Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria - the second-largest Spanish bank by assets and one of the most globally diversified European universal banks - closed the first half of 2026 with net attributable profit of $6,895 million (EUR 6,051 million), +11.1% at current exchange rates and +10.0% at constant rates. Two numbers behind that headline do the analytical work. The first is the +20.3% jump in net interest income to $17,278 million (EUR 15,164 million), the strongest NII expansion among the major European banks and the one line that explains why operating income rose 17.0% despite operating expenses also rising 17.9%. The second is $2,848 million (EUR 2,500 million) of completed share buybacks in just the first four months of 2026, on top of the $3,980 million (EUR 3,493 million) completed in 2025 and a fresh $2,279 million (EUR 2,000 million) program whose first tranche started August 5 - meaning the equity-narrative math is no longer just "what is BBVA earning" but "what is BBVA returning at current prices." Both halves of the question favor the holder at $28.70.
The geographic mix is the unstated half of the story. Mexico delivered $3,394 million (EUR 2,979 million) of net attributable profit (+15.8% reported, +8.2% at constant exchange rates), Turkey $606 million (EUR 532 million) (+29.1%), South America $634 million (EUR 556 million) (+33.6%), Rest of Business $579 million (EUR 508 million) (+60.0%), and the home market of Spain $2,475 million (EUR 2,172 million) (+2.3%). All five regions grew; Spain is now the smallest single contributor to incremental net profit, even though it remains the largest single deposit base. The 14-quarter program of running the bank for Mexico-and-Turkey growth has structurally changed the earnings mix, and the second quarter's results are the cleanest demonstration yet: Mexico's quarterly net attributable profit at constant exchange rates was $1,725 million (EUR 1,514 million), up 3.4% sequentially, with a 3.26% cost of risk down 19 basis points from Q1.
The capital-return math is what frames the next twelve months. A $4,512 million (EUR 3,960 million) framework program announced in December 2025 saw its first two tranches complete by April 17 ($1,709 million (EUR 1,500 million) + $1,139 million (EUR 1,000 million) = $2,849 million (EUR 2,500 million)); a third tranche of $1,664 million (EUR 1,460 million) is in execution through July 24, and on July 30 the board authorized a new $2,279 million (EUR 2,000 million) framework program with the first $1,139 million (EUR 1,000 million) tranche starting August 5. Shares outstanding fell 3.2% to 5,581 million in the half. At the August 14 ADR close of $28.70 (EUR 25.19 at EUR/USD 1.1394), the stock trades at roughly 2.0x book value, 2.5x tangible book value, and an annualized P/E near 12x, against a 21.1% H1 2026 ROE and 22.2% ROTE - the kind of combination that should price above the European peer median and that capital returns, if executed at the announced pace, can compound into.