EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
MX:SYF Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS$50.35
Consensus EPS$45.48
Beat/MissBeat by +$4.87
One Year Ago EPS$53.73
MX:SYF Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$90.12B
Expected Revenue$71.52B
Beat/MissBeat by +$18.60B
YoY Revenue Growth-0.77%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/20/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallTuesday, October 20, 2026
MX:SYF Upcoming Earnings
Synchrony Financial's next earnings date is estimated for January 22, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
MX:SYF 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 predominantly positive. Synchrony reported record third-quarter purchase volume, strong earnings and returns, broad-based platform growth, improving credit performance, substantial shareholder returns and full-year EPS expectations at the high end of its original range. The main challenges were lower year-over-year net interest margin, elevated payment rates, higher provisions and expenses, declining capital ratios, portfolio seasoning effects and expected future pressure from higher losses and deposit betas. Management nevertheless characterized the core business, consumer behavior and strategic growth initiatives as strong.Company Guidance
Record Third-Quarter Purchase Volume
Total purchase volume reached nearly $50 billion, the highest third-quarter level in Synchrony's history and an increase of 8% versus last year. Growth occurred across all five sales platforms.
Broad-Based Platform Growth
Diversified and Value purchase volume increased 13%, primarily reflecting partner expansion and higher gas prices; Home and Auto increased 9%, driven by new programs, select furniture retailers and higher gas prices; Lifestyle increased 6%, reflecting strength in other apparel and luxury and new programs; Digital increased 5%, driven by customer engagement across partners; and Health and Wellness increased 3%, primarily reflecting growth in Pet.
Strong Co-Branded Card Performance
Approximately 53% of third-quarter spend occurred through Synchrony's co-branded cards, up 23% versus last year, driven by new programs, product upgrades, enhanced value propositions, increased utility and higher broad-based spend.
Double-Digit Discretionary and Nondiscretionary Spend Growth
Both discretionary and nondiscretionary out-of-partner spend on consumer co-branded cards grew by double digits. Discretionary strength came from electronics and entertainment, while gas stations and discount stores grew fastest in nondiscretionary spending.
Growth Among Younger Customers
Spend across Synchrony's portfolio is growing fastest among Gen Z and millennials, particularly in Diversified and Value, Digital, and Home and Auto. Management attributed the growth among younger demographics to its Prism underwriting and data analytics platform, which uses more than 9,000 data variables and cash-flow underwriting.
CareCredit Pay Later Expansion
Synchrony introduced CareCredit Pay Later as an enhanced and rebranded installment loan product supplementing its existing credit card. The product was available at nearly 20,000 health and wellness locations, including dental, cosmetic, vision and audiology providers.
New Product and Partner Integrations
Synchrony and Venmo refreshed the Venmo credit card value proposition with a feature that provides more cash back for splitting purchases with friends on Venmo. Synchrony also announced integrations with Stripe for online CareCredit financing and Vetspire for embedded financing within its AI-enabled veterinary platform. Vetspire is used by more than 1,000 veterinary hospitals and clinics, with approximately 85% already enrolled as CareCredit providers.
Expansion of AI and Agentic Commerce Capabilities
Synchrony launched a ChatGPT plug-in that allows consumers to discover marketplace savings and offers and browse promotional financing deals. It is also deploying OpenAI models, joined the Personal Agent Protocol initiative led by Sierra and Meta as a design partner, and is working to help define secure, transparent and permission-based protocols for agentic commerce.
Record Earnings and Strong Returns
Third-quarter net earnings were $892 million, or $2.68 per diluted share. Return on average assets was 2.9%, return on tangible common equity was 25.2%, and tangible book value per share increased 6%.
Loan Receivables Growth
Ending loan receivables increased 3% to $103 billion as higher purchase volume more than offset the ongoing effects of elevated payment rates.
Net Interest Income Growth
Net interest income increased 2% to $4.8 billion, primarily driven by higher interest and fees and lower interest expense, partially offset by lower investment income. Interest expense decreased 3%, primarily due to lower benchmark rates.
Improved Credit Performance
The net charge-off rate declined 37 basis points to 4.79% from 5.16% last year. Both 30-plus-day and 90-plus-day delinquency rates were in line with the prior year, and allowance for credit losses declined to 10.01% of loan receivables from 10.35% last year.
Strong Consumer Spending and Credit Trends
Management said consumers continued to show strength despite higher gas prices, broad-based inflation and weak consumer confidence. Payment rates and spending behavior remained strong, entry rates into delinquency continued to be better than in 2018 and better than a couple of years ago, and management said it was not seeing signs of consumer stress.
Funding and Liquidity Strength
Direct deposits grew by $2.4 billion versus last year and broker deposits increased by approximately $575 million. Deposits represented 83% of total funding, secured debt represented 9% and unsecured debt represented 8%. Total liquid assets increased 7% to $19.5 billion, representing 15.9% of total assets.
Shareholder Capital Returns
Synchrony returned $1.2 billion to shareholders during the third quarter, including $1.1 billion in share repurchases and $110 million in common stock dividends. Approximately $4.6 billion remained under the share repurchase authorization.
Full-Year 2026 Outlook at High End
Synchrony now expects approximately $9.50 in full-year diluted earnings per share, at the high end of its original $9.10 to $9.50 range and ahead of the cited $9.38 to $9.40 consensus estimate. Management continues to expect year-end loan receivables growth in the mid-single digits, higher net interest income and net charge-offs below 5.5%.
Program Wins and Competitive Position
Management said it renewed a significant number of programs and won a number of new programs during the year. Competitive dynamics, including returns and pricing, were described as rational, while Synchrony continues to pursue partnerships such as Stripe that provide one-to-many distribution channels.
Productivity and Technology Investment
Employee costs increased only 1% to 2% over the past few quarters, and management said the company has been generally headcount-neutral to down while using productivity initiatives, including limited AI-driven call-center applications. Synchrony is continuing investments in cloud, AI, digital wallets, Pay Later, prequalification and agentic commerce.
Holiday Season Cautious Optimism
Management said sales during the first three weeks of the holiday period continued at generally the same rate as at the end of the third quarter. Retail partners were preparing higher promotional activity, and management described itself and its partners as cautiously optimistic about holiday growth.
Agentic Commerce Seen as a Long-Term Opportunity
Management believes agentic commerce can make Synchrony cards easier to use, reduce friction from forgotten or unstored cards, and allow agents to compare rewards, discounts and offers. Management said Synchrony's value propositions could be advantaged by greater transparency.
MX:SYF 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