Wells Fargo posted a solid first quarter on paper, but Wall Street wasn’t impressed. The bank beat on earnings but missed on revenue, and that was enough to send the stock lower before the open.
WELLS FARGO $WFC Q1’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
Revenue: $21.45B (Est. $21.76B)
; UP +6% YoY
; UP +15% YoY
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) April 14, 2026
Adjusted EPS came in at $1.60, two cents ahead of the $1.58 analyst consensus. Revenue hit $21.45 billion, up 6% from a year ago, but fell short of the $21.76 billion analysts had expected.
Net profit for the quarter was $5.25 billion, compared with $4.89 billion in the same period last year. That translates to $1.60 per share versus $1.39 a year earlier — a 15% increase.
Net interest income rose 5% year-over-year to $12.1 billion. Noninterest income climbed 8% to $9.35 billion.
Average loans grew 10% to $996 billion. Average deposits rose 6% to $1.42 trillion. The bank’s return on equity improved to 12.2% from 11.5% a year earlier.
CEO Charlie Scharf pointed to the bank’s underlying strength. “We saw continued positive impacts from the investments we have been making,” he said, citing the 15% rise in diluted EPS and loan growth of 11%.
Wells Fargo also returned $4 billion to stockholders through common stock repurchases during the quarter.
Market volatility, driven by geopolitical tensions and rate uncertainty, proved good for the bank’s trading desk. Markets revenue surged 19% to $2.17 billion in Q1.
The U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, which broke out in March, stoked fears over oil supply and stagflation. That pushed investors to reposition portfolios, generating more trading activity across Wall Street.
Scharf acknowledged the turbulence, saying the bank still sees “continued resiliency in the underlying economy,” though he noted the impact of higher oil prices may take time to show up.
Wells Fargo ended March with 200,999 employees, down from 205,198 at the end of December. Headcount has declined every quarter since late 2020.
Credit quality held steady. Net loan charge-offs remained at 0.45% of average loans, unchanged from Q1 2025. The provision for credit losses rose 22% to $1.14 billion, reflecting growth in commercial and auto loan balances.
The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 10.3%, down from 11.1% a year earlier.
WFC stock was down approximately 1.7% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The stock had already lost around 7% year-to-date heading into the print.
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