Macquarie spent a decade de-risking its business model and reducing its exposure to market volatility. Now, in a highly uncertain world, it has positioned itself to benefit from the wild swings playing out across markets, and its trading businesses are more important than ever.
The near-record profit it posted on Friday reflects that shift, and signals a substantial bet on what the business might look like tomorrow.
In a week when two of Australia’s big four banks struggled to meaningfully grow earnings, and a third delivered growth through cost-cutting, the Sydney-headquartered global investment giant posted a $4.85 billion profit on Friday, up 30% on last year.
Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets division was again its strongest performer, accounting for more than 40 cents in every dollar of profit as it traded volatility while helping clients hedge against it and manage risk.
