Citizens Financial Tops Q3 EPS Estimates but Misses on Revenue; Shares End Flat After Premarket Drop

CFG reported third-quarter net income of $636 million, up 29% from a year earlier, and earnings of $1.41 per share, up 34% year over year and 8% from the second quarter. EPS topped the $1.38 Zacks consensus, with other trackers at about $1.39. Revenue of $2.32 billion fell slightly short of expectations, against a consensus of $2.33 billion to $2.34 billion depending on the source, even though it grew 10% from a year earlier to $2,322 million, according to the bank's release.

The shortfall came from fees. Noninterest income of $647 million slipped 1% from the second quarter and came in below the roughly $659 million analysts expected. Capital markets fees fell $4 million sequentially to $149 million; the bank said the year-over-year decline mainly reflected lower M&A advisory activity compared with a particularly strong third quarter of 2025. The lending engine did better: net interest income of $1.7 billion rose 2.7%, and net interest margin widened 2 basis points to 3.19%.

Profitability kept improving. Return on tangible common equity reached 15.1%, up from 13.9% in the second quarter and 11.7% a year earlier, and management reaffirmed its 16% to 18% ROTCE target for the end of 2027. Citizens raised its quarterly dividend 13% to $0.52 a share, lifted its buyback authorization to $1.95 billion, and repurchased $125 million of stock during the quarter.

The stock's reaction swung over the session. Shares were down 5.4% in premarket trading on the revenue miss, but rose 0.99% to $64.06 in early trading and closed about flat at roughly $63.36, down 0.1%, according to SentiSense's 15-minute-delayed data. For the fourth quarter, Citizens guided to net interest income growth of 2.5% to 3% and noninterest income growth of 4% to 5%, with net interest margin of 3.23% to 3.26%. CEO Bruce Van Saun said the bank remains "confident in our positioning and outlook for Q4 and for 2027".