Wells Fargo and Citigroup post stronger profits as bank earnings season wraps up

Two of Wall Street's largest lenders closed out the big banks' third-quarter earnings season with results that beat analyst forecasts, as higher lending income, record investment-banking fees and resilient consumer spending offset pressure from a choppy interest-rate backdrop.

Wells Fargo and Citigroup both disclosed their third-quarter 2026 results on October 13 through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, following JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley earlier in the week.

Wells Fargo: loan growth lifts profit

Wells Fargo reported net income of $5.951 billion, or $1.87 per diluted share, up from $1.66 a year earlier — a 13% increase that topped Wall Street's consensus estimate of roughly $1.85. Net interest income climbed 5% to $12.517 billion, and average loans and deposits both grew 11% from a year earlier, the bank said in its earnings release. Wealth and Investment Management revenue grew 12%, and investment-banking fees from commercial clients jumped 25%. "Our third quarter results reflect broad-based growth, higher earnings, and stronger returns," Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said in the release, adding that return on tangible common equity rose to 16.3% from 15.2% a year ago.

Citigroup: best third-quarter revenue in a decade

Citigroup posted net income of $5.2 billion, or $2.85 per diluted share, on revenue of $23.8 billion, up 8% from the prior-year quarter's $22.1 billion. Growth was broad-based, with Services revenue up 15%, Markets up 6% on stronger equities and foreign-exchange trading, and Banking up 6%. "Our performance in the quarter, which included the best third-quarter revenue in a decade, positive operating leverage and meaningful improvement in our returns, reflects the continued disciplined and consistent execution of our strategy," Chief Executive Jane Fraser said in the release, according to a Reuters account of the results. Citi returned $4.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, and its common equity tier 1 capital ratio stood at 12.8%.

Despite the across-the-board beats, shares of both banks were mixed in the sessions that followed, as investors weighed signs of slower consumer-loan demand against the stronger trading and dealmaking revenue that has driven big-bank profits for much of 2026.