Wells Fargo Posts Mixed Third Quarter as Net Interest Income Misses Estimates

11:46 AM EDT, 10/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Wells Fargo (WFC) reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, although the banking giant's revenue fell short of market projections amid disappointing net interest income. The lender posted net income of $1.87 a share for the quarter ended September, up from $1.66 the year before and topping the FactSet-polled consensus of $1.85. Overall revenue rose to $21.87 billion from $21.44 billion, but trailed Wall Street's $22.31 billion view. Net interest income rose 5% to $12.52 billion in the third quarter, falling short of the average analyst estimate that indicated $12.66 billion. Lower interest rates on floating-rate assets and higher deposit costs weighed on net interest income, Wells Fargo said. Noninterest income fell 1% to $9.35 billion. Wells Fargo's shares fell 1.2% in Tuesday trade, taking their year-to-date loss to nearly 12%. In corporate and investment banking, revenue rose 3% to $5.01 billion, driven by a 10% increase in investment banking. Markets revenue nudged 1% lower to $1.84 billion due to declines across most fixed income, currencies and commodities products. Revenue in Wells Fargo's consumer banking and lending segment improved 5% to $10.66 billion, while commercial banking added 6% to $3.24 billion. The wealth and investment management division logged growth of 12%. US economic growth continues to be strong as consumer spending remains resilient despite inflation pressures, Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said during an earnings conference call, according to a FactSet transcript. While uncertainty persists due to fiscal deficits and sticky inflation amid the Middle East conflict, "a historic wave of technology related capital expenditures" and strong labor markets are among factors that have proven more powerful than expected, Scharf said. Last month, the Federal Reserve lifted its policy rate by 25 basis points, marking its first hike in just over three years as it sought to bring inflation down to its 2% target. "Inflation and higher interest rates continue to be headwinds," Scharf said. "And the longer they persist, the more pressure they can place on both consumers and commercial clients." Wells Fargo continues to anticipate net interest income of around $50 billion for 2026, it said in an earnings presentation. The Street is looking for $49.97 billion. For the ongoing three-month period, it expects the metric to come in at roughly $13 billion, compared with the market's view of $12.86 billion. Big bank earnings kicked off today, with JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) third-quarter results missing market expectations amid investment securities losses. Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS) beat Wall Street's projections. Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are due to report their latest financials on Wednesday. Ahead of the earnings season, Oppenheimer said it expected Wells Fargo to match EPS consensus estimates for the September quarter, while projecting Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup to fall short. Price: 82.50, Change: -0.82, Percent Change: -0.98