Wall Street closes at a record for the first time since end of January
Investing.com -- Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, exceeding analyst profit and revenue expectations.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.11 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01. Revenue reached $30.3 billion, surpassing the $29.92 billion estimate and marking a 7% increase from $28.2 billion in the same quarter last year.
Net income rose 17% YoY to $8.6 billion from $7.4 billion. The revenue growth was driven by a 9% increase in net interest income to $15.7 billion, along with double-digit gains in sales and trading revenue, investment banking fees, and asset management fees. Net interest income benefited from higher deposit and loan balances, fixed-rate asset repricing, and increased Global Markets activity, partially offset by lower interest rates.
The stock rose 1.2% premarket following the results.
"Earnings per share rose 25% year-over-year, starting 2026 with strong momentum," said Chair and CEO Brian Moynihan. "Revenue growth of 7% year-over-year included net interest income that was better than we expected, up 9%, as well as double-digit growth in sales and trading revenue, investment banking fees and asset management fees."
The bank's provision for credit losses decreased to $1.3 billion from $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2025, while net charge-offs fell to $1.4 billion from $1.5 billion. Noninterest expense increased 4% to $18.5 billion, driven by higher revenue-related expenses and investments in people and technology. The efficiency ratio improved approximately 170 basis points to 61%, with operating leverage of 2.9%.
Average deposit balances grew 3% to $2.02 trillion, marking the 11th consecutive quarter of sequential growth. Average loans and leases increased 9% to $1.19 trillion, with growth across every business segment. The bank returned $9.3 billion to shareholders through approximately $2.0 billion in dividends and $7.2 billion in share repurchases.