Shares of Barclays PLC (BCS) surged 5.31% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, following a series of positive announcements that boosted investor confidence in the British banking giant. The stock's impressive gain was fueled by better-than-expected third-quarter results, a surprise share buyback program, and an upgraded outlook for the year.

Barclays reported earnings per share of $0.56 for the third quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.54. Revenue for the period came in at $9.666 billion, beating forecasts of $9.600 billion and representing a robust 13.54% increase year-over-year. The strong performance was particularly evident in Barclays' U.S. consumer division, which posted an impressive 19% revenue growth.

In a move that caught markets by surprise, Barclays announced a £500 million ($671 million) share buyback program, signaling confidence in its financial position and commitment to returning value to shareholders. The bank also revealed plans to transition to a quarterly buyback frequency, further enhancing its appeal to investors. Additionally, Barclays upgraded its guidance for the year, increasing its net interest income forecast and raising its return on tangible equity (RoTE) target for 2025 to greater than 11%, up from its previous projection.

While the bank did report some provisions related to its investment bank's credit exposure and a U.K. car-loan probe, the overall positive outlook and strong financial performance overshadowed these concerns. Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan expressed satisfaction with the bank's momentum, citing faster-than-expected implementation of cost savings as a factor enabling the acceleration of planned shareholder distributions.