Wells Fargo Stock Gains as Q4 Earnings Beat on Higher Fee Income

Earnings Performance - Wells Fargo reported Q4 2024 adjusted EPS of $1.42, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 and up from $1.29 in the prior-year quarter [1] - Full-year 2024 EPS was $5.37, surpassing the consensus estimate of $5.29 and rising from $4.83 in 2023 [4] - Net income (GAAP basis) for Q4 was $5.08 billion, a 47% increase from the prior-year quarter [3] - Full-year 2024 net income was $19.72 billion, up 3% year-over-year [4] Revenue and Expenses - Q4 total revenues were $20.38 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $20.55 billion and declining 0.5% year-over-year [5] - Full-year 2024 revenues were $82.29 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $82.62 billion and declining 0.4% year-over-year [5] - Non-interest income grew 11% year-over-year to $8.54 billion, driven by venture capital investments, asset-based fees, and investment banking fees [7] - Non-interest expenses declined 12% year-over-year to $13.9 billion, mainly due to lower FDIC assessments and severance expenses [8] Net Interest Income and Margin - Q4 NII was $11.83 billion, down 7% year-over-year, affected by deposit mix, pricing changes, and lower loan balances [6] - Net interest margin declined to 2.70% from 2.92% in the prior-year quarter [6] Credit Quality and Loan Performance - Provision for credit losses was $1.09 billion, down 15% from the prior-year quarter [11] - Net loan charge-offs were $1.21 billion or 0.53% of average loans, down 3.3% year-over-year [12] - Non-performing assets fell 6% year-over-year to $7.94 billion [12] Capital and Profitability Ratios - Tier 1 common equity ratio was 11.1%, down from 11.4% in Q4 2023 [13] - Return on assets improved to 1.05% from 0.72% in the prior-year quarter [14] - Return on equity increased to 11.7% from 7.6% a year ago [14] Loans and Deposits - Total loans increased 0.3% sequentially to $912.7 billion as of Dec 31, 2024 [10] - Total deposits increased 1.6% sequentially to $1.37 trillion as of Dec 31, 2024 [10] Share Repurchase - The company repurchased 57.8 million shares, or $4 billion, of common stock in Q4 2024 [15] Efficiency Ratio - Efficiency ratio improved to 68% from 77% in the prior-year quarter, indicating better profitability [9]