Mumbai: India's largest bank beat the street by about ₹400 crore and got a red tick for it. State Bank of India reported standalone net profit of ₹23,038 crore for the September quarter on Tuesday, up 14 per cent from ₹20,160 crore a year earlier. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected ₹22,619 crore.
Total advances grew 18 per cent to ₹52.08 lakh crore, with double-digit expansion in every segment: agriculture credit up 23 per cent, SME loans 22 per cent and corporate advances 16 per cent. Net interest income rose 15 per cent to ₹49,143 crore. Gross non-performing assets came in at 1.39 per cent and net NPAs at 0.36 per cent.
Blended net interest margin held at 2.90 per cent against 2.92 per cent a year ago. Domestic NIM improved to 3.06 per cent from 3.04 per cent and from 3.00 per cent in June 2026, helped by a fall in the cost of domestic deposits to 4.84 per cent from 5.13 per cent.
Loan loss provisions dropped 33 per cent to ₹2,759 crore, and provisions for standard assets fell 69 per cent.
Chairman C S Setty said the economy was holding its line despite global pressure. "The economy continues to be on a consistent growth path, supported by consumption, investment and sustained activity across manufacturing and services," he said. "At the same time, we remain watchful of developments in food and energy prices, currency markets and the broader global environment." He also flagged the rabi season, El Niño and irrigation water as risks for the rural economy.
The market looked past the headline. SBI shares fell 1.77 per cent to ₹970.25 on the NSE while the broader benchmark rose about 1.6 per cent. Non-interest income slipped 5 per cent to ₹19,066 crore even after a ₹7,288 crore gain from selling a stake in SBI Funds Management. Operating expenses rose 9.6 per cent, pushing the cost-to-income ratio to 49.82 per cent from 46.71 per cent in June.
Bernstein said in a post-earnings note that headline growth masked a softer quarter, with lower credit costs and stake-sale gains carrying profitability, and that pre-provision operating profit fell 1 per cent on year.
Setty put the net-of-tax impact of the new expected credit loss framework at about ₹19,500 crore. The Reserve Bank of India will meet bank chief executives to review readiness for the framework, which takes effect on April 1 next year.
Elsewhere in the same earnings pile, the National Stock Exchange reported a 23 per cent rise in consolidated profit after tax to ₹2,578 crore, its first set of results since listing in September. Revenue from transaction charges rose 9 per cent to ₹3,035 crore.
The Sensex closed 1,225.07 points, or 1.62 per cent, higher at 76,917.85. The Nifty gained 370.05 points, or 1.58 per cent, to end at 23,810.85, a fourth straight session of gains and a two-month high.