Poste Italiane opens 2026 with the foot on the accelerator: growing profits, record revenues, and already revised upward targets, while playing the Tim game. “We started the year with particularly solid results,” summarizes CEO Matteo Del Fante (in the photo). The group puts on the table not only a more ambitious guidance but also a dividend policy set to strengthen. The next milestone is already set: the 2030 industrial plan, expected in July, which will have to translate these numbers into strategy.
GROWING ACCOUNTS AND PEAK PROFITABILITY
In the first quarter of 2026, revenues rise to 3.5 billion euros, up 8% year-on-year, while net profit stands at 617 million (+3%). Even more marked is the improvement in profitability: the adjusted operating margin reaches 905 million, with a 14% year-on-year increase.
Numbers that confirm an increasingly structural trend. “We started the year with particularly solid results,” explained Del Fante, emphasizing that this is the “fourth consecutive first quarter closed with record-level results.”
Growth is neither episodic nor concentrated in a single division. All business areas contribute to expansion, in a context that remains complex due to inflation and interest rate dynamics. And cost management emerges as one of the key factors: total costs grow less than revenues (+4.9%), allowing margin expansion.
Overview of first quarter results
Source: Poste Italiane, analyst presentation
COLLECTION, CAPITAL AND FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
On the commercial front, the quarter shows a “robust” net inflow in investment products amounting to 1.7 billion euros, supported by the insurance sector and an improvement in postal savings dynamics.
Clients’ invested financial assets reach 606 billion, up compared to the end of 2025. Added to this is a solid capital structure: the Solvency II ratio stands at 294%, while BancoPosta maintains capital levels well above regulatory requirements, with a total capital ratio at 24.4% (CET1 at 20.9%).
“We continue to operate from a position of strength,” observed Del Fante, also highlighting the quarter’s cash generation (341 million), improving compared to the previous year.
ALL ENGINES RUNNING: ACTIVITIES IN DETAIL
The division snapshot confirms the increasingly “platform” nature of the group.
Leading the group are still financial services, which rise to 1.6 billion in revenues (+10.5%), thanks to the contribution of the investment portfolio and solid commercial performance.
Correspondence, parcels, and distribution also grow, reaching 1 billion (+5.7%): revenues are supported by parcel volumes and pricing interventions, which balance the decline in traditional mail.
Insurance services reach 469 million (+6%), while Postepay continues to expand with revenues at 425 million (+6.8%), reaffirming the increasingly strategic role of digital payments for the group.
“Our leadership in digital payments is confirmed, with growth above market levels,” emphasized Poste’s CEO.
Revenues by division
Source: Poste Italiane, analyst presentation
UPWARD GUIDANCE AND DIVIDENDS CONFIRMED
Riding on the quarter’s results and a more favorable interest rate environment, Poste raises the bar for 2026: EBIT guidance is raised to 3.4 billion. A clear signal to the market, accompanied by confirmation of the dividend policy.
The dividend remains in line with expectations, but the group hints at room for strengthening in the coming years, also thanks to ongoing strategic operations, such as the one on Tim, aimed at supporting profits and distributions.
Meanwhile, the calendar is already set: 2025 dividend balance in June and 2026 advance in November.
EBIT growth and 2026 guidance
Source: Poste Italiane, analyst presentation
THE TIM DOSSIER: SYNERGIES, TIMING AND CONFRONTATION WITH LABRIOLA
But the real dossier is that on Tim. More than the numbers, this is where the strategic game is played. Poste pushes forward and confirms the calendar: closing expected by the third quarter of 2026. The goal is ambitious: to build a national champion combining telecommunications, payments, financial services, and logistics, with estimated synergies of about 700 million per year at full run rate.
“It will create the number one mobile operator in Italy,” claims Del Fante, who speaks of a “natural evolution” of the platform model. On the other side, however, the tone is more cautious: Tim CEO Pietro Labriola stresses the need for a “structured” process and takes time on evaluating the offer.
Meanwhile, the market has already moved: Poste closes up (+2.46%) and Tim runs over 3%. A sign that the market looks favorably on the operation.
BENETTON AND THE BET ON LOGISTICS
There is another piece in the strategy: logistics. Poste accelerates and launches a joint venture with Benetton Logistics, from which Logistic 360 is born. The group will control 51% of the new company, built on assets in the North-East and ready to open up also to third-party clients.
“This is a very important step,” explains Del Fante, highlighting the potential in terms of margins thanks to already amortized structures.
The goal is clear: to strengthen presence in contract logistics, warehouse and flow management on behalf of large clients, and to transform it into a new growth engine within the platform.
TOWARDS THE NEW INDUSTRIAL PLAN
The quarter also represents a step towards the new 2026-2030 strategic plan, which will be presented on July 24 along with the second quarter results.
It will be a “stand-alone” plan, but with a view already open to possible evolutions: the group will also provide an update on the Tim matter, maintaining that “optionality” linking the industrial future to the outcome of the operation.
“We are entering a new chapter of our journey,” said Del Fante, indicating a phase combining continuity and acceleration.
