Today, Wells Fargo reported solid Q4 earnings of $5.4 billion, a 6% increase from last year, driven by higher lending revenues and fees.
During the quarter, the bank’s earnings took a hit from a $612 million severance charge related to workforce reductions. As of the end of December, Wells Fargo had 205,000 employees, a 6% decrease from the end of 2024. Excluding this notable item, net income was $5.8 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share.
Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO Charlie Scharf commented, “Strong financial performance, removal of the asset cap imposed by the Federal Reserve, termination of multiple consent orders, and stronger growth in both our consumer and commercial businesses make me proud of our 2025 results.”
“We achieved our prior ROTCE5 target of 15% and have set a new medium-term target of 17-18%. As compared to full year 2024, diluted earnings per share grew 17%, fee-based income grew 5%, credit performance was strong as net charge-offs declined by 16%, and expenses grew less than 1%. We continued to operate with significant excess capital while returning $23 billion to shareholders through $18 billion in common stock repurchases and increasing our dividend per common share by 13% in 2025.”
“We have worked hard to balance short-term performance and investing for long-term success. We have funded significant increased investments in infrastructure and business growth by driving greater savings from efficiencies across the company. Over the past 5 years, gross expense reductions of $15 billion have allowed us to make these investments while reducing the total expense base.”
“Evidence of increased growth can be seen across the company. In our consumer businesses, credit card continues to see strong increases in spend and new accounts grew over 20% from a year ago. Auto lending returned to growth with balances up 19% from the prior year. Net checking account growth was stronger and deposits and investment balances in our affluent offering – Wells Fargo Premier® – grew 14% from the prior year. Advisory fees in our Wealth and Investment Management business grew 8%. In our commercial businesses, loans grew 12%. Investment banking fees increased 14%. We grew investment banking market share and our M&A ranking increased from 12 to 8,” Scharf added.
“We have built a strong foundation and have made great progress in improving growth and returns though we have operated with significant constraints. We are excited to now compete on a level playing field and are able to dedicate even more resources to growth with the ability to grow our balance sheet. The dedication and hard work of all those at Wells Fargo has positioned us to enter 2026 in a position of strength and we are excited by the momentum we have and opportunities in front of us,” Scharf concluded.
Wells Fargo shares fell around 2% following the announcement.
Read CEO NA’s exclusive interview with Barry Sommers, Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management CEO
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
