Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, +2.81% slumped 2.5% in premarket trading Friday, after the bank reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations for the first time in six quarters, but revenue that fell more than forecast as lower interest rates weighed on net interest income. Net income rose to $2.99 billion, or 64 cents a share, from $2.87 billion, or 60 cents a share in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 59 cents. Total revenue fell 9.7% to $17.93 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $18.12 billion, as all of the bank’s business segments saw revenue decline. Net interest income dropped 17% to $9.28 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $9.35 billion. Consumer banking and lending revenue fell 5% to $8.61 billion, as an 8% decline in consumer and small business banking revenue and a 7% fall in credit card revenue offset a 2% increase in home lending. “Although our financial performance improved and we earned $3.0 billion in the fourth quarter, our results continued to be impacted by the unprecedented operating environment and the required work to put our substantial legacy issues behind us,” said Chief Executive Charlie Scharf. The stock has soared 51.4% over the past three months through Thursday, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF XLF, +0.45% has advanced 26.0% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.38% has gained 9.0%.
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