Wells Fargo posts lower earnings and revenue amid an 11% decline in net interest income
Wells Fargo reported lower earnings and revenue for the third quarter than a year ago on Friday amid a sizable decline in net interest income.
Here’s what the bank did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.42 per share, not comparable to the $1.28 cents estimate
- Revenue: $20.37 billion versus $20.42 billion expected
Shares of the bank rose 3% in premarket trading after the results.
The San Francisco-based lender posted $11.69 billion in net interest income, a key measure of what a bank makes on lending. The number marked an 11% decrease from the same quarter last year that was less than the FactSet estimate of $11.9 billion. Wells said the decline was due to higher funding costs amid customer migration to higher-yielding deposit products.
“Our earnings profile is very different than it was five years ago as we have been making strategic investments in many of our businesses and de-emphasizing or selling others,” CEO Charles Scharf said in a statement. “Our revenue sources are more diverse and fee-based revenue grew 16% during the first nine months of the year, largely offsetting net interest income headwinds.”
Wells saw net income fall to $5.11 billion, or $1.42 per share, in the third quarter, from $5.77 billion, or $1.48 per share, during the same quarter a year ago. Revenue dipped to $20.37 billion from $20.86 a year ago.
The bank set aside $1.07 billion as provision for credit losses, which included a modest decrease in the allowance for credit losses.
Wells repurchased $3.5 billion of common stock in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to over $15 billion, which marks a 60% increase from a year ago.
The bank’s shares have gained 17% in 2024, lagging the S&P 500.
