Today, Wells Fargo released its 2024 Q4 financial results, reporting earnings of $5.1 billion. The banking giant also announced a full-year net income of $19.7 billion.
Wells Fargo CEO, Charlie Scharf, told investors, “Our solid performance this quarter caps a year of significant progress for Wells Fargo. Our earnings profile continues to improve, we are seeing the benefit from investments we are making to increase our growth and improve how we serve our customers and communities, we maintained a strong balance sheet, we returned approximately $25 billion of capital to shareholders, and we made significant progress on our risk and control work.”
The CEO said the company reported an 11% increase in diluted earnings per share compared to the previous year, primarily due to strategic decisions to exit or reduce certain businesses. It reduced reliance on net interest income by focusing on growing fee-based revenues, which rose by 15% year-over-year, effectively offsetting the decline in net interest income.
He said expenses also decreased, and credit trends remained stable. At year-end, the company maintained a strong capital position with an 11.1% CET1 ratio. It repurchased approximately $20 billion in common stock, a 64% increase from the prior year, and raised its common stock dividend per share by 15%. The average number of common shares outstanding has decreased by 21% since the fourth quarter of 2019.
Scharf emphasized that strengthening the company’s operational risk and compliance infrastructure remains a top priority for the future, “I’m proud of the clear progress we’ve made on our risk and control agenda.” Looking forward, the CEO said he is excited about the opportunities 2025 will bring to the credit card business, mobile active customers and Wells Fargo Premium. “I’m excited about the opportunities ahead as we’ve seen improved results and increased market share in many of the businesses that we believe will drive higher growth and returns over time.”
“I believe we are still in the early stages of seeing the benefits of the momentum we are building, and our financial performance should continue to benefit from the work we are doing to transform the company. I want to thank everyone who works at Wells Fargo for their hard work over the past year and for what they do every single day to support our customers, clients, and communities.” Scharf concluded.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
