Banco Bilbao's Q4 2021: Substantial Earnings Beat, Turkish Operation Resilience to the Fore

Narrow-moat Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria reported another excellent set of results for the final quarter of 2021. Net attributable profit of EUR 1.3 billion for the quarter came in at nearly double the EUR 773 million (excluding non-recurring items related to the disposal of the firm's U.S. business) reported a year ago. The bank crushed the EUR 1 billion consensus quarterly net profit expectation of analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ. Guidance for 2022 is bullish. The firm anticipates double-digit core revenue growth, a lower cost-income ratio, and loan loss provisions slightly lower than pre-COVID-19 levels. Current consensus estimates call for a 10% decline in pretax profits. The estimate seems at odds with company guidance, and we anticipate that there will be earnings updates that could further support the recent share price recovery.