Citigroup Inc., a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions. The Markets segment offers sales and trading services for equities, foreign exchange, rates, spread products, and commodities to corporate, institutional, and public sector clients; and market-making services, including asset classes, risk management solutions, financing, prime brokerage, research, securities clearing, and settlement. The banking segment includes investment banking; advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, and corporate defense activities; and corporate lending, which includes corporate and commercial banking. The U.S. Personal Banking segment provides co-branded cards and retail banking services. The Wealth segment provides financial services to high-net-worth clients through banking, lending, mortgages, investment, custody, and trust product offerings; and to professional industries, including law firms, consulting groups, accounting, and asset management. The company was founded in 1812 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Citigroup looks like a large and profitable bank with a strong asset base, but with noticeably weaker return on equity than one would like to see in a sector leader. Revenue, gross profit, operating profit, and net profit in TTM have increased, which supports the valuation and indicates that the business scale has been maintained. At the same time, margin dynamics remain moderate: net margin, operating margin, and gross margin are improving year over year, but are still below industry medians, so earnings quality does not look outstanding. ROE, ROA, ROI, and return on tangible equity are also below the sector median, indicating insufficient efficiency in the use of capital and assets. On the other hand, P/B and P/S are below industry benchmarks, which partially offsets the weak profitability and suggests a lack of a strong valuation premium. P/E, by contrast, is above the median, meaning the market is already paying a not-so-low price for current earnings, which limits revaluation potential. The debt burden looks elevated: debt/equity is significantly above the median, and long-term debt remains large, which adds caution to the assessment. Liquidity, as measured by the current ratio, looks acceptable, but the quick ratio is zero, which requires careful interpretation for a bank and does not add confidence. Dividend yield in the latest period is absent, and historically it has declined, so the dividend case is currently weaker than before. The balance sheet in terms of assets and equity remains very large and stable, supporting the business’s resilience, but by itself it does not compensate for weak returns on capital. Overall, the fundamentals are rather neutral-to-positive for long-term holding, but without signs of clear undervaluation, so a moderate conservative downward adjustment is appropriate. For an investor, this means the company looks strong in scale and earnings, but the market has already priced in part of the improvement, and limited capital efficiency restrains a higher target valuation.

Citigroup, Inc.

A large and profitable bank with revenue and profit growth, but weak return on equity, elevated leverage, and without a strong dividend case.

The following companies are expected to report earnings prior to market open on 07/30/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.
Mastercard Incorporated (MA)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The financial transactions company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 12 analysts that follow the stock is $4.77. This value represents a 14.94% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year MA has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 4.55%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for MA is 28.70 vs. an industry ratio of 25.30, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The biomedical (gene) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 8 analysts that follow the stock is $1.59. This value represents a 8.90% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year BMY has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 9.72%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for BMY is 10.03 vs. an industry ratio of -10.80, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Altria Group (MO)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The tobacco company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 4 analysts that follow the stock is $1.50. This value represents a 4.17% increase compared to the same quarter last year. MO missed the consensus earnings per share in the 4th calendar quarter of 2025 by -0.76%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for MO is 13.13 vs. an industry ratio of 17.90.
Sanofi (SNY)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The large cap pharmaceutical company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 4 analysts that follow the stock is $1.10. This value represents a 22.22% increase compared to the same quarter last year. SNY missed the consensus earnings per share in the 2nd calendar quarter of 2025 by -6.25%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for SNY is 9.18 vs. an industry ratio of 19.50.
Southern Company (SO)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The electric power utilities company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $1.00. This value represents a 9.89% increase compared to the same quarter last year. SO missed the consensus earnings per share in the 4th calendar quarter of 2025 by -1.79%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for SO is 21.13 vs. an industry ratio of 19.00, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Trane Technologies plc (TT)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The technology services company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 4 analysts that follow the stock is $4.27. This value represents a 10.05% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year TT has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 3.95%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for TT is 31.57 vs. an industry ratio of 10.20, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The finance/investment management company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $1.27. This value represents a 27.00% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for KKR is 18.53 vs. an industry ratio of 14.70, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Valero Energy Corporation (VLO)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The oil refining company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 5 analysts that follow the stock is $9.87. This value represents a 332.89% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year VLO has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 37.46%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for VLO is 8.16 vs. an industry ratio of 1.60, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The engineering company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $3.03. This value represents a 34.67% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year PWR has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 34.66%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for PWR is 45.97 vs. an industry ratio of 9.80, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The securities exchange company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $1.84. This value represents a 1.66% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year ICE has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 3.52%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for ICE is 19.07 vs. an industry ratio of 22.80.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The oil/gas company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 5 analysts that follow the stock is $0.74. This value represents a 12.12% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for EPD is 13.18 vs. an industry ratio of 5.40, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
The Cigna Group (CI)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The hmo company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $7.58. This value represents a 5.28% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year CI has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 2.23%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for CI is 9.91 vs. an industry ratio of 20.10.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Pre-Market Earnings Report for July 30, 2026 : MA, BMY, MO, SNY, SO, TT, KKR, VLO, PWR, ICE, EPD, CI

Bank of America BAC delivered a strong second-quarter 2026 performance, underscoring the resilience of its diversified business model despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment. The bank reported 34.4% year-over-year earnings per share growth, driven by record net interest income (NII), robust trading and investment banking (IB) revenues, healthy loan growth, and resilient credit quality.
This quarter marked the 17th consecutive quarter of growth in trading revenues. Sales and trading revenues (excluding net DVA) increased 33% year over year to $7.16 billion. IB fees soared 50.5% to $1.15 billion, reflecting strong advisory and capital markets activity. Likewise, NII (fully taxable-equivalent basis) rose 9.1% to a record $16.16 billion, highlighting the strength of the bank’s core lending franchise.
The results also showcased the benefits of Bank of America’s long-term strategic investments. The company maintained a robust balance sheet, continued to reward shareholders through higher dividends and share repurchases, and reaffirmed its expectation for sustained NII growth in 2026.
Strength across its Consumer Banking, Global Banking, Global Markets, and Global Wealth & Investment Management segments further demonstrates the bank’s ability to generate balanced earnings from multiple businesses rather than relying on a single revenue source.
Given these strong operating trends, Bank of America appears well-positioned to create shareholder value. However, before making an investment decision, it is important to evaluate the company’s underlying fundamentals and growth drivers to determine whether the stock remains an attractive investment opportunity.
Key Factors Supporting Bank of America
Robust Top-Line Growth: Bank of America has been witnessing an increase in revenues over the past several years. Total net revenues witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% over the last five years (2020-2025), with the uptrend continuing in the first half of 2026.
Revenue Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The rise has been driven by consistent loan growth (net loans and leases saw a CAGR of 5.2% over the same time frame) and a favorable interest rate backdrop, along with a decent rise in fee income (total non-interest income witnessed a CAGR of 4.7%).
Despite declines in interest rates in 2024 and 2025, the company’s NII saw a CAGR of 6.7% in the five years ended 2025, primarily supported by increasing loan balances. The uptrend for NII has continued in the first six months of 2026.
With interest rates expected to remain elevated and the possibility of a rate hike later in the year, along with a continued rise in loan balances and fixed-rate asset repricing, BAC’s NII is expected to continue to improve in the near term. Management expects full-year 2026 NII (FTE) to grow in the upper end of 6-8%. This, coupled with fee income growth, will likely keep supporting revenue expansion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAC’s 2026 and 2027 revenues is pegged at $123.5 billion and $129.9 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth rates of 12% and 5.1%, respectively.
Revenue Growth Estimates
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Strong Recovery in Investment Banking Franchise: Bank of America’s IB business has regained strong momentum following the industry-wide slowdown in global deal-making during 2022-2023.
After IB fees declined 45.7% in 2022 and 2.4% in 2023, the franchise rebounded with 31.4% growth in 2024 and an 8.4% increase in 2025. The recovery accelerated in the first half of 2026, with IB fees rising 36.4% year over year, driven by a 61% surge in advisory revenues, a 52.8% increase in equity underwriting fees and a 10.9% rise in debt underwriting income.
With corporate confidence gradually improving, capital markets reopening and Bank of America maintaining a robust investment banking pipeline, the company is well-positioned to sustain fee income growth and further diversify earnings beyond its traditional lending business.
Integration of Artificial Intelligence With Branch Expansion: Bank of America is integrating AI with its branch expansion strategy by building a “phygital” banking model that combines AI-driven digital capabilities with modern, tech-enabled financial centers. While the bank plans to open more than 150 new centers by 2027, AI tools like Erica, fraud-detection systems and automated workflows are increasingly handling routine transactions and customer interactions.
This allows branch employees to focus on higher-value advisory services and cross-selling products such as mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. The strategy is expected to improve operating efficiency, lower costs, enhance customer engagement, and drive stronger fee income and NII growth over the long term, ultimately supporting sustained operating margin expansion.
Strong Balance Sheet & Liquidity Position: As of June 30, 2026, Bank of America had total debt worth $732.1 billion. Its cash and cash-equivalents balance was $229.7 billion. Despite a high debt burden, the company’s liquidity position seems sufficient to meet near-term obligations since BAC has easy access to the debt markets, given its investment-grade long-term credit ratings of A1, A- and AA- from Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, respectively, along with a stable outlook.
The company has an efficient capital distribution plan, supported by its earnings strength, through which it keeps enhancing shareholder value. After clearing the 2026 stress test, Bank of America raised its quarterly dividend 14.3% to 32 cents per share. Prior to this, it increased its dividend 7.7% in 2025, 8.3% in 2024, 9.1% in 2023, 4.8% in 2022 and 17% in 2021.
Also, BAC engages in regular share repurchases. In July 2025, it authorized a $40-billion repurchase program. As of June 30, 2026, $17 billion worth of authorization remained available for repurchase.
Analyzing Bank of America’s Price Performance & Valuation
So far this year, shares of Bank of America have gained 12.8%, outperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 7.5% rally and the industry’s 10.4% growth.
If we look at BAC’s two key peers, JPMorgan JPM and Citigroup C, it appears that while BAC has outperformed JPM year to date, it has underperformed Citigroup.
Shares of JPMorgan have gained 9.6%, whereas the Citigroup stock has appreciated 13.3%.
YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Looking at Bank of America’s valuation, the stock is currently trading at a 12-month trailing price-to-tangible book (P/TB) of 2.19X, which is below the industry’s 3.40X. This shows that BAC is currently trading at a discount relative to the industry average.
P/TB Ratio (TTM)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
JPMorgan has a P/TB of 3.29X, while Citigroup’s P/TB ratio is 1.34X. Thus, currently, BAC is overvalued compared with Citigroup but undervalued compared with JPMorgan.
Final Verdict on Bank of America
BAC has a strong fundamental positioning, driven by scalable AI capabilities, data advantage from its vast customer base and a well-executed strategy that blends digital efficiency with targeted branch expansion. With continued investments in technology and a disciplined expansion approach, the company will likely deliver steady margin expansion and long-term value creation.
In addition to this, BAC’s diversified revenue base across consumer banking, wealth management and institutional operations provides resilience across economic cycles. The bank continues to benefit from a large, low-cost deposit franchise, improving NII and disciplined cost management, all of which are expected to support steady profitability. Looking at these positives, it seems to be a wise idea to add the BAC stock to your portfolio now.
Analysts also seem optimistic regarding the company’s earnings growth potential. Over the past seven days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAC’s 2026 and 2027 earnings has been revised upward. Earnings estimates for 2026 suggest a year-over-year rise of 22.1% and the estimates for 2027 indicate growth of 12.6%.
Earnings Estimate Revision
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
At present, Bank of America carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Should You Invest in Bank of America Following Impressive Q2 Results?

Citigroup, Inc. C delivered an impressive second-quarter performance, easily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with strong growth in revenues and earnings. Other major banks, including Bank of America BAC and Wells Fargo WFC, also came out with solid quarterly results.
Citigroup generated its highest quarterly revenues of $24.76 billion in a decade, which jumped 14% year over year and topped Zacks Consensus Estimates by more than 4%. More impressively, second-quarter adjusted net income surged 45% on a year over year basis to $5.8 billion. This translated into adjusted earnings per share of $3.15, which crushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by nearly 16% and climbed more than 60% from the prior year quarter.
Growth was broad-based across the franchise, with investment banking, markets, wealth management, services and consumer banking all contributing to the strong quarter. Citigroup also generated positive operating leverage as revenue growth significantly outpaced expense growth, highlighting that CEO Jane Fraser's multi-year restructuring efforts continue to improve the firm's operating efficiency.
C shares are also experiencing significant momentum, rising 14.4% year to date and outperforming the industry’s growth of 11.6%. Bank of America’s shares have risen 14% while Wells Fargo shares declined 6.4% over the same period.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Most important for investors, significant progress in the ongoing overhaul plan and impressive earnings beat over the past four trailing quarters have prompted analysts to raise their earnings outlook, leading to favorable estimate revisions. Notably, for 2026 and 2027, earnings estimates rose 3.1% and 2.5%, respectively, in the last 30 days, respectively.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Citigroup is expected to post 40.8% year-over-year earnings growth this year, followed by a 15% rise in 2027.
Following the blockbuster second-quarter report, a sharp run-up in share price and upward estimate trend, does Citigroup’s stock still offers meaningful upside or if much of the optimism is already reflected in the stock price? To answer this, let us delve deeper and assess C’s investment potential in more detail.
Citigroup’s Performance Catalysts
Strategic Transformation: Citigroup has moved closer to completing its multi-year exit from non-core international consumer banking. The sale of the Polish consumer business in June 2026 marked the final international consumer divestiture apart from remaining wind-downs of Banamex. The company also sold an additional 22.6% stake in Banamex in the second quarter after selling 25% in late 2025. The remaining Banamex deconsolidation and IPO are planned for early 2027, with management expecting the transaction to free up $5 billion in capital.
These transactions follow the completed Russia exit and divestures of consumer franchises across Asia and EMEA. The simpler structure reduces operational complexity, releases capital and allows management to direct resources toward Services, Markets, Banking, Wealth and U.S. Consumer Cards. As the remaining divestitures and wind-downs conclude, lower stranded costs and a more focused allocation of capital should support the path toward higher sustainable returns.
Backed by these initiatives, Citigroup expects revenues, excluding Legacy Franchises and reconciling items, to see a mid-single-digit CAGR from 2025 through 2028. It also aims to achieve a return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) of 10-11% by 2026. C expects to reach 11-13% RoTCE, excluding notable items in 2027 and 2028, and then move toward 14-15% RoTCE over the medium term. This outlook reflects management’s belief that C’s business model is becoming simpler, more efficient and better able to translate revenue growth into shareholder value.
Cost-Optimization Initiatives: The company continues to execute its multi-year cost optimization strategy, centered on workforce rationalization, process simplification, automation and technology investments aimed at enhancing long-term productivity and profitability.
As part of its restructuring program, the company remains on track to eliminate 20,000 positions by the end of 2026. Its total headcount declined to 219,000 as of June 30, 2026, from 230,000 a year earlier. In the first half of 2026, the bank incurred more than $800 million in severance costs, reflecting upfront investments to achieve sustainable operating efficiencies.
Beyond workforce optimization, management is driving efficiency through process simplification, platform consolidation and increased automation, reducing manual touchpoints across operations. At the same time, the company continues to invest in technology and artificial intelligence to strengthen operational resilience, improve productivity and support future revenue growth. To accelerate these initiatives, Citigroup plans to invest an incremental $5 billion between 2026 and 2028, with spending focused on technology modernization, marketing, front-office talent and branch renovations.
Management expects workforce optimization, organizational simplification and technology investments to generate $2-$2.5 billion of annualized cost savings by 2026. The company continues to target a full-year efficiency ratio of 60%. While a portion of these savings will enhance profitability, management intends to reinvest part of the benefits into technology, talent and strategic growth initiatives to support sustainable long-term returns.
Interest Rate Outlook Remains Supportive: NII has been a key contributor to Citigroup’s earnings power and management expects growth to continue amid a shifting rate environment. NII witnessed a three-year CAGR of 6.2% (ended 2025). The uptrend continued in the first half of 2026. Also, the company has been witnessing solid growth in loans and deposit balances.
Though the Federal Reserve is expected to hike the interest rates later this year, Citigroup’s NII will continue to grow, given stabilizing funding/deposit costs and solid loan demand. Management expects NII, excluding Markets, to increase 5-6% in 2026, supported by loan growth and stabilizing funding dynamics.
Liquidity Strength Powers Shareholder Payouts: C enjoys a strong liquidity position. As of June 30, 2026, Citigroup’s cash and due from banks and total investments aggregated to $449.4 billion, lower than its total debt (short-term and long-term borrowing) of $373.3 billion.
Post-clearing the 2026 stress test, the company hiked its dividend 11.7% to 67 cents per share. In the past five years, it has raised its dividends four times. By comparison, Wells Fargo and Bank of America have raised their dividends six and five times, respectively, during the past five years.
Coming back to Citigroup, it maintains a modest payout ratio of 23%, indicating adequate scope to sustain distributions. The company’s annual dividend yield of 1.82% is higher than the industry average, providing investors with a steady income stream while management continues to execute its turnaround strategy.
Citigroup has also remained active in repurchasing shares. The board authorized a $30-billion buyback commitment in June 2026, with no expiry date.
Including dividends, C’s total return over the past three years has been nearly 208% compared with the industry’s average of 136.9%. Thus, the combination of potential capital appreciation, dependable dividend income and continued share repurchases enhances the stock’s total-return prospects. Supported by Citigroup’s robust liquidity and capital levels, its shareholder payout activities appear sustainable.
Total Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Final View on Citigroup
C’s multi-year transformation is beginning to translate into a stronger earnings profile. The bank’s divestitures, expense-control measures, AI-driven productivity initiatives and increasing focus on higher-return businesses should support revenue growth, operating efficiency and profitability over time. Its solid liquidity position, dividend growth and planned share repurchase further strengthen the investment case.
Wall Street sentiment also remains favorable. Citigroup has an average brokerage recommendation of 1.76 on a scale of 1 to 5, wherein 1 represents Strong Buy and 5 represents Strong Sell. Of the 25 brokerage recommendations, 15 are Strong Buy and three are Buy, representing 60% and 12% of the total, respectively. Check price target & stock forecast for Citigroup here>>>
Brokerage Rating Breakdown for C
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation remains another key positive. Citigroup trades at a forward P/E multiple of 10.86X, below the industry average of 14.06X and its peers Bank of America and Wells Fargo’s multiples of 12.44X and 11.32X, respectively. Citigroup’s discounted valuation despite a sharp increase in share price indicates that the market is still pricing in relatively cautious expectations for its long-term earnings potential.
Price-to-Earnings F12M
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
This leaves scope for further upside. If management continues to improve returns, control costs and narrow the profitability gap with peers, Citigroup could benefit from both earnings growth and valuation-multiple expansion.
As such, supported by improving fundamentals, disciplined capital returns and favorable analyst sentiment, Citigroup offers an attractive combination of value and growth potential.
Citigroup currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Is Citigroup Stock Still a Buy After Its Blockbuster Q2 Performance?

Key Points
Citigroup stock sank 7% after it released its Q2 earnings.
The bank crushed estimates and posted strong growth.
Was it a knee-jerk reaction by investors?
The second quarter proved to be a strong one for big banks, which were fueled by a surge in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions, institutional trading, and rising asset levels. But one big bank failed to impress investors despite reporting solid results in Q2: Citigroup (NYSE: C).
Citigroup stock has tumbled some 7% since the bank reported earnings on July 14. It's surprising given how Citigroup performed, crushing estimates by a wider margin than many of its competitors. But the investment case may have turned negative for many investors on the tepid outlook.
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But is this a knee-jerk reaction or a longer-term concern?
Blowout Q2 results
Citigroup turned in an excellent second quarter, with revenue up 14% year over year to $24.8 billion. This beat estimates of $23.7 billion. Net income skyrocketed 45% to $5.8 billion, or $3.15 per share, which destroyed consensus estimates of $2.73 per share. Earnings were buoyed by improving credit quality, as provisions for credit losses were $2.5 billion, 12% lower than the same quarter a year ago.
Citigroup posted strong gains across the board. Net interest income rose 13% year over year across the franchise. Equity markets trading revenue soared 45%, while investment banking revenue surged 44% year over year.
Also, its efficiency ratio, which shows how much the bank spends for every dollar of revenue, sank by 530 basis points to 57.4%. And its return on tangible common equity, another key efficiency metric, soared 430 basis points to 13%.
Given the strong results, investors were looking for the bank to raise its guidance, but it did not, as Citigroup maintained its previous guidance across its key metrics. Not only did Citigroup not lift its outlook, it raised some red flags.
Playing the long game
On theearnings call CFO Gonzalo Luchetti said management expects expense growth to outpace revenue growth in some of the next few quarters as the bank invests in its business. Some of the increased spending will come from pulling forward investments initially slated for 2027.
"We are taking full advantage of the market conditions, particularly if they are good in the second half, to be able to make the investments and take actions that will drive growth for the next number of years. And that is where and that is the message that the Street should be taking from this," CEO Jane Fraser said on the earnings call. "We are playing the long game."
The Street is actually bullish on Citigroup stock, with 77% rating it as a buy. It has a median price target of $156 per share, which suggests 18% upside.
Citigroup stock is cheap right now, trading at 12 times forward earnings and a PEG ratio below 1 at 0.72. And if the next few quarters are choppy, it could become even cheaper. The outlook may have changed the short-term investment case for some, but as Fraser said, they are playing the long game. It might not be a bad stock to pick up if it dips further, as the efficiency and growth metrics have been excellent.
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Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Dave Kovaleski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Did Citigroup's Latest Earnings Change the Investment Case?

Key Points
Oil prices are high, inflation is running hot, and Wall Street is tentatively watching consumers.
Bank earnings from the industry giants are in, and the results are very clear.
U.S. consumers appear to be handling the economic headwinds in relative stride.
There's a saying that Wall Street climbs a wall of worry. One of the big worries right now is around inflation, which is running hotter than the Federal Reserve would like, at least partly thanks to high oil prices (driven by a worrying geopolitical conflict in the Middle East). The fear is that the U.S. economy could be tipped into a recession, as strained consumers are forced to pull back.
You can get a look at how well consumers are doing by examining the second quarter results of big banks. If Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) are any indication, Wall Street's economic worries may be misplaced.
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The big-bank numbers you need to watch
Two of the key metrics used to identify financial strain among a bank's customers are the charge-off ratio and the non-performing loan ratio. The charge-off ratio is simply the percentage of a bank's loans that it believes are uncollectible. That's basically the worst-case scenario view of the credit situation. The non-performing loan ratio is the percentage of a bank's loans that aren't currently being paid, which could lead to a default. That's basically one step ahead of the charge-off ratio.
Bank of America's customers are fine
Starting with Bank of America, one of the world's largest financial institutions, the story looks pretty good. The bank's charge-off ratio was 0.47% in the second quarter of 2026. That's not a bad number, but it doesn't give you the full picture. The first quarter figure was 0.48%, and the charge-off ratio a year earlier was 0.55%. In other words, it looks like the bank's customers are in better shape today than they were a year ago.
The same trend holds with the non-performing loan ratio. It was 0.47% in the second quarter. That was down slightly from 0.49% in the first quarter and 0.52% a year earlier. So this leading indicator of increasing strain is also moving in a positive direction.
Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase customers are fine, too
Wells Fargo's credit metrics showed the same trends as Bank of America. Its net charge-off ratio in the second quarter was 0.34%. That was down from 0.45% in the first quarter and 0.44% a year earlier. The bank's non-performing loan ratio was 0.77%, down from 0.86% in the first quarter and year earlier periods.
JPMorgan Chase's numbers weren't quite as good, but they weren't worrying, either. Its net charge-off ratio was 1.51% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 1.56% in the first quarter and up slightly from 1.48% a year ago. No big moves are taking shape there. Its non-performing loan ratio was more sanguine, with the second quarter figure for its credit card business at 1%, down from 1.15% in the first quarter and 1.07% a year earlier. Credit cards are often where financial strain first shows up.
Citigroup card customers highlight the need to keep watching
That said, Citibank is seeing a slightly weaker trend in its credit card business. The company's general-purpose cards had a non-performing loan rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, up slightly from 1.27% in the first quarter and 1.21% in the year-ago period. The cards the company issues for retailers (private-label cards), which tend to carry more credit risk, had a non-performing loan rate of 2%, down from 2.08% in the first quarter but up from 1.92% in the second quarter of 2025. Citibank's card business is an indication that investors can't ignore the health of the consumer. And yet, the numbers still aren't at worrying levels.
Every bank is different, so these credit metrics are similar but not identical. You really have to take a big-picture view to get a sense of how well consumers are doing right now. When you do that, the answer is that the health of the U.S. consumer is still strong. But, at the same time, the big picture shows that you shouldn't stop monitoring the trends given the geopolitical and economic backdrop.
Should you buy stock in Bank of America right now?
Before you buy stock in Bank of America, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bank of America wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $377,990!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,269,518!*
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Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

What Big Bank Earnings Just Revealed About the Health of the U.S. Consumer

Key Points
Citi says it's time to buy semiconductor stocks -- but investors disagree.
AI chip sales drive Intel's fastest sales growth in 15 years.
Sandisk stock sells off on anyway.
Easy come, easy go. At one point yesterday, Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) stock was up 6% -- before giving back almost all its gains at the close. Today, Sandisk continues to slide lower, with losses hitting 6.5% as of 11:25 a.m. ET.
And yet, the news for Sandisk today is actually pretty good.
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Citi says "buy chip stocks"
Citigroup this morning called the recent broad-based sell-off in semiconductor stocks a buying opportunity for investors. High demand for AI chips and memory chips at AI data centers is driving chip sales, says Citi, accounting for about 34% of total chip sales, and Citi sees demand continuing to outrun supply through 2030.
Automotive and industrial chip demand accounts for 21% of the market and is also growing. Really, the only place chip sales are sagging is in PCs, mobile phones, and consumer electronics. That's 42% of the market -- a big chunk -- but sales are only weak because memory costs so much, and there's not enough supply!
All things considered, this is bullish for Sandisk, which supplies the memory and reaps the high prices.
Intel sales soar
On top of this positive commentary, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) just reported a big earnings beat -- pro forma profits of $0.42 per share were twice what Wall Street expected. Sales grew 25% to $16.1 billion, Intel's fastest revenue growth in nearly 15 years, and were also more than analysts forecast.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan says "AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute," with notable growth in sales of Intel Xeon processors for inference solutions (i.e., answering questions). That's a segment of the artificial intelligence market known to require especially large amounts of memory chips to function.
These are all reasons to buy Sandisk stock -- not sell it.
Should you buy stock in Sandisk right now?
Before you buy stock in Sandisk, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Sandisk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $371,519!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,281,302!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 892% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 24, 2026.
Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Did Sandisk Stock Drop Friday?

Key Points
Citi says it's time to buy semiconductor stocks -- but investors disagree.
Intel just reported stronger than expected profits.
Micron stock sells off on good news.
Easy come, easy go. Micron (NASDAQ: MU) stock closed up 3.2% Thursday evening, but it's giving all those gains back this morning, with shares down 5.7% through 10 a.m. ET.
And yet, the news for Micron today is actually pretty good.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Citi says "buy chip stocks"
Let's start with the news from Wall Street, where Citigroup is calling the recent broad-based sell-off in semiconductor stocks a buying opportunity for investors. Insatiable data center demand is driving sales of AI chips and memory chips from companies such as Micron to support them, says Citi. Roughly 34% of semiconductor demand comes from this direction, and Citi sees demand continuing to outstrip supply through 2030.
Automotive and industrial chips demand makes up 21% of the market, and is growing as well. Really, the only market for chips that's weakening is in PCs, mobile phones, and consumer electronics. That's 42% of the market -- a big chunk -- but it's only weakening because memory costs so much, and there's not enough supply!
Suffice it to say, all of this sounds pretty bullish for Micron, which supplies the memory and reaps the high prices.
Intel proves demand is strong
On top of this good news, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) just reported a big earnings beat -- pro forma profits of $0.42 per share that were twice what Wall Street expected -- and sales growing 25% to $16.1 billion, beating estimates and showing Intel's fastest revenue growth in nearly 15 years.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan says "AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute," with notable growth in sales of Intel Xeon processors for inference solutions (i.e., answering questions). That's a segment of the artificial intelligence market known to require especially large amounts of memory chips to function.
These are all reasons to buy Micron stock -- not sell it.
Should you buy stock in Micron Technology right now?
Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Micron Technology wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $371,519!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,281,302!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 892% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 24, 2026.
Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Did Micron Stock Drop Friday?

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (Symbol: ACWI) where we have detected an approximate $246.9 million dollar outflow -- that's a 0.8% decrease week over week (from 211,600,000 to 210,000,000). Among the largest underlying components of ACWI, in trading today Philip Morris International Inc (Symbol: PM) is up about 2%, GE Vernova Inc (Symbol: GEV) is down about 0.8%, and Citigroup Inc (Symbol: C) is relatively unchanged. For a complete list of holdings, visit the ACWI Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of ACWI, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, ACWI's low point in its 52 week range is $127.77 per share, with $160.03 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $154.51. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Further ACWI Research:
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

ACWI, PM, GEV, C: Large Outflows Detected at ETF

(RTTNews) - Mastercard Inc. (MA), the U.S. payments network, Thursday announced expansion of 'In Control' virtual card number platform with new security controls, embedded payments and a single API connection.
The payments company said the enhancements to its business-to-business payments platform were aimed at helping issuers, corporates and platforms manage virtual card programs with greater control and less integration work.
Mastercard said its virtual card ecosystem now spans issuers, direct platforms and corporates across 43 countries and 174 currencies. The company cited data from Kaiser Associates calling 'In Control' the industry-leading virtual card number platform.
The Company will be rolling out two new controls across the virtual card lifecycle. 'Issuer Enforced Controls' let issuers set spend limits, transaction caps and validity periods at card creation. 'Clearing Controls,' first introduced last year, is intended to let corporates and platforms block invalid transactions and manage payment timing beyond authorization.
Citigroup Inc. (C), the U.S. bank, is live with both controls and is expected to be the first issuer to roll them out globally later this year, Mastercard said.
The Company also expanded 'Commercial Connect API,' the market's only single API front door for virtual cards, according to Kaiser Associates.
New features include the ability to apply multiple control sets at the real card level and to combine virtual card creation and payment initiation in one step.
Mastercard said fraud rates on virtual cards were less than one-fifth of those on non-virtual cards, and even lower for cards issued through 'In Control.'
Since launching its embedded virtual card program in March 2025, Mastercard said dozens of partners in expense management, ERP, accounts payable, travel, hospitality, healthcare and e-commerce had joined. It cited a new integration with SAP SE (SAP), the German software company, and a mobile virtual card launch with HSBC Holdings Plc. (HSBA.L), the UK bank, in the UAE.
On the NYSE, shares of Mastercard are currently losing 0.86 percent, changing hands at $527.41.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Mastercard Adds Security Controls, Single API To Virtual Card Platform

The Board of Directors of Citigroup declared a quarterly dividend on Citigroup's common stock of $0.67 per share, payable on August 28, 2026, to stockholders of record on August 3, 2026.
The Board of Directors of Albemarle today announced that it declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.41 per share. The dividend, which has an annualized rate of $1.64, is payable Oct. 1, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business as of Sept. 11, 2026.
Rollins, a premier global consumer and commercial services company, announced that the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.1825 per share payable September 10, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 10, 2026.
Norfolk Southern announced today a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable August 20, 2026, to shareholders of record on August 7, 2026. The company has paid a dividend on its common stock for 176 consecutive quarters since its formation in 1982.
The Board of Directors of Air Products today declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on November 9, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 1, 2026.
The Board of Directors of McKesson yesterday declared a regular dividend of $0.94 per share of common stock, a 15% increase from $0.82 per share in the prior quarter. The dividend will be payable on October 1, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 1, 2026. "Today's announcement marks our tenth consecutive year of dividend growth, reflecting the strength of our business, our disciplined approach to capital allocation and our commitment to returning capital to shareholders," said Brian Tyler, chair and chief executive officer. "We remain focused on leveraging our financial strength to execute against the company priorities and create sustainable, long-term value for shareholders."
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Citigroup, Inc.

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