Citigroup Inc (C)

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Citigroup tops profit estimates as bank benefits from rising interest rates, strong trading results
By: CNBC | July 15, 2022

Citigroup posted second-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue as the firm benefited from rising interest rates and strong trading results.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.19 vs $1.68 expected
• Revenue: $19.64 billion vs $18.22 billion expected

Shares of the bank rose 3.3% in premarket trading.

Having a low stock price hasn’t protected Citigroup from further declines this year. It’s the cheapest of the six biggest U.S. banks from a valuation perspective, having declined 27% this year. On Thursday, Citigroup shares hit a fresh 52-week low.

How will Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser begin to turn the tide? Fraser has announced plans to exit retail banking markets outside the U.S. and set medium-term return targets in March. But there are no easy answers.

Bank stocks have been hammered this year over concerns that the U.S. is facing a recession, which would lead to a surge in loan losses. Like the rest of the industry, Citigroup is also contending with a sharp decline in investment banking revenue, partly offset by an expected boost to trading results in the quarter.

On Thursday, bigger rival JPMorgan Chase posted results that missed expectations as it built reserves for bad loans, and Morgan Stanley disappointed on a worse-than-expected slowdown in investment banking fees.

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are scheduled to report results on Monday.

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