Updated December 6, 2025
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is ending 2025 in a very different place from where it began. The stock is trading just under $90 per share, close to its all‑time closing high of $90.21 set on December 4, 2025, and only about 1–2% below its 52‑week high around $91. [1]
Year‑to‑date, Wells Fargo shares have delivered a mid‑20s percent total return, comfortably ahead of the broader U.S. market and the banking sector overall. [2] Recent articles from Zacks and Investor’s Business Daily also note that WFC has broken out to new highs and now carries an elevated Relative Strength (RS) rating, putting it among the stronger large‑cap financials over the last 12 months. [3]
At the same time, fundamentals and headlines are moving fast: the Federal Reserve has lifted the bank’s long‑standing asset cap, quarterly earnings are beating expectations, dividends and buybacks are rising, and Wells Fargo has just taken a lead role in financing Netflix’s blockbuster bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Below is a deep dive into the latest news, forecasts, and analysis on Wells Fargo stock as of December 6, 2025.
Wells Fargo Stock Today: Momentum at (or Near) Record Highs
- Recent price: around $89–90 per share (close on December 5 was about $89.8). [4]
- All‑time closing high:$90.21 on December 4, 2025. [5]
- 52‑week high: about $91.11, only slightly above current levels. [6]
- 2025 performance: roughly mid‑20s % total return, on top of very strong gains in 2023–2024. [7]
Investor’s Business Daily reports that Wells Fargo recently broke out above an 83.20 “buy point” from a technical “cup‑with‑handle” base and now carries an RS Rating above 80, meaning it has outperformed at least 80% of stocks over the past year. [8]
Zacks highlights that WFC is also a “trending stock” on its platform, with trading interest elevated and a recent move to record highs drawing attention from momentum traders as well as long‑term investors. [9]
From Scandal to Growth Story: Fed Lifts the $1.95 Trillion Asset Cap
One of the defining events for Wells Fargo in 2025 was regulatory, not purely financial.
- In February 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed a hard cap on Wells Fargo’s total assets (about $1.95 trillion) as punishment for the bank’s fake‑accounts scandal and broader risk‑management failures.
- On June 3, 2025, the Fed announced that it was lifting that cap, citing “substantial progress” in fixing governance and risk controls. [10]
Reuters notes that Wells Fargo has now closed 13 regulatory consent orders since 2019, with just one remaining—a sign that years of remediation under CEO Charles Scharf are finally bearing fruit. [11]
For shareholders, the end of the asset cap is crucial because it:
- Removes the growth ceiling on the balance sheet, allowing Wells Fargo to expand loans, deposits and fee‑generating businesses again. [12]
- Enables more aggressive investment banking, trading and payments growth, areas that had been constrained. [13]
- Makes it easier to justify a higher medium‑term return on equity, which feeds directly into valuation.
It is no coincidence that WFC’s multi‑year share‑price rally accelerated after June, as markets digested this structural shift in the bank’s regulatory outlook. [14]
Q3 2025 Earnings: Beat on Profit, Higher ROTCE Target
Wells Fargo’s third‑quarter 2025 results, reported on October 14, have been a key fundamental driver of the latest rally:
- Net income: about $5.6 billion, up 9% year‑on‑year. [15]
- Diluted EPS:$1.66–$1.73, depending on whether you look at GAAP or adjusted EPS, well above consensus estimates around $1.55. [16]
- Revenue: roughly $21.4 billion, up about 5% year‑on‑year and modestly ahead of analyst expectations. [17]
- Credit costs: the provision for credit losses fell to roughly $681 million, from more than $1.0 billion a year earlier, reflecting benign consumer credit and good loan performance. [18]
Perhaps the most important signal: management used the Q3 print (and the lifting of the asset cap) to raise Wells Fargo’s medium‑term return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) target to 17–18%, from 15% previously. [19] That is a clear statement that the bank believes it can sustain higher profitability in a normalized environment.
Zacks and other analysts point out that Q3 strength was broad‑based, with:
- Growth in net interest income supported by higher loan balances and still‑solid spreads. [20]
- Non‑interest income rising, including better investment‑banking and trading results. [21]
- Expense management and ongoing cost‑cutting programs helping to offset inflationary and technology spending pressure. [22]
Dividends and Buybacks: Capital Returns Are Back in Force
After years of being constrained by the asset cap and stress‑test buffers, Wells Fargo is again behaving like a mature, capital‑return‑heavy bank.
Dividend increases in 2025
- On April 29, 2025, the board approved a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.40 per share and simultaneously authorized a new $40 billion share‑repurchase program. [23]
- Following strong 2025 stress‑test results and a lower Stress Capital Buffer (SCB), Wells Fargo announced plans to raise the dividend by 12.5% to $0.45 per share, starting in Q3 2025. [24]
- On October 28, 2025, the board formally declared a $0.45 quarterly dividend, paid on December 1, 2025, to shareholders of record on November 7. [25]
At today’s share price near $90, that works out to a dividend yield of roughly 2.1%, modest but backed by robust capital ratios and rising earnings. [26]
$40 billion buyback
The $40 billion repurchase authorization announced in April effectively puts a ceiling under the stock during pullbacks and magnifies EPS growth if earnings keep rising. [27] Combined with the lifted asset cap, it also signals management’s confidence in:
- Wells Fargo’s capital position
- The sustainability of its earnings
- The belief that the stock is at least reasonably valued at current levels
Netflix–Warner Mega‑Deal: Why a $59 Billion Bridge Loan Matters
The newest and splashiest catalyst for Wells Fargo stock arrived this week and is squarely in the headlines as of December 6, 2025.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios, HBO and associated streaming assets from Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at around $82–83 billion in enterprise value. [28]
To finance it, Netflix is relying on an enormous $59 billion senior unsecured bridge loan, with Wells Fargo leading the facility alongside BNP Paribas and HSBC. [29]
Key points for WFC shareholders:
- The bridge loan is described as one of the largest ever underwritten, and reportedly the biggest such commitment Wells Fargo has ever led, highlighting the bank’s willingness to deploy its now‑unconstrained balance sheet. [30]
- Bloomberg notes Wells Fargo also landed a co‑advisory role on the transaction, showcasing its ambitions to climb back into the top tier of Wall Street M&A and debt‑underwriting league tables. [31]
- The loan is designed as short‑term “bridge” financing that Netflix plans to refinance via bonds and term loans over time, but it still temporarily concentrates a very large exposure on the lending syndicate’s books. [32]
For Wells Fargo, this move fits a broader narrative: with the asset cap gone and returns improving, the bank is leaning into fee‑rich investment banking mandates, blending advisory work with big credit commitments. That can be very profitable—but it does add deal and concentration risk if markets or regulators sour on the transaction. [33]
Sector Tailwind: Banks Lead the Latest Market Rally
Wells Fargo’s surge is also part of a broader banking‑sector rally:
- A recent Seeking Alpha piece highlighted that U.S. bank stocks outperformed the S&P 500 in November, with Wells Fargo among the notable gainers. [34]
- MarketBeat’s December 6 “Top Bank Stocks to Follow Now” list includes WFC alongside other large money‑center banks, underscoring its renewed leadership status in the group. [35]
- Jim Cramer recently called banks like Wells Fargo the “real measure of the economy’s health”, noting that the latest equity rally has been “built on the backs” of banks and citing Wells Fargo as one of the leaders. [36]
Investor’s Business Daily has also upgraded WFC’s Relative Strength Rating into the low‑80s, arguing that the stock is now “extended” above its initial buy range after a powerful breakout. [37]
Valuation Check: Is Wells Fargo Stock Expensive at These Levels?
With the stock near record highs, investors naturally ask whether WFC is topping out or still reasonably priced.
Classic valuation metrics
Recent data from several analytic platforms show:
- Trailing P/E ratio: about 14.6x based on a share price near $89.8 and trailing‑12‑month EPS around $6.14. [38]
- Price‑to‑book (P/B): roughly 1.5–1.6x, above its own multi‑year average near 1.3x but still below some peers like JPMorgan. [39]
- Dividend yield: about 2.1% on the new $0.45 quarterly payout. [40]
Simply Wall St estimates WFC’s P/E at about 14.1x, slightly higher than the peer‑group average (around 13x), but still below its own “fair” P/E of roughly 15.6x based on growth and profitability assumptions. [41]
In short, Wells Fargo no longer looks like a deep value play, but it doesn’t screen as wildly overvalued either—especially if management delivers on higher ROTCE and earnings growth.
Analyst Ratings and EPS Forecasts Through 2026
Street ratings
MarketBeat’s latest survey of 19 Wall Street analysts shows:
- Consensus rating:“Moderate Buy”
- Breakdown: 11 Buy ratings, 8 Hold, 0 Sell
- Average 12‑month price target:$89.57, essentially flat versus the current price (‑0.3% implied downside). [42]
StockAnalysis and MarketWatch present similar pictures:
- StockAnalysis lists a “Buy” consensus with an average target near $90, also very close to where the stock already trades. [43]
- MarketWatch notes an “Overweight” stance from its panel and 2026 EPS estimates in the mid‑$6 per share range. [44]
Zacks recently upgraded Wells Fargo to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), citing upward revisions to earnings estimates and strong scorecard metrics. [45]
Earnings growth outlook
Different data providers convergence on a broadly similar story:
- MarketBeat expects WFC’s earnings to grow roughly 16–17% next year, from around $5.9 to about $6.9 per share. [46]
- Seeking Alpha’s consensus shows mid‑$6 EPS for 2025 and close to $6.9–7.0 for 2026, implying high‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit annual EPS growth. [47]
- Simply Wall St models ~5.6% annual earnings growth and ~10% EPS growth over the next few years, with return on equity settling around 13%. [48]
Put together, the Street is essentially saying:
Wells Fargo is now a solid, growing large bank, not a deep turnaround story, and today’s share price already reflects a good chunk of the improvement.
Structural Changes: Cost Cutting, Branch Optimization and Digital Push
Recent analysis from Zacks on WFC’s record high emphasizes that the bank is still in the middle of a major efficiency overhaul:
- Branch network: the number of branches fell by about 2.1% year‑on‑year to roughly 4,108 by the end of Q3 2025.
- Headcount: total employees decreased by around 4.3% YoY to about 211,000.
- Trading‑related assets: up roughly 50% since the end of 2023, reflecting a bigger push into markets businesses.
- Investment‑banking fees: up about 19% in the first nine months of 2025, even before the Netflix‑Warner mega‑deal. [49]
At the same time, Wells Fargo is investing heavily in digital channels and automation, targeting $15 billion in gross expense reductions as part of a multi‑year transformation programme. [50]
For shareholders, this mix of branch rationalization + tech investment is a classic large‑bank playbook: shrink physical infrastructure, push more volume through digital, and aim for a structurally lower efficiency ratio.
Risk Check: What Could Go Wrong for WFC Stock?
Even with strong momentum, investors should keep an eye on several key risks:
- Macro & rate risk
- Falling interest rates or a sharper‑than‑expected economic slowdown could compress net interest margins and loan growth.
- A turn in the credit cycle—especially in commercial real estate or consumer credit—would likely drive higher loss provisions and lower earnings. [51]
- Regulatory & reputational hangover
- Although the Fed has lifted the asset cap, at least one consent order remains, and Wells Fargo’s past scandals mean it will likely stay under intense supervisory scrutiny. [52]
- Any new compliance failures could trigger fines, restrictions or renewed political pressure.
- Concentration and deal risk around Netflix–Warner
- The $59 billion bridge loan is massive. If the transaction faces regulatory delays, fails to close, or markets seize up, refinancing risk could bite, and the lending syndicate—including Wells Fargo—would bear the strain. [53]
- Valuation complacency
- With WFC trading at a P/E slightly above sector averages and near its all‑time high, any disappointment in earnings, ROTCE targets, or cost‑cutting progress could lead to a sharper pullback than investors saw when the stock was more deeply discounted. [54]
Bull vs. Bear Case for Wells Fargo Stock Heading Into 2026
Bull case
The optimistic view on WFC looks roughly like this:
- Regulatory shackles are off: with the asset cap gone and most consent orders resolved, management can finally run the bank for growth and returns rather than pure remediation. [55]
- Profitability is improving: ROTCE target raised to 17–18%, Q3 beat expectations, and both EPS and revenue are trending higher. [56]
- Capital returns are robust: a 2%+ dividend yield plus a $40B buyback can support EPS growth even if the economy slows. [57]
- Investment banking and wealth management are growing: from recruiting multi‑billion‑dollar advisory teams to landing the Netflix–Warner mandate, Wells Fargo is rebuilding its Wall Street franchise. [58]
- Valuation is reasonable: mid‑teens P/E and ~1.6x P/B are not stretched if earnings grow high‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit annually. [59]
Bear case
The cautious/bearish view emphasizes:
- Late‑cycle risk: banks often look best just before the credit cycle turns; if unemployment rises or rate cuts compress margins, today’s earnings may be near a cyclical peak. [60]
- Regulatory overhang: Wells Fargo’s history means any misstep could attract outsized political and regulatory backlash. [61]
- Deal and balance‑sheet risk: stretching the balance sheet for giant bridge loans (like Netflix–Warner) can backfire if capital markets or regulators change tone. [62]
- Limited near‑term upside: consensus price targets cluster around the current share price, suggesting Wall Street sees more of a “hold with a dividend” than a high‑conviction upside story at today’s valuation. [63]
What This Means for Investors
As of December 6, 2025, Wells Fargo stock sits at an interesting crossroads:
- It has successfully transitioned from a heavily penalized, cheap turnaround story to a high‑quality, fully valued large bank with improving profitability, rising dividends and more assertive use of its balance sheet.
- The Netflix–Warner deal and $59B bridge loan underscore how aggressively Wells Fargo is now pursuing big‑ticket, fee‑rich transactions—something it could not do when the asset cap was in place. [64]
- Analyst forecasts and valuation metrics suggest solid but not explosive upside from here, with much of the “easy money” likely already earned in the move from the mid‑$40s to around $90 over the last few years. [65]
For existing shareholders, the story now looks more about collecting dividends and buyback‑driven EPS growth while watching execution on costs, credit quality and investment banking expansion.
For potential new investors, Wells Fargo may appeal to those seeking:
- Exposure to a large U.S. money‑center bank
- A blend of income (dividends) and moderate growth
- A business where regulatory and reputational risk is fading but not fully gone
As always, whether WFC fits in a portfolio depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon and diversification needs. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
References
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