Truist Financial reported its fourth quarter results on Wednesday. The numbers fell short of Wall Street expectations. This happened even though the bank showed growth in loans and interest income.
The stock reacted quickly. Truist shares dropped 4.84 percent in pre market trading after the earnings announcement.
The Charlotte based bank reported net income of $1.29 billion. Earnings came in at $1.00 per share. Analysts were expecting $1.09 per share.
Revenue also missed estimates. Truist posted $5.25 billion in revenue. The market was looking for $5.31 billion.
Earnings were hit by one time costs. The bank booked a $130 million legal charge. It also recorded $63 million in severance expenses. Together, these reduced earnings by $0.12 per share.
Despite the miss, some core trends were positive. Net interest income rose 1.9 percent from the previous quarter. It reached $3.75 billion.
Net interest margin also improved. It increased by six basis points to 3.07 percent.
Loan growth remained steady. Average loans held for investment rose by $4.3 billion. This marked a 1.3 percent increase during the quarter.
Revenue was higher compared to last year. It rose 5.2 percent from $5.06 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
CEO Bill Rogers said the bank delivered strong performance in 2025. He said Truist focused on deeper client relationships, better efficiency, technology investments, and capital returns to shareholders. He added that disciplined risk management helped position the bank for long term growth.
Credit quality stayed mostly stable. Nonperforming loans remained unchanged at 0.48 percent of total loans.
However, charge offs increased. The net charge off ratio rose to 0.57 percent from 0.48 percent in the previous quarter. The rise came mainly from commercial loans, consumer credit, credit cards, and auto loans.
Truist continued returning capital to shareholders. The bank repurchased $750 million worth of shares during the quarter.
It also announced a new $10 billion share buyback program. The authorization has no expiry date. This signals confidence in the bank’s long term outlook, even after the quarterly earnings disappointment.
