Focusing on U.S. equities in the second quarter of 2026 earnings season, net profit for the first nine months of the year rose 4% year over year, while loans and advances grew 6% from a year earlier. QNB released its earnings as the U.S.-Iran war disrupts trade and commercial activity across the region.

QNB Group, the largest bank in Qatar, reports a third-quarter net profit of 4.65 billion Qatari riyals, an increase of about 4.9% year over year. The group's chief executive said that despite external disruptions caused by the U.S.-Iran conflict, the bank still achieved profit growth in the third quarter, and it plans to increase financing for digital infrastructure, real estate, and companies expanding across markets.

QNB Group disclosed on Thursday that for the third quarter ended in September, it posted a net profit of 4.65 billion Qatari riyals (equivalent to US$1.28 billion), up about 4.9% year over year. Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa told Dow Jones Newswires that QNB continues to expand its international banking business, seeking more cross-border trade and cross-border investment business; the current shifts in the economic landscape also bring the bank more financing opportunities. "Our goal is to turn financing opportunities into sustainable returns and maintain prudent discipline in capital deployment that is consistent with business expansion," he said.

The earnings were released against the backdrop of the U.S.-Iran war that broke out in late February, which continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and hit energy exports, various types of trade, and commercial activity in the Middle East. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week that measures by Gulf governments to support businesses, maintain bank liquidity, and adjust trade routes have curbed the economic shock to some extent. But the IMF also warned that weakening business confidence, shrinking trade, and rising prices are weighing on the non-oil economy; if the disruptions persist, economic diversification and investment activity will face greater obstacles.

QNB Group said that for the first nine months of this year, group net profit was 13.3 billion Qatari riyals, up 4% year over year; loans and advances rose 6% year over year to 1.061 trillion riyals. QNB's credit ratings are in the top tier of Qatar's banking sector: Moody's gives it an Aa2 rating, while S&P Global and Fitch Ratings both assign A+ ratings.