Julius Baer Share Buyback Boosts Swiss Stocks, Raises EPS

Swiss stocks snapped a four-day losing streak on Friday after Julius Baer announced a 600 million Swiss franc share buyback, which helped drive up the bank's stock by nearly two percent.

The move was seen as a boost to the capital-return story for investors, particularly given the private bank's history of prioritizing payouts and dividend growth.

Julius Baer reaffirmed its commitment to paying out 40-60% of IFRS net profit attributable to shareholders and growing the dividend per share, barring exceptional circumstances.

The buyback is expected to start in the coming weeks and finish within a year, which will mechanically raise earnings per share by reducing the number of shares those profits are spread across.