EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:FC6A Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS€49.44
Consensus EPS€41.23
Beat/MissBeat by +€8.20
One Year Ago EPS€39.84
DE:FC6A Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue€3.33B
Expected Revenue€1.99B
Beat/MissBeat by +€1.34B
YoY Revenue Growth+1.41%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/23/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallFriday, October 23, 2026
DE:FC6A Upcoming Earnings
First Citizens BancShares's next earnings date is estimated for January 22, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
DE:FC6A Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive. Management reported earnings above expectations, broad-based loan and deposit growth, improved credit metrics, significant FDIC note repayment, capital returns, and raised full-year guidance for net interest income and fee income. The principal challenges were warrant-income volatility, competitive spread pressure, expected moderation in fund-banking utilization, limited IPO and exit activity, and a temporary margin drag from replacing the FDIC note with other funding sources.Company Guidance
Earnings Exceeded Expectations
Adjusted net income was $652 million and adjusted earnings per share were $55.37, producing a 12.24% ROE and 1.08% ROA. Management said earnings exceeded expectations during the quarter.
Strong Revenue and Net Interest Income Growth
Adjusted net revenue expanded 1.4% sequentially and drove positive adjusted operating leverage. Net interest income increased by $43 million sequentially, supported by favorable earning-asset volumes, strong yields, reduced borrowings, and a higher day count.
Stable Net Interest Margin
Headline NIM was 3.07% and NIM excluding accretion was 2.99%, remaining essentially in line with the prior quarter and the expected range. Management described margin stability as excellent in the current environment.
Accelerated Loan Growth
Period-end loans increased by $6.2 billion, or 4.1% sequentially, supported by high-quality client activity across the commercial and general bank segments. Growth included approximately $650 million of loans from the BMO branch acquisition.
Fund Banking Delivered Exceptional Growth
Fund banking loans expanded by $4.4 billion, or 11% sequentially. Growth reflected higher utilization rates, expanding capital-call balances as market transaction values and line balances increased, and stable limited-partner capital calls. The business booked close to $6 billion in new deals in the third quarter, while utilization reached approximately 40%.
Innovation Banking and Commercial Verticals Expanded
Innovation banking loans reached $10.1 billion, an increase of 6.6% over the linked quarter, supported by technology activity, commercial-finance referrals, and strategic partnerships. The company also cited broad-based opportunities in working capital, technology, media and telecom, and energy.
Broad-Based Deposit Growth
Period-end deposits increased by $11.8 billion, or 6.8% sequentially, while average deposits grew by $8.0 billion. Growth was broad-based across operating segments and included $4.9 billion of acquired BMO deposits.
Direct Bank and Innovation Deposits Showed Momentum
The direct bank generated $3.2 billion of high-quality inflows, consisting of granular and heavily insured core retail deposits. Innovation banking deposits grew by $1.7 billion, reflecting a stabilizing innovation ecosystem, public and private capital deployment, and new client acquisition.
BMO Branch Acquisition Added Scale and Liquidity
The BMO branch acquisition onboarded approximately $4.9 billion in high-quality deposits and expanded the branch network across 11 states. Management said the transaction added scale, enhanced liquidity, and contributed approximately $650 million in loan balances.
Client Funds Increased
Period-end total client funds grew by $6.9 billion, while average total client funds rose by $7.2 billion sequentially. Growth was primarily driven by the innovation and fund banking businesses.
Core Fee Businesses Remained Strong
Although adjusted non-interest income declined modestly overall, it exceeded guidance. Lending-related fees increased by $10 million sequentially, client investment fees increased by $9 million, and adjusted Rail rental income grew by $10 million due to high asset utilization and positive repricing trends.
Expense Discipline and Efficiency Progress
Adjusted non-interest expense was largely stable sequentially and within guidance. Lower professional-services expenses, improved direct-bank marketing effectiveness, and essentially flat personnel expenses mitigated continued investment in digital infrastructure and data-center modernization. Management said operating efficiency was bending the cost curve in its favor.
Credit Metrics Improved
Nonaccrual loans decreased by $80 million sequentially to 0.87% of total loans. Net charge-offs were $103 million, the net charge-off ratio improved by 2 basis points to 0.27%, and the ratio declined for four straight quarters to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2023. Criticized and classified asset levels also continued to decline.
Allowance and Credit Outlook Remained Favorable
The company reduced its allowance for loan losses as credit-quality trends improved and said the allowance remained prudent and conservative, covering quarter-to-date net charge-offs by over 3.4x and year-to-date net charge-offs by over 3x. Full-year net charge-off guidance was tightened to 29 basis points-31 basis points.
Significant FDIC Note Repayment
First Citizens prepaid $8 billion of the FDIC Purchase Money Note during the quarter and another $1.5 billion in October. Since beginning prepayments in the fourth quarter of 2025, the company has retired approximately 47% of the original balance, representing $17 billion of debt reduction.
Capital Return and CET1 Target Achieved
The company returned $600 million to shareholders through third-quarter share repurchases, bringing the CET1 ratio to 10.24%, within the target operating range. As of October 20, approximately 24% of outstanding common shares had been repurchased, representing $6.9 billion of capital return, and a new $1.2 billion repurchase plan will begin in 2027.
Raised Loan, Deposit, Net Interest Income, and Fee Guidance
Fourth-quarter loan guidance was raised to $158 billion-$161 billion and deposit guidance to $189 billion-$192 billion. Full-year net interest income guidance was raised to $6.68 billion-$6.75 billion, while full-year non-interest income guidance was raised to $2.22 billion-$2.26 billion.
Positive Longer-Term Margin and Growth Outlook
Management expects fourth-quarter headline net interest income to increase by low-single-digit percentage points and ex-accretion net interest income to increase by low to mid-single-digit percentage points. For the fourth-quarter 2027 exit versus the fourth-quarter 2026 exit, both headline and ex-accretion net interest income are expected to increase by mid to high-single-digits percentage points.
Expense Growth Expected to Remain Controlled
Management said low to mid-single-digit expense growth over the medium term was reasonable, supported by continued optimization of platforms, processes, and teams. Fourth-quarter expenses are expected to be $1.35 billion-$1.39 billion, with full-year expenses expected at $5.39 billion-$5.43 billion.
Fund Banking Economics Remained Attractive
Management said fund banking loans were generating healthy spreads and were coming on slightly above the overall portfolio, while related deposits were below the bank's average deposit cost. Loan-spread compression had slowed, and pricing decisions continued to consider the full risk-adjusted client relationship.
Venture and Capital Deployment Activity Stayed Robust
Management said sponsors continued to have substantial dry powder, fundraising remained active among established managers, and clients remained focused on deploying capital. Venture investment through the third quarter remained robust, with no detected dampening of enthusiasm based on rates.
Brand Alignment Received Positive Client Feedback
Management said the unified brand launch had generated a good experience and that clients largely remained focused on continued delivery of the same client experience and product solutions. The company said the marketplace had seemingly moved past the name change as a no-big-deal event.
Regulatory Environment Viewed Favorably
Management said recent and proposed regulatory changes, including Federal Reserve supervisory principles, FDIC proposed rulemaking, and tailoring, were supportive of the company's objectives. The regulatory environment was described as highly positive and conducive to M&A.
Potential Basel III Capital Benefit
Management estimated that the standardized approach under the Basel III proposals could reduce current risk-weighted assets in the mid to high single digits percentage range and be accretive to the CET1 ratio by around 70 basis points. The company said AOCI inclusion was not expected to have a material impact given the relatively short-duration investment portfolio.
DE:FC6A Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed