Best profits in four years: how three of the largest banks in the U.S. reported

Three of the largest banks in the US - Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo - reported strong results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025. So, BofA's revenue was one of the highest in its history, it also, along with Wells Fargo, also achieved its best annual net income in four years. And Citigroup posted a record in investment banking. However, shares of all three fell in trading on January 14, repeating the path of market leader JPMorgan, which reported a day earlier.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled $7.6 billion, up 12% year over year, or $0.98 per share. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.96 per share, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Total revenue of Bank of America increased by 7% to $28.4 billion, one of the highest quarterly figures in the bank's history, exceeding analysts ' consensus forecast of $27.8 billion, Bloomberg reports. The growth was achieved in part due to cost control: expenses increased by 3.9% to $17.4 billion, which was slightly below market expectations, the agency reports.

Revenue from trading in shares in the reporting period rose 23% to $2.02 billion. Analysts cited by Bloomberg expected about $1.9 billion. Volatility in the markets intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the introduction of duties against trading partners around the world in 2025. This played into the hands of the trading divisions of Bank of America and other Wall Street banks: the increase in client activity accompanied the reallocation of investment portfolios, notes Bloomberg.

Bank of America also reported that net interest income, a key source of its revenue, rose by 9.7% to $15.8 billion. Analysts expected it to increase by 7.8%, Bloomberg writes. The indicator reflects income on loans less interest paid to depositors, the agency explains.

The bank expects net interest income (NII) - the difference between loan income and deposit repayments - to grow 7% in the first quarter of 2026. The company also reiterated its forecast for NII growth of 5-7% in fiscal 2026.

"All of the indicators we see show that the consumer remains resilient and is in great shape," the bank's CFO Alastair Borthwick said while speaking to reporters. He was quoted by the WSJ as saying.

Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. lending institution, beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter earnings, helped by a rebound in deal activity and increased demand for services for corporate clients, Reuters notes.

The bank's adjusted earnings totaled $3.6 billion, or $1.8 per share, versus analysts' forecast of $1.67, CNBC wrote.

Adjusted revenue rose 8% to $21 billion, beating expectations of $20.72 billion, while net income fell 13% year over year to $2.47 billion, or $1.19 per share, due to a one-time after-tax loss of $1.1 billion on Citigroup's decision to sell its business in Russia.

Revenues at Citi's banking unit rose 78% to $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter, and the bank posted record M&A results for the full year 2025.

"With record revenue and positive operating leverage across all five of our businesses, 2025 was a year of significant progress: we showed that the investments we made are delivering strong revenue growth," said Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

The fourth largest U.S. bank Wells Fargo reported that its net interest income in the fourth quarter rose 4% year-on-year to $12.3 billion. At the same time, the figure fell short of market expectations of $12.46 billion, writes Reuters.

The bank's fourth-quarter net income rose 6% to $5.36 billion, or $1.62 per share. A year earlier, the figure was $5.08 billion, or $1.43 per share. For 2025, the bank's net income rose 4% to $21.3 billion versus analysts' consensus estimate of $21.6 billion, Bloomberg writes. However, this is the highest annual profit in the last four years, YahooFinance notes.

Wells Fargo projected interest income of about $50 billion in 2026. Meanwhile, analysts on average expected $50.33 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Wall Street was counting on a recovery in the lending business, noting that borrowers have learned to better cope with economic policy uncertainty under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Bloomberg writes.

Total expenses amounted to $13.7 billion against $13.6 billion expected by analysts, according to a Bloomberg poll. They were the ones that put pressure on the bank's annual profit results, the agency notes.

"We have laid a solid foundation and made notable progress in improving growth and profitability, although we have operated under significant constraints," said CEO Charlie Scharf, referring to the asset limit imposed by the U.S. Federal Reserve and lifted in June. "We are now excited about the opportunity to compete on a level playing field," Scharf added.

After the publication of the reports the shares of all three banks at the trades on January 14 fell sharply in price. Bank of America shares were falling by 5% at the moment, although by the end of 2025 they rose in price by more than 25%, outperforming the S&P 500 index in terms of growth rates.

Shares of Citigroup started trading on Wednesday in the plus, but then also turned to decline, at moments reaching 3%. By comparison, they are up nearly 66% in 2025. Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo called Citigroup his top pick among banking stocks, CNBC writes.

Wells Fargo stock was also down more than 5% on Wednesday, with the bank's shares up 32.7% over 2025.

The fourth-quarter figures provide additional insight into how the largest U.S. banks have fared in the first year since Donald Trump returned to the presidency. Investors are also closely watching top executives' comments on the state of the U.S. economy, given that banks serve a significant portion of U.S. consumers and businesses, Bloomberg notes.

A day earlier, JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations: a rise in trading activity supported the results despite an unexpected decline in fees from its investment banking division. The bank's management expects deals to pick up in 2026, pointing to a strong pipeline and the return of corporate clients who had previously delayed activity. However, JPMorgan shares fell 4% on Tuesday.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor