Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. WFC,
fell 2.5% in trading to the market on Friday, after the bank reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations for the first time in six quarters, but revenue fell more than forecast is because lower interest rates outweigh net interest income. Net income rose to $ 2.99 billion, or 64 cents per share, from $ 2.87 billion, or 60 cents per share in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 59 cents. Total revenue fell 9.7% to $ 17.93 billion, missing the $ 18.12 billion FactSet consensus as revenue declined across all of the bank’s business segments. Net interest income fell 17% to $ 9.28 billion, below the $ 9.35 billion FactSet consensus. Consumer banking and loan revenues fell 5% to $ 8.61 billion, as an 8% decline in bank revenues for consumers and small businesses and a 7% drop in credit card revenues offset a 2% increase in home loans. “Although our financial performance improved and we earned $ 3.0 billion in the fourth quarter, our results continued to be affected by the unprecedented operating environment and the work required to address our significant heritage issues,” said Charlie Scharf, CEO chief, said. The stock has risen 51.4% over the past three months to Thursday, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF XLF,
advanced by 26.0% and the S&P 500 SPX,
achieved 9.0%.
