Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) delivered first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations, though a shortfall in revenue weighed on investor sentiment, with shares slipping 1.7% in premarket trading.
The bank reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.60, coming in $0.02 above the analyst consensus of $1.58. Revenue reached $21.45 billion, missing forecasts of $21.76 billion, but still marking a 6% increase from $20.15 billion a year earlier. Net interest income rose 5% year-on-year to $12.10 billion, while noninterest income increased 8% to $9.35 billion.
“We saw continued positive impacts from the investments we have been making with diluted earnings per share increasing 15%, revenue increasing 6%, loans increasing 11%, and deposits increasing 7% compared to a year ago,” said Chairman and CEO Charlie Scharf. “We returned $4 billion to shareholders through common stock repurchases while continuing to operate with significant excess capital.”
Average loans expanded 10% from the prior year to $996.0 billion, while average deposits climbed 6% to $1.42 trillion. Return on equity improved to 12.2%, up from 11.5% in the same period last year.
Asset quality remained steady, with net loan charge-offs at 0.45% of average total loans, unchanged from the first quarter of 2025. Provisions for credit losses rose 22% year-on-year to $1.14 billion, reflecting higher balances in commercial and industrial lending as well as auto loans.
The bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio was 10.3%, compared with 11.1% a year earlier.