Federal Bank announced robust financial results for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 (Q3 FY26), corresponding to the October-December 2025 period, with key metrics surpassing market expectations. The bank's standalone net profit increased by 9% year-on-year, reaching ₹1,041 crore, which was marginally higher than analyst estimates of approximately ₹1,000 crore. This growth was driven by a strong performance in Net Interest Income (NII), which grew 9% from the previous year to ₹2,653 crore, also exceeding the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹2,563 crore. Beyond profitability, Federal Bank demonstrated significant improvement in its asset quality. The Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio declined to 1.72% in Q3 FY26 from 1.83% in the preceding September quarter, while the Net NPA ratio eased to 0.42% from 0.48% sequentially. This indicates better credit discipline and controlled fresh slippages, which reduced by 24% to ₹443 crore from ₹584 crore in the previous quarter. Provisions for the quarter remained largely stable at ₹332 crore. The positive earnings announcement led to a significant rally in Federal Bank's stock, with shares surging over 7% to more than 9% on January 16, 2026, rebounding from a recent losing streak. The strong Q3 performance underscores the continued strengthening of the bank's underlying fundamentals and operational efficiency. It is important to note that while some related articles in the prompt referred to older news or specific investor gains like those of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the primary article under verification, when assessed with real-time information, accurately reflects the Q3 FY26 results. The claims about profit beat, NII growth, asset quality improvement, and the stock jump are well-corroborated by multiple credible financial news sources.