Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Friday, with solid revenue growth across both its consumer and commercial divisions pushing shares up more than 3% in premarket U.S. trading on Tuesday.
The banking giant posted earnings per share of $1.66 and revenue of $21.44 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $21.16 billion. While net interest income came in at $11.95 billion — slightly below the $12.01 billion forecast — fee-based income showed notable strength.
Investment banking fees totaled $840 million, well above the estimated $742.8 million. Provision for credit losses was $681 million, significantly lower than the $1.17 billion analysts had expected, reflecting an improvement in credit performance.
The bank also achieved its highest linked-quarter loan growth in more than three years, with total average loans hitting $928.7 billion.
“The momentum we are building across our businesses drove strong financial results in the third quarter with net income and diluted earnings per share both up from a year ago and the second quarter,” said Charlie Scharf, Chairman and CEO. “Revenue grew with higher net interest income and strong, broad-based growth in fee-based income across both our consumer and commercial businesses.”
Wells Fargo reported an efficiency ratio of 65%, slightly above the 63.6% estimate, and non-interest expenses of $13.85 billion, exceeding the $13.42 billion forecast. Despite these elevated costs, return on equity came in at 12.8%, ahead of the 12% consensus.
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