Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
CM · NYSE
Next quarter
Expected to report Dec 3, 2026 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $1.83 EPS for Oct 2026 across 2 estimates, ranging $1.81 to $1.85.
CM Jul 2026
- 8.89%
- $1.80
- $1.96
- —
- —
Highlights
- Earnings: Supplied results data shows EPS of $1.96 versus $1.80 consensus, an 8.89% beat; management separately reported adjusted EPS of $2.73, up 26% year over year, and reported EPS of $2.47 after a $232 million after-tax Caribbean charge.
- Broad-based growth: Adjusted revenue rose 15% year over year to $8 billion, while adjusted expenses increased 11%, producing $4 billion of pre-provision pretax earnings, up 20%.
- Returns and capital: Adjusted ROE was 16.8%, 260 basis points above the prior-year quarter; CET1 was 13.4% after the bank repurchased 7.5 million shares, down 19 basis points sequentially.
- Net interest income: Excluding trading, NII increased 14% year over year; all-bank NIM expanded 13 basis points year over year and 2 basis points sequentially, with Canadian P&C NIM reaching 304 basis points.
- Capital Markets and wealth: Capital Markets revenue grew 22% and net income 34% year over year; Canadian Wealth Management revenue increased 23%, with AUA and AUM both up more than 20%.
- Credit: Total provisions for credit losses were $564 million, down from $605 million in the prior quarter, but impaired-loan provisions rose $64 million sequentially to $612 million due mainly to a few Canadian Commercial Banking and Capital Markets events.
- U.S. banking: U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management revenue rose 7% year over year, but U.S. NIM declined 14 basis points sequentially to 376 basis points as loan growth outpaced deposits and pricing compressed.
- Digital and AI: Investor’s Edge new account openings grew 34% year over year and assets under administration rose 27%; AdvisorAssist can reduce advisers’ administrative time by up to 50%, while CIBC expects headcount to grow alongside AI-driven productivity.
Analysis
CIBC’s July 2026 quarter was a strong, broad-based operating print, with the supplied results data showing EPS of $1.96 versus $1.80 expected, an 8.89% beat. Management’s call presentation reported adjusted EPS of $2.73, up 26% from a year earlier, and reported EPS of $2.47 after a $232 million after-tax charge tied to Caribbean operations. Adjusted revenue reached $8 billion, up 15% year over year, ahead of 11% expense growth and supporting $4 billion of pre-provision pretax earnings, up 20%. Adjusted ROE improved to 16.8% from a year earlier, while the CET1 ratio was 13.4%, 19 basis points below the prior quarter after share repurchases and other capital uses.
The print was defined by balanced revenue momentum rather than loan growth alone. Ex-trading NII rose 14%, helped by a 13-basis-point year-over-year expansion in all-bank NIM, while noninterest income climbed 20% on strong markets, wealth fees and trading. Capital Markets and Canadian Wealth were major contributors, but credit was the principal watchpoint: total PCL fell from $605 million in Q2 to $564 million, although impaired PCL increased to $612 million. Management characterized the commercial losses as isolated and continued building Canadian performing reserves amid trade and geopolitical uncertainty. The bank also emphasized digital investing, wealth gathering and practical AI deployment as longer-term growth and productivity initiatives.
Broad operating momentum
CIBC delivered another quarter of strong operating leverage and double-digit earnings growth. Adjusted revenue increased 15% year over year to $8 billion, outpacing 11% expense growth for the 12th consecutive quarter of positive operating leverage. Pre-provision pretax earnings rose 20% to $4 billion, and the efficiency ratio improved by 200 basis points from the prior year. Adjusted net income reached $2.6 billion.
- Canadian Personal & Business Banking: Revenue grew 9%, adjusted net income increased 17% and pre-provision earnings rose 10%, supported by 25 basis points of year-over-year Canadian P&C NIM expansion and continued focus on higher-value client relationships.
- Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth: Revenue increased 18%, with commercial loan and deposit volumes up 7% and 8%, respectively. Segment net income rose 4%, while pre-provision pretax earnings increased 18%.
- U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth: Revenue grew 7% year over year, while net income increased 23%, helped by lower loan-loss provisions and 6% expense growth.
Margins and fee income
The quarter showed that CIBC’s earnings growth is being supported by both spread income and fee businesses. Excluding trading, net interest income rose 14% year over year. All-bank NIM increased 13 basis points from the prior year and 2 basis points sequentially, and management retained a stable-to-gradually-positive NIM bias over time.
- Canadian margins: Canadian P&C NIM was 304 basis points, up 3 basis points sequentially as loan and deposit margins improved. The bank said hedging, product mix and its client strategy should remain constructive.
- U.S. margins: U.S. NIM declined 14 basis points sequentially to 376 basis points. Roughly half the decline reflected loans growing faster than deposits, while the remainder reflected pricing compression; management expects some seasonal deposit reversion in coming quarters.
- Noninterest income: Noninterest income rose 20% to $3.9 billion. Market-related fees increased 25%, led by investment management, custodial and mutual fund fees, while transaction fees grew 6%, including a 25% increase in credit fees.
Capital Markets and wealth
Capital Markets was one of the clearest sources of upside, with revenue up 22% and net income up 34% year over year. Strong equity trading and financing activity lifted Global Markets, while Corporate and Transaction Banking benefited from volume growth and higher fees. Advisory and equity underwriting were weaker, showing that part of the quarter’s strength remains market-sensitive. Expenses rose 19% as CIBC continued investing in people and infrastructure.
- U.S. platform: Wholesale loans increased approximately 17% year over year, while deposits grew 32%. Management described the lending as part of an integrated digital-infrastructure ecosystem spanning data centers, industrials, energy, private credit, hedging and payments rather than a stand-alone balance-sheet push.
- Hiring: Capital Markets hired 250 people year to date, roughly half in the U.S. and 40% in Canada, to expand product capabilities and client coverage.
- Canadian Wealth: Wealth revenue rose 23%, with both AUA and AUM up more than 20%. In the managed mass-affluent business, clients increased 4% and money-in balances grew 12% year over year.
Credit and provisions
Credit performance remained manageable but was less clean than the headline PCL decline suggests. Total PCL was $564 million, down from $605 million in the prior quarter, while the allowance coverage ratio increased to 81 basis points from 80 basis points. Performing provisions declined $48 million overall, but Canadian Consumer and Commercial Banking continued to build reserves for macroeconomic and tariff-related risks.
- Impaired losses: Impaired-loan provisions rose $64 million sequentially to $612 million, driven mainly by a small number of files in Canadian Commercial Banking and one new impairment plus a top-up in Capital Markets.
- Portfolio trends: Gross impaired loans were 65 basis points of loans, down 1 basis point sequentially. Year-to-date impaired losses were 37 basis points, and management expects them to remain around that level for the rest of fiscal 2026.
- Consumer credit: Mortgage delinquencies continued to rise, but management pointed to prudent uninsured loan-to-value ratios and low historical net write-offs. Credit-card and personal-lending delinquencies improved sequentially, and the overall Canadian consumer net write-off ratio declined.
- Tariff exposure: Lending exposures most sensitive to tariff impacts represented less than 1% of the total loan portfolio. Management said future reserve releases would require greater economic clarity; the U.S. and Capital Markets releases this quarter were tied mainly to a CRE loan-portfolio sale and portfolio migrations, not an improving outlook.
Capital, digital and AI
CIBC retained substantial financial flexibility while returning capital and investing in its franchise. The CET1 ratio ended at 13.4%, down 19 basis points sequentially as organic capital generation was offset by the Caribbean charge, the closing of a minority investment and repurchases. Average liquidity coverage was 127%.
- Digital investing: Investor’s Edge new account openings grew 34% year over year, and assets under administration increased 27%. The bank also added a collaboration with Taskrabbit to reach skilled trades professionals.
- AI deployment: CIBC AI 2.0 was introduced as an enterprise-wide agentic AI workspace, while AdvisorAssist automates meeting notes, summaries and follow-up documentation and can reduce adviser administrative time by up to 50%.
- Workforce approach: Management said AI is intended to support growth, productivity and risk management, not near-term headcount reduction; CIBC expects headcount to increase over the next five years while productivity improves.
- Next milestone: CIBC plans to hold its next Investor Day on December 9, with further detail on business mix, strategy and long-term growth priorities.
