Banking giants Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) both reported Wednesday morning that their fourth quarter and full-year profits rose from a year ago. It wasn’t enough for investors.
For the quarter, Bank of America’s net income came in at $7.6 billion, a 12% rise from a year ago and ahead of forecasts for $7.4 billion. Wells Fargo’s net income rose 6% to $5.4 billion, in line with forecasts.
Both banking giants reported their highest full-year net income in four years.
Bank of America’s earnings per share came in at $0.98, ahead of forecasts, while Wells Fargo reported earnings per share of $1.62, shy of forecasts for $1.67. Wells Fargo’s results included a $0.14 impact related to severance costs in the quarter.
Profits at their banking peer, Citigroup (C), which reported later Wednesday morning, declined 13% from a year ago, with the bank’s $2.5 billion in net income and earnings per share of $1.19 both missing analyst forecasts. During the quarter, Citi disclosed that it would record a $1.2 billion loss in the period to recognize the forthcoming sale of its Russia unit.
Wells Fargo stock fell more than 5% by Wednesday afternoon while Bank of America stock and Citigroup’s tumbled nearly 5% over the same day.
Read more: Live coverage of corporate earnings
Revenue growth at BofA and Wells Fargo was driven by higher lending margins and fees compared to the year-ago quarter. Bank of America’s firm-wide revenue rose 7% to $28 billion, while Wells Fargo posted a 4% increase in revenue to $21.3 billion.
Bank of America’s fourth quarter dealmaking revenue rose 1% from the year-ago quarter to $1.67 billion, while trading fees within the firm rose 10% to $4.5 billion, driven by equities.
At Citi, investment banking revenue climbed 35% to $1.29 billion, driven by a surge in its M&A advisory business. Its markets division, which houses trading operations, reported a 1% drop in trading fees over the fourth quarter compared to the year-ago period.
Over the same period, Wells Fargo’s investment banking revenue fell 1% to $716 million. Its trading operations reported an 8% increase to $1.6 billion in fees over the fourth quarter.
The CEOs of the nation’s second, third, and fourth-largest banks, respectively, shared optimistic views about the path ahead for the US economy and their own institutions. Last fall, Bank of America and Wells Fargo set new growth and return targets. Citigroup set its own target on the same profitability measure, return on tangible common equity, or ROTCE, in 2022 but lowered the range at the beginning of last year.
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