to £5.80. However, the firm revised its ratings across European banks, noting that recent loan growth and improving PMI data point to a broadening capital-expenditure cycle. This strengthens its confidence in the sector’s positive medium-term earnings outlook. 

BofA Securities analysts downgraded Barclays from “Buy” to “Neutral” and set a price target of £5.80. BofA expects greater trade-offs among loan volumes, margins, and costs as competition intensifies among UK banks, especially for deposits. It believes revenue growth will rely less on interest rates and may require higher spending, adding pressure on expenses.

Barclays is a popular name on Wall Street, with analysts awarding it a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. Of the 13 analysts rating BCS stock, seven analysts have rated it a “Strong Buy,” two analysts suggest a “Moderate Buy,” while four analysts are playing it safe with a “Hold” rating. The consensus price target of $30.53 represents a 40% upside from current levels. The Street-high price target of $33.50 indicates a 54% upside.

On the date of publication, Anushka Dutta did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.