New York, Jan 15, 2026, 05:20 EST — Premarket update.
- Citi shares held steady before the open, following a roughly 3.3% drop in the previous session.
- The bank beat estimates on an adjusted basis, yet a Russia-related loss and rising costs remained under scrutiny.
- Traders are eyeing cost moves, policy risks tied to credit cards, plus more big-bank earnings and U.S. data due later Thursday.
Shares of Citigroup Inc barely moved in Thursday’s premarket session, with investors still digesting the bank’s latest quarterly results and weighing what comes next for its restructuring plans.
The report arrived amid a busy week for U.S. lenders, as traders seek signs that a rebound in dealmaking and borrowing will sustain earnings into 2026. Citi’s challenge is more straightforward: can it boost returns and manage costs without stumbling over its ongoing control issues.
Citi traded near $112.41 before the bell, close to Wednesday’s finish, following a 3.3% drop the day before. On Wednesday, shares fluctuated between $110.47 and $118.75 amid earnings news and policy talk impacting bank stocks. (Investing)
Citigroup reported fourth-quarter net income fell to $2.5 billion, or $1.19 a share, on revenue of $19.9 billion. The results included a $1.2 billion loss linked to its plan to sell AO Citibank in Russia. Stripping out that charge, earnings came to $1.81 a share. CEO Jane Fraser described 2025 as “a year of significant progress” and reaffirmed the bank’s target of a 10%-11% return on tangible common equity for 2026, a crucial gauge of profit on core shareholder capital.
Citi’s investment banking fees jumped 35% to $1.29 billion, while revenue in its banking unit surged 78% to $2.2 billion as dealmaking picked up, Reuters reported. This added to a broader rise in advisory and underwriting income across Wall Street. “The turnaround story for Citi continues under Jane Fraser as investment banking and advisory services drove the beat,” said David Wagner, head of equity and portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. (Reuters)
The day’s trading underscored just how tight investors are on banks when it comes to costs and politics. Reuters reported Citi plans to cut around 1,000 jobs this week. Meanwhile, bank leaders pushed back hard against proposals for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, warning it could restrict credit availability. “A rate cap is not something that we can support,” Fraser said. (Reuters)
Citi’s regulatory saga isn’t over yet. Back in December, the bank announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had scrapped a July 2024 amendment to its 2020 consent order. That amendment had imposed extra oversight linked to a “resource review” process. (Citi)
At the company, Fraser is pushing execution aggressively. “We are not graded on effort. We are judged on our results,” she told staff in a memo titled “The bar is raised,” Business Insider reports. (Business Insider)
Citi bulls face a real challenge: the market’s zeroing in on the messy bits — expense creep, the speed of layoffs, and how long regulators drag their feet on approvals — despite any revenue gains. If M&A activity slows, credit stumbles, or policy changes hammer cards and consumer loans, that skepticism could flare up fast.
Traders eye Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter report, set for release at about 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday, followed by U.S. producer price data at 8:30 a.m. ET. Both could sway rate forecasts and, in turn, affect bank earnings projections. (Morgan Stanley)
