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$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$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$1.09 billion, down 15% from the prior-year quarter [11] - Net loan charge-offs were $1.21 billion or 0.53$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$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]