Macquarie shares hit another record high. Has the rally gone too far?

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) shares have continued their strong run on Thursday, reaching another record high during morning trade.

At the time of writing, the Macquarie share price is up 0.30% to $252.68.

The ASX 200 financial stock earlier touched $253.13, setting a fresh all-time high and pushing its gain since the start of 2026 to around 24%.

While there’s been no new announcements from the company today, investors are still loading up after last month’s stronger-than-expected full-year result.

Let’s take a look.

Record profit keeps investors interested

Macquarie reported a net profit of $4.85 billion for the 12 months ended 31 March 2026, up 30% from a year earlier.

The result came in ahead of market expectations and was the second-highest annual profit in the company’s history.

Most of the momentum came in the second half, with profit reaching a record $3.19 billion. By the way, that was 93% higher than the first half.

Commodities and Global Markets did much of the heavy lifting, with profit from the division rising nearly 50% to $4.22 billion.

Volatile energy markets lifted demand for Macquarie’s trading, hedging, and financing services, while the sale of its OnStream smart meter platform also gave earnings a boost.

Macquarie Asset Management and Macquarie Capital chipped in with higher profits as well.

Shareholders also received a larger final dividend of $4.20 per share, up 7.7% from the previous year. That took the full-year payout to $7 per share.

Brokers are getting closer to the share price

The recent rally has left Macquarie shares sitting close to several broker price targets.

Morgan Stanley still has a buy rating and a $263 price target on the stock. Based on the current share price, that points to upside of around 4%.

UBS is less bullish, with a $250 target following the full-year result, while Jefferies has the stock valued at $253.73.

Those targets came before today’s record high, which means much of the expected earnings growth may already be priced into shares.

Of course, broker targets are only estimates and can change when earnings forecasts or economic outlook shift.

Is it too late to buy?

Macquarie’s latest result goes a long way towards explaining why the shares have been constantly climbing.

The company earns money across asset management, commodities, banking, advisory, and capital markets.

On another note, around 68% of its FY26 income came from outside Australia.

That gives Macquarie several ways to make money, although its earnings can still swing around depending on market conditions.

Macquarie is still performing well, but the higher share price leaves very little room if results fall short of expectations.

The post Macquarie shares hit another record high. Has the rally gone too far? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Macquarie shares climb to fresh all-time high: Buy, sell or hold?
• Why I’d buy and hold Macquarie shares for 10 years
• How to build a $1 million ASX share portfolio from zero

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Jefferies Financial Group and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.