Wells Fargo Shares rose on Wednesday after the bank reported better-than-expected earnings and issued strong guidance on 2025 net interest income.
Here's what the bank reported for the fourth quarter compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts conducted by LSEG:
- Adjusted earnings per share: $1.42 vs. $1.35 expected
- profit: $20.38 billion compared to $20.59 billion expected
Net income of $5.1 billion, or $1.43 per diluted common share, was 47% higher than the figure recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
The San Francisco-based bank said it expects 2025 net interest income, a key measure of what a bank makes on loans, to be 1% to 3% higher than the 2024 figure of $47.7 billion.
Wells shares jumped 4% in premarket trading Wednesday after the earnings announcement.
“Our strong performance this quarter caps a year of significant progress for Wells Fargo,” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said in a statement. “Our earnings profile continues to improve, and we are seeing the benefit of the investments we are making to further our growth and improve how we serve our customers and communities. We have maintained a strong balance sheet, returned approximately $25 billion of capital to shareholders, and have made significant progress in our risk business.” And censorship.”
Wells Fargo's investment banking fees jumped 59% to $725 million in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.
The bank repurchased 57.8 million shares, or $4.0 billion, of common stock in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The bank's shares are up about 43% in 2024, and the stock is up 1.4% so far in January.
