Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) heads into Monday’s Dec. 22 session with momentum from a strong 2025 run, but also with a long checklist of catalysts investors are tracking: an investment-banking push that’s changing the revenue mix, ongoing expense and headcount reshaping tied to AI, capital return (dividends and buybacks), and the post–asset-cap era that has re-opened the conversation about growth and returns.
Because this is a holiday-shortened week (early close Dec. 24 and closed Dec. 25), trading volumes can thin out—sometimes amplifying moves on headlines, analyst notes, or rate swings. [1]
Below is a detailed, pre-market guide to the latest news, forecasts, and analyst narratives around Wells Fargo stock—plus what to watch first when U.S. markets open.
Wells Fargo stock: the quick pre-market snapshot
- Last trade/most recent close: WFC last traded around $93 in the most recent session, after a strong 2025 climb.
- Holiday-week context: U.S. equities have an early close on Dec. 24 and are closed on Dec. 25, which can make Monday’s open feel more “headline-driven” than usual. [2]
- Macro calendar Monday: According to MarketWatch’s U.S. economic calendar, no U.S. economic reports are scheduled for Monday (Dec. 22)—shifting attention to yields, sector rotation, and company news flow. [3]
- Next major company catalyst: Wells Fargo’s Q4 2025 earnings date is expected on Jan. 14, 2026, per the company’s investor relations calendar. [4]
The biggest current headlines for Wells Fargo stock
1) Investment banking is becoming a bigger piece of the story
A key reason WFC’s narrative has improved in 2025: the bank’s Corporate & Investment Banking build-out is starting to show up in both league tables and fee performance.
Reuters reported in mid-December that Wells Fargo has climbed sharply in global M&A league tables by volume, helped by a multi-year hiring push and participation in several high-profile deals. The same Reuters report cites management commentary that deal pipelines are “meaningfully greater” than in recent years and notes the bank’s ambition to be a top-tier player in investment banking. [5]
This trend matters for investors because fee-based businesses can help diversify earnings when net interest income is pressured by rate cuts or deposit competition.
2) AI and efficiency: more job cuts are expected heading into 2026
Cost discipline remains central to Wells Fargo’s turnaround—and recent commentary suggests more restructuring is still ahead.
Reuters reported Dec. 9 that CEO Charlie Scharf said Wells Fargo expects headcount to fall in 2026, and that AI will be rolled out gradually while still enabling workforce reductions over time. Reuters also noted the bank’s employee count has fallen significantly since Scharf became CEO. [6]
For the stock, this is a classic double-edged catalyst:
- Bull case: efficiency gains can lift profitability metrics and returns.
- Bear case: severance, execution risk, and operational risk can blunt near-term upside.
3) Capital structure housekeeping: redemption of junior subordinated debentures
On Dec. 12, Wells Fargo announced it will redeem all of its Floating Rate Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures due Jan. 15, 2027 on Jan. 15, 2026, at 100% of principal plus accrued interest. [7]
While this isn’t the kind of headline that usually moves the stock by itself, it signals continued balance-sheet and capital management. The company also noted that, after redemption, a covenant tied to those debentures will no longer place certain conditions on its ability to repurchase or redeem a specific preferred stock series. [8]
Where Wells Fargo stands heading into Q4 earnings season
The latest reported quarter: Q3 2025 highlights investors still cite
Wells Fargo’s most recent reported quarter (Q3 2025) is still the anchor point for many forecasts and analyst write-ups:
- Net income:$5.6 billion
- Diluted EPS:$1.66
- Total revenue:$21.436 billion
- Net interest income (NII):$11.950 billion (Q3)
- Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE):15.2 (as shown in the release)
- Efficiency ratio:65 (as shown in the release) [9]
Wells Fargo also disclosed it repurchased $6.1 billion of common stock in Q3 (74.6 million shares), and noted severance expense in the quarter. [10]
Guidance focus: net interest income and expenses are the core debate
In its Q3 materials, Wells Fargo provided a roadmap for what it expected heading into the end of 2025:
- 2025 NII expected to be roughly in line with 2024 NII of $47.7 billion
- 4Q25 NII expected around $12.4–$12.5 billion
- 2025 noninterest expense expected around $54.6 billion (up from prior guidance), including roughly $200 million higher severance expense and $200 million higher revenue-related compensation expense (among other factors), and 4Q25 noninterest expense expected around $13.5 billion [11]
Why this matters now: with rate cuts priced into markets (and investors watching the yield curve), large banks can see NII and margins move meaningfully based on deposit pricing, loan demand, and how quickly assets reprice versus funding costs. Wells Fargo itself flagged rate levels and the yield curve as key variables behind NII performance. [12]
The post–asset-cap era is still the biggest structural change for WFC
Even though the Federal Reserve’s decision happened in mid-2025, it remains one of the most important “still in effect” facts about Wells Fargo’s setup heading into 2026.
The Fed announced June 3, 2025 that Wells Fargo is no longer subject to the asset growth restriction tied to the Board’s 2018 enforcement action, after the bank met required conditions (governance, risk management improvements, and third-party review). The Fed also stated other provisions of the 2018 enforcement action would remain until separately satisfied. [13]
Wells Fargo separately confirmed the milestone and framed it as pivotal to its multi-year transformation. [14]
In practical stock terms, investors tend to interpret the asset-cap removal as:
- More balance-sheet flexibility (to grow certain businesses),
- Potentially better operating leverage (if growth comes without reintroducing control issues),
- And a clearer path to higher profitability targets.
Reuters reported that in October, Wells Fargo raised its medium-term ROTCE target to 17%–18%, up from earlier expectations, after beating profit estimates. [15]
Dividends and buybacks: why capital return remains a key pillar for WFC bulls
Dividend level: $0.45 per share quarterly
Wells Fargo announced in late October that its board approved a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.45 per share, payable Dec. 1, 2025 to shareholders of record Nov. 7. [16]
For income-focused investors, that dividend level matters—but for many equity analysts, the bigger lever for Wells Fargo is the buyback capacity, because repurchases can accelerate per-share earnings growth when valuation is reasonable and capital is strong.
The $40 billion repurchase authorization
In April 2025, Wells Fargo announced a new common stock repurchase program of up to $40 billion, designed to take effect after completion of the prior program. [17]
Investors generally track three questions around big buyback programs:
- Pace: How fast will management repurchase?
- Cycle timing: Are buybacks executed at attractive valuations?
- Capital and regulation: Are there constraints from capital requirements or remaining regulatory obligations?
Analyst forecasts and sentiment: what Wall Street is signaling now
Price targets: modest upside in one widely cited consensus snapshot
A Nasdaq-hosted note citing Fintel data said that as of early December, the average one-year price target for Wells Fargo was $95.86, with forecasts ranging from $80.30 to $106.05—implying low-single-digit upside from the referenced closing price. [18]
Treat any single “average price target” as a directional sentiment check—not a promise. Price targets can change quickly with rates, credit expectations, and sector valuation moves.
Technical/fundamental momentum: IBD rating upgrade
Investor’s Business Daily reported that Wells Fargo’s Composite Rating rose to 96 (from 94), reflecting strong fundamental and technical performance in its scoring system, and noted the stock had previously moved through a technical “buy point” but was no longer in the preferred buy range at the time of publication. [19]
Even if you don’t follow IBD, the takeaway is that WFC has been trading with strong relative strength versus many peers—one reason it remains on radar going into year-end.
What to watch specifically at Monday’s open
With no major U.S. economic releases scheduled Monday, WFC’s early trading is more likely to hinge on rates, sector flows, and any fresh bank headlines. [20]
Here’s the practical checklist for the first hour:
1) Treasury yield moves and yield-curve shifts
Banks can trade like “rate proxies,” particularly when investors are recalibrating expectations for:
- the pace of Fed easing,
- the shape of the yield curve,
- and deposit pricing pressure.
Wells Fargo’s own outlook language explicitly flags rates and the yield curve as key drivers of NII. [21]
2) Investment-banking and mega-deal headlines
Wells Fargo has been increasingly visible in big-ticket deal flow, and Reuters has highlighted how its pipelines and market share ambitions have strengthened. New deal headlines can influence sentiment around fee growth and the durability of the “WFC is becoming more diversified” thesis. [22]
3) Cost-cut commentary and AI implementation updates
The market has largely rewarded “efficient growth” stories. But if more details emerge around severance, restructuring, or AI-driven workforce changes, traders may update their view on near-term expenses versus longer-term efficiency gains. [23]
4) Holiday-week liquidity effects
The week includes an early close on Dec. 24 and a full close on Dec. 25. That doesn’t change Wells Fargo’s fundamentals—but it can change intraday trading behavior, especially if large funds are rebalancing or taking profits into year-end. [24]
Risks investors still debate on Wells Fargo stock
Even in a stronger narrative year, Wells Fargo is not a “set-and-forget” bank stock. Major risks that remain in the discussion:
- Execution risk post-asset-cap: The Fed lifted the growth restriction, but other elements of the 2018 enforcement action remain until separately satisfied. [25]
- Credit-cycle risk: Q3 metrics showed improving credit trends in several areas, but large banks remain exposed to consumer and commercial credit shifts as the economy cools or re-accelerates. [26]
- Rate-cut sensitivity: If short-term rates fall faster than expected or the yield curve behaves unfavorably, NII can come under pressure; Wells Fargo has pointed investors to those variables directly. [27]
- Operational and restructuring costs: Management expects additional workforce reductions and has flagged severance impacts. [28]
- Reputation/regulatory aftershocks: Wells Fargo continues to close out legacy issues. For example, industry reporting has noted the OCC settled its last remaining fake-accounts-related case without a fine—positive, but also a reminder of the long tail of past problems. [29]
Bottom line: the “before the bell” thesis for WFC on Dec. 22
Going into Monday’s open, Wells Fargo stock sits at the intersection of three narratives:
- A structurally improved bank after the Fed lifted the asset growth restriction in 2025, with management pushing toward higher profitability targets. [30]
- A more diversified earnings story, as investment banking activity and fee momentum become more central to how investors value WFC. [31]
- An efficiency and capital return story, with dividends, major buyback authorization, ongoing repurchases, and a continued focus on expense control—including AI-linked workforce changes. [32]
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.nyse.com, 3. www.marketwatch.com, 4. www.wellsfargo.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. newsroom.wf.com, 8. newsroom.wf.com, 9. www.wellsfargo.com, 10. www.wellsfargo.com, 11. www.wellsfargo.com, 12. www.wellsfargo.com, 13. www.federalreserve.gov, 14. newsroom.wf.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. newsroom.wf.com, 17. newsroom.wf.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.investors.com, 20. www.marketwatch.com, 21. www.wellsfargo.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.marketwatch.com, 25. www.federalreserve.gov, 26. www.wellsfargo.com, 27. www.wellsfargo.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.bankingdive.com, 30. www.federalreserve.gov, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.reuters.com
