New York, January 15, 2026, 10:14 EST — Regular session
Citigroup stock was up about 3.3% at $116.11 in morning trading on Thursday, outperforming other big U.S. banks after a choppy first reaction to its quarterly report.
Investors are still trying to decide what Citi is worth if its overhaul finally produces steadier returns — and whether political and regulatory noise will clip some of the upside. The stock has moved from “fix-it” story to “prove it” story fast.
A revived deal market is part of the appeal. “We are seeing an accelerating pipeline in M&A and IPOs,” Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya told Reuters, and Citi has been leaning into that rebound. (Reuters)
Citigroup reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.19 per share, on revenue of $19.9 billion, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed. The bank said results included a $1.2 billion loss tied to its plan to sell AO Citibank in Russia; excluding that item, net income was $3.6 billion and earnings were $1.81 per share. Citi ended 2025 with a common equity tier 1 capital ratio — a key measure of capital strength — of 13.2%, and CEO Jane Fraser said, “We enter 2026 with visible momentum across the firm,” while reiterating a 10%-11% return-on-tangible-common-equity target for 2026.
The beat was powered by fee businesses. Investment banking fees rose 35% to $1.29 billion and revenue in Citi’s banking unit climbed 78% to $2.2 billion, Reuters reported, as dealmaking and corporate-services demand improved. A Russia-related loss still dragged Citi’s return on tangible common equity — a closely watched profitability gauge — to 5.1% for the quarter, far below its goal, and CEO Jane Fraser said the bank was still working toward a Banamex exit and pointed to progress on long-running regulatory work. “The turnaround story for Citi continues,” said David Wagner, head of equity and portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. (Reuters)
Some brokers moved quickly to lean into the setup. Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski raised his price target on Citi to $144 from $141 and kept an Outperform rating, while Piper Sandler lifted its target to $135 from $130 and maintained an Overweight rating. (TipRanks)
But a policy fight could land on the sector at the wrong time. Bank executives have pushed back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to cap credit-card interest rates at 10%, with Fraser saying, “A rate cap is not something that we can support,” warning it could hit credit availability; Citi CFO Mark Mason said it was too soon to assess the impact without details. (Reuters)
Citi’s earnings landed in the middle of a volatile week for lenders, with investors weighing mixed big-bank results and the rate-cap idea even as consumer and corporate borrowing showed signs of holding up. (Reuters)
Next up for Citi investors is its scheduled first-quarter earnings call on April 14, followed by a May 7 investor day — two dates where the bank will have to put numbers around the 2026 targets again. (Citigroup)
