Wells Fargo Shares Soar After Beating Earnings Expectations
Wells Fargo shares climbed on Wednesday after the bank posted better-than-expected earnings and issued strong guidance on net interest income for 2025. The bank reported:
* Adjusted earnings per share: $1.58 vs. $1.35 expected
* Revenue: $20.38 billion versus $20.59 billion expected
* Net income rose 47% to $5.1 billion, or $1.43 per share, from $3.45 billion, or 86 cents per share, a year ago
* After excluding severance costs of 15 cents per share, Wells Fargo earned $1.58 per share, outpacing the consensus estimate reported by LSEG
The San Francisco-based lender said it expects 2025 net interest income to be 1% to 3% higher than 2024’s number of $47.7 billion. The bank’s CEO, Charlie Scharf, attributed the strong performance to the bank’s progress in making investments to increase growth and improve customer service, as well as its strong balance sheet and capital returns to shareholders.
Wells Fargo’s investment banking fees jumped 59% to $725 million in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. The bank also repurchased 57.8 million shares, or $4 billion, of common stock in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Shares of Wells Fargo surged nearly 5% on Wednesday, and the stock is up 6% so far in January, following a 43% surge in 2024.