Viva La Stock Market! How Spain’s Stock Market – Ibex – Leads Europe In 2025

Spain’s banal marketplace is connected occurrence – and not conscionable from nan scorching Costa del Sol sun. The Ibex 35 has stormed backmost successful 2025, surging complete 30% year-to-date and brushing levels past seen earlier nan financial crisis. As of precocious August, nan scale was flirting pinch 15,000 points, a stone’s propulsion from its all-time precocious of 15,946 group successful 2007.

Even now, Spain’s equity benchmark started September pinch a outpouring successful its step. The Ibex 35 edged +0.14% astatine nan unfastened to 14,957, a whisker beneath nan 15,000 people aft slipping nether it precocious successful August.

That humble move sits atop a acold bigger story: by precocious August nan Ibex was up ~32% year-to-date, 1 of Europe’s starring performances and backmost adjacent levels past seen successful 2007.

Spain’s banks lead nan charge

The Ibex’s concealed weapon? Banks. Spain’s scale is loaded pinch them, and they’ve been raking it in. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks scale is up astir 40% successful 2025, pinch Spanish heavyweights Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank handing billions backmost to shareholders.

• Santander kicked off a €1.7bn buyback successful July and has flagged up to €10bn in returns done 2026.
• BBVA is engaged pinch its ain €1bn buyback and unveiled plans to present €48bn nett profit betwixt 2025 and 2028.
• CaixaBank started a €500m buyback this summer, even arsenic it warned of short-term separator pressure according to CaixaBank’s Results successful Q2 2025.

The Ibex has outpaced peers successful Frankfurt, Paris and London.

Spain’s system is outmuscling Europe’s

It’s not conscionable nan banks. Spain’s system is powering up while overmuch of Europe limps. Brussels reckons nan state will turn 2.6% successful 2025 and 2.0% successful 2026, much than double nan eurozone mean of 0.9% and 1.1%.

That maturation spread gives home firms and lenders much room to breathe, and much rate to earn.

Tourists flock backmost to Spain successful grounds numbers

If you thought nan roar was only financial, deliberation again. Spain welcomed a record-breaking 11 cardinal world visitors successful July 2025, nan highest monthly tally ever recorded, according to charismatic statistic INE. The World Travel & Tourism Council says nan assemblage will pump astir €260.5bn into Spain’s system this year, eclipsing pre-pandemic highs.

That’s a tidal activity of rate for hotels, airlines and, yes, banks skimming fees disconnected each transaction.

Brussels keeps nan cheques coming

Then there’s nan NextGenerationEU betterment fund. In August, Spain bagged a €23.1 cardinal disbursement – its 5th and largest truthful acold – bringing nan full to much than €55 billion.

Those billions are earmarked for greenish power, integer upgrades and infrastructure. Translation: large contracts for Spanish companies and much juice for nan Ibex.

Bargain hunters welcome

And here’s nan thing: Spain’s marketplace still looks cheap. The iShares MSCI Spain ETF trades astatine a P/E of 12.8, compared pinch 17.8 for MSCI Europe. That’s a hefty discount for an scale that’s already storming ahead. It’s a rare lawsuit of champagne returns astatine cava prices.

Risks lurking successful nan shadows?

Of course, not everything is sunny successful Madrid. Spain’s arguable slope windfall taxation has been extended into 2025 and is nether ineligible challenge. If nan ECB cuts rates further, banks’ fat liking margins could slim faster than hoped. And world spats – for illustration nan US tribunal ruling astir of Trump’s tariffs illegal, pending entreaty – could still splash over.

Five reasons Spain’s stocks are still hot

1. Banks connected a binge

Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank are throwing rate astatine shareholders with billions successful buybacks and dividends.

2. Growth gap

Spain is set to turn 2.6% successful 2025 and 2.0% successful 2026 – much than double nan eurozone average.

3. Tourists galore

A grounds 11 cardinal visitors successful July 2025 intends hotels, airlines and banks are raking it in.

4. Brussels billions

Spain just pocketed a €23.1bn EU payout for greenish and integer projects – nan biggest yet.

5. Bargain bin prices

Spanish stocks waste and acquisition astatine a P/E of 12.8, acold cheaper than Europe’s 17.8, a fiesta for bargain hunters.

The outlook: fiesta aliases siesta for Spain’s stock market?

For now, nan smart money says fiesta. Spain has nan growth, nan tourists, nan EU billions and nan banks to support nan statement going into 2026. With nan Ibex closing successful connected its 2007 record, nan mobility is little whether Spain tin support climbing, and much whether nan remainder of Europe tin support up with them.

Want much from Spain?

Catch up connected nan latest from Madrid to Barcelona, Bilbao, and Malaga – politics, markets, shot and fiestas – successful our Spanish news section.

Across nan continent…

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