Citi Beats Q3 Estimates: CEO Fraser Says Bank On Track To Meet 2024 Expense, Revenue Targets

Citigroup Inc (C) on Tuesday reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings for the third quarter but posted a decline in its net interest income. Shares of the lender rose over 1% on Tuesday morning following the earnings release.

Revenue rose 1% year-over-year (YoY) to $20.315 billion and came in higher than an estimate of $19.83 billion. Earnings per share stood at $1.51 versus an estimate of $1.31. However, the bank’s net income declined 9% YoY to $3.24 billion, primarily driven by higher cost of credit and partially offset by higher revenues and lower expenses.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, fell 3% YoY to $13.36 billion.

Notably, Citi has been implementing cost cutting and restructuring measures that included a reduction in headcount and management layers.

CEO Jane Fraser said while the bank continues making substantial investments in its transformation, efficiencies gained from simplification and other efforts drove a 2% reduction in expenses.

“We are on track to meet our expense and revenue targets for the year and look to close out 2024 with momentum as we prepare for 2025,” she said in a statement.

Investment Banking revenue was up 31% YoY to $934 million, driven by a 44% increase in fees. According to Citi, the Investment Banking fee increase was led by strength in Debt Capital Markets, which benefited from continued strong investment grade issuance, and an increase in Advisory due to strong announced deal volume from earlier this year coming to fruition.

Wealth revenues rose 9% to $2 billion, driven by a 15% increase in non-interest revenue while US Personal Banking revenues grew 3% to $5 billion, driven by higher net interest income due to loan growth in cards and higher non-interest revenue due to lower partner payments.

Following the announcement, retail sentiment on Stocktwits flipped into the ‘bullish’ territory, accompanied by ‘extremely high’ retail chatter.

Stocktwits users with a bullish view on the firm are expressing optimism on the stock.

Also See: Goldman Sachs Stock Rises On Strong Q3 Results: NII Soars 70%, Investment Banking Fees Up 20%

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