Barclays has posted its strongest set of annual results in years, with pre-tax profit rising 12% to £9.1 billion in 2025 — up from £8.1 billion in 2024.
More importantly, the bank has raised its medium-term targets, now guiding for a return on tangible equity (RoTE) above 14% by 2028 (previously >12% by 2026) and plans to return more than £15 billion to shareholders between 2026 and 2028.
Behind the upgraded outlook: a fast-growing US business, disciplined cost control, and — explicitly — artificial intelligence.
While many large organisations are still running AI pilots or speaking about the technology in future tense, Barclays is already linking AI-driven efficiency gains directly to its cost base and profit guidance.
Why Barclays’ AI Strategy Stands Out in Banking
Most banks talk about AI in innovation labs or customer-facing chatbots. Barclays is different — it’s treating AI as a core operational lever that helps protect and expand margins in a tough interest-rate environment.
Leadership has repeatedly stated that investments in AI and modern technology are central to keeping the cost-to-income ratio on a downward path, even as the bank continues to grow revenue.
In plain English: AI is helping Barclays do more with less.
Numbers ata Glance!
| Metric | 2024 Performance | 2025 Performance | 2028 Target |
| Pre-Tax Profit | £8.1 Billion | £9.1 Billion | — |
| RoTE | — | — | >14% |
| Shareholder Returns | — | — | >£15bn (2026-28) |
Real-World AI Use Cases Driving Efficiency at Barclays
The bank isn’t being vague. Practical applications already live include:
- AI-assisted risk modelling and credit decisioning
- Intelligent automation of regulatory reporting and compliance checks
- Enhanced fraud detection that reduces false positives and manual reviews
- Smarter workflow routing in contact centres and back-office operations
- Automated reconciliation and data-quality processes across legacy systems
These aren’t science projects — they’re saving millions of staff hours per year and forming a key part of the structural cost-reduction programme that has been running for several years.
From Pilot to Profit: The Maturity Gap
Many enterprises are still at the “we have 200 AI proofs-of-concept” stage. Barclays has moved firmly into the “AI is baked into our financial plan” stage.
That’s a big deal for a 335-year-old, heavily regulated universal bank with hundreds of legacy systems and strict oversight from the PRA and FCA.
By publicly anchoring higher RoTE targets to technology-led efficiency, Barclays is sending a clear message: AI has graduated from innovation theatre to board-level financial engineering.
What This Means for Other Large Enterprises
Barclays proves that legacy organisations don’t need to become tech companies to get real value from AI — they just need to apply it relentlessly to their biggest cost lines: people, processes, and aging technology stacks.
For any CEO or CFO in a traditional industry wondering whether AI can actually move the needle on profitability, Barclays just provided the clearest answer in UK corporate history: yes, and faster than most people expected.
The bank’s 2025 results and 2028 targets show that, when deployed at scale in risk, compliance, operations, and customer service, AI isn’t a future bet — it’s a present-day profit driver.
And in an era of slowing revenue growth and sticky inflation, that’s exactly the kind of competitive edge investors want to see.
Next Step
Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is part of TechEx and is co-located with other leading technology events, click here for more information.
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