By Kosaku Narioka

HSBC Holdings is scheduled to report its second-quarter results on Wednesday. Here's what you need to know:

NET PROFIT FORECAST: HSBC's net profit is expected to have fallen 17% from a year earlier to $5.29 billion for the three months ended June 30, according to a poll of analysts by Visible Alpha. That would compare with a net profit of $6.40 billion in the year-earlier period.

The Asia-focused lender's stock in Hong Kong has risen 33% so far this year through Friday, driven by continued hopes for the bank's restructuring efforts and easing fears about further escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. That follows a 23% gain in 2024.

WHAT TO WATCH:

--First-quarter net interest income--the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits--declined 4.1% to $8.30 billion. Investors will be focusing on any further worsening in the bank's primary source of earnings, as central banks in many of its key markets have been cutting policy rates lately.

--In the first quarter, HSBC booked expected credit losses and other impairment charges of $876 million, up from $720 million in the year-earlier period, as it increased allowances to reflect a deterioration in the economic outlook. Investors will be closely watching the bank's credit costs amid continuing economic uncertainty in many parts of the world.

--Investors will also be paying attention to management's views on the impact of U.S. tariffs on its operations. The London-based bank said in April that the macroeconomic environment was facing heightened uncertainty, in particular from protectionist trade policies, and that the bank expected demand for lending to remain muted in 2025. The U.S. has since struck trade agreements with major economies such as the U.K., European Union and Japan.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2025 03:41 ET (07:41 GMT)

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