Citigroup swings to fourth-quarter profit, tops estimates on investment banking strength
The fourth quarter report comes after a year where Citi's stock rose almost 37%, outperforming the S&P 500
Citigroup reported its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday morning ahead of Wall Street's opening bell, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines and showing broad strength across the bank.
Shares of the bank rose more than 3% in premarket trading.
Here is how the company did relative to LSEG analyst consensus estimates:
- Earnings: $1.34 a share, vs $1.22 expected
- Revenue: $19.58 billion, vs $19.49 billion expected
Citi's net income was $2.86 billion from the quarter, an improvement from a net loss of $1.84 billion a year ago. Year-over-year comparisons for fourth quarter income metrics may be complicated by charges Citi booked in the final period of 2023.
The bank reported growth across several different business units during the fourth quarter. Investment banking in particular was a bright spot, with revenue jumping 35% year over year. Citi said continued momentum in the issuance of investment grade corporate debt helped boost that area of the business. As a result, total banking revenue grew 12%, which expanded to 27% when including the impact of loan hedges.
Markets revenue jumped 36% year over year, with both the fixed income and equity businesses growing. Fixed income markets revenue of $3.48 billion was well above the $2.95 billion projected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.
Revenue for the wealth and services units climbed 20% and 15%, respectively, year over year.
"2024 was a critical year and our results show our strategy is delivering as intended and driving stronger performance in our businesses. Our net income was up nearly 40% to $12.7 billion and we exceeded our full-year revenue target, including record years in Services, Wealth and U.S. Personal Banking," CEO Jane Fraser said in a press release.
Citi's cost of credit for quarter was $2.59 billion. That was down from $3.55 billion a year ago, and $2.68 billion in the third quarter. The bank added a net $203 million to its allowance for credit losses, which was also down from prior periods.
On the analyst call later Wednesday, investors will also be looking for progress updates about Fraser's turnaround efforts. Fraser took over the bank in March 2021 and has focused on slimming down the company, including selling off some international units.
Citi's stock was a strong performer in 2024, rising nearly 37% on the year. The stock was up more than 4% so far this year entering Wednesday.
This story originally appeared on: CNBC - Author:Jesse Pound
