MW Citigroup's stock is rising even with profit falling below expectations. Russia is one reason.
By Tomi Kilgore
The bank booked a billion-dollar-plus loss related to its plan to divest assets in Russia
Citigroup's stock rose with the bank's earnings miss tied to a previously disclosed loss related to the plan to sell AO Citibank in Russia.
Citigroup missed fourth-quarter earnings expectations, but shares rose in early Wednesday trading as investors appeared to give the money-center bank a pass because the earnings miss was due to a large loss related to its plan to sell assets in Russia.
Citi's (C) results follow earnings reported earlier in the session by fellow banking giants Bank of America (BAC), which beat expectations, and Wells Fargo $(WFC)$, which missed, and on Tuesday by sector leader JPMorgan Chase $(JPM)$, which also disappointed investors.
Net income for Citigroup's fourth quarter dropped 13.5% from the same period a year ago to $2.47 billion, and earnings per share declined to $1.19 from $1.34. The average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet was $1.65.
Citi said the results included a previously disclosed loss of $1.2 billion, due to the held-for-sale accounting treatment related to the bank's plan to sell AO Citibank in Russia. Excluding that notable item, EPS would have been $1.81.
Total revenue grew 2.1% to $19.87 billion, boosted by growth in all of its business segments, and would have been $21 billion if the notable item had been excluded. The FactSet revenue consensus was $20.95 billion.
The stock rose 1.4% in premarket trading, in contrast to declines in shares of rivals Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
Citi said provisions for credit losses improved to $2.22 billion from $2.59 billion, amid higher lending activity and changes in credit quality.
Within Citi's markets business, fixed-income revenue slipped 1% to $3.5 billion but topped the FactSet consensus of $3.34 billion, while equity-markets revenue declined 1% to $1.1 billion to miss expectations of $1.2 billion.
Through Tuesday, Citi's stock has pulled back 5.7% since Jan. 5, when it closed at its highest price since Nov. 5, 2008. It has rallied 58.2% over the past 12 months, to outperform its peers.
-Tomi Kilgore
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2026 08:54 ET (13:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments