New York, July 14, 2026, 08:11 (EDT)
- Earnings for the second quarter came in at $2.00 per share, factoring in a 4-cent tax gain. Wall Street had penciled in $1.72. Revenue hit $22.6 billion, above the $21.9 billion consensus.
- Corporate and investment banking, plus wealth management, drove 67% of the $1.8 billion bump in revenue and 78% of the $913 million jump in net income, according to company data.
- Wells Fargo was quoted at $87.67, up 0.6%, ahead of the main New York open.
Wells Fargo topped Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts for the second quarter, but investors were focused on the bank’s post-cap plans. Fees drove the earnings surprise, with corporate and investment banking taking about two-thirds of loan growth. Business and wealth management together accounted for 78% of the net income increase from a year ago, based on company numbers.
The change is key since the bank now has room to grow again after years stuck under balance-sheet limits. The Fed lifted its 2018 cap on Wells Fargo’s assets in June 2025 and ended the last enforcement order in March. In the most recent quarter, Wells put more focus on corporate loans, markets, and wealth—less on just growing its old-school consumer bank.
Wells Fargo’s roughly $722 million revenue beat came from noninterest income, with that line hitting $10.305 billion—about $865 million ahead of the Bloomberg average, Quartz reported. Net interest income rose 5% to $12.317 billion, matching forecasts. But the margin on interest-earning assets fell by 0.25 percentage point to 2.43%. Volume and fees did the work, not higher lending margins.
Breakdown of year-on-year growth by segment, $ millions
| Business | Revenue change | Share of bankwide increase | Net-income change | Share of bankwide increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate and Investment Banking | +752 | 42% | +592 | 65% |
| Wealth and Investment Management | +454 | 25% | +117 | 13% |
| Other businesses and Corporate | +594 | 33% | +204 | 22% |
| Wells Fargo total | +1,800 | 100% | +913 | 100% |
Company-reported numbers used for these percentages. Totals might not match due to rounding.
Nearly all of the $73.5 billion loan growth in corporate and investment banking came from the Banking and Markets areas, with about 93% of the increase tied to those subunits. Average balances jumped around 40% for both, while commercial real-estate balances moved up only about 4%. The numbers point to Wells making a clear push into corporate and markets lending. CEO Charlie Scharf said the bank is “carefully deploying capital to grow and support our clients.” wellsfargo.com
Wells Fargo’s income statement shows the shift. Markets revenue jumped 24% to $2.21 billion, with equities up 64%. Investment-banking fees rose 35% to $939 million. Wealth-management revenue added 13%, and client assets grew 15% to more than $2.4 trillion. The bank placed fourth in announced U.S. M&A volume, so the gains aren’t just from stronger markets.
Results against JPMorgan Chase NYSE:JPM were mixed. Wells saw quicker growth in firmwide loans and investment-banking fees, but JPMorgan’s trading and corporate and investment bank posted faster expansion. CEO Jamie Dimon called it “a particularly favorable environment,” saying both lenders benefited from the cycle and their own execution. JPMorgan Chase
| Year-on-year growth | Wells Fargo | JPMorgan Chase |
|---|---|---|
| Firmwide average loans | up 12% | up 10% |
| Corporate and investment-banking revenue | rose 16% | jumped 27% |
| Investment-banking fees | up 35% | up 30% |
| Markets revenue | up 24% | up 35% |
The banks count businesses differently, but Wells is picking up speed in financing and advisory. It still hasn’t caught up with JPMorgan’s trading reach.
Lower expenses and better credit helped turn growth into profits. Revenue was up 9%, with costs up just 2%, pushing the efficiency ratio down to 60% from 64%. Jobs dropped 7% to 197,000. The annualised net charge-off rate dipped to 0.34%, down from 0.44%. Credit loss provisions fell 9%. “Consumers and businesses remain very strong,” Scharf said. wellsfargo.com
Wells Fargo’s main capital ratio, common equity Tier 1, dropped to 10.3% from 11.1% a year ago as the bank’s balance sheet grew. Return on tangible common equity climbed up to 17.7% versus 15.2%. The bank bought back $3 billion in stock and is looking to raise its dividend by 11% to 50 cents a share, pending the board’s OK.
The quarter looked more driven by cycles than the 25% jump in earnings per share shows. A $284 million swing tied to corporate and investment-banking credit provisions—money set aside for likely defaults—made up roughly 36% of the group’s $790 million pre-tax profit gain. If client activity, deal flow or asset prices fall, markets, advisory and asset-management revenue can also drop. A lower lending margin and thinner capital ratio add risk. Scharf said, “such favorable conditions do not go on forever.” wellsfargo.com
Management left the 2026 net-interest-income target at roughly $50 billion and expenses around $55.7 billion. With both numbers unchanged, any extra earnings will probably depend on higher volumes, more fees, or finding ways to cut costs. Investors will want clarity on the 10 a.m. call about whether more of the balance sheet can move into corporate and investment banking, and if that’s possible without hitting margins or capital.
Tuesday is a standard trading day at the NYSE, core session starts at 9:30 a.m. Wells shares have dropped almost 6% for the year as of Monday. Shares were only slightly up before the bell, even after beating expectations. The muted move keeps the focus on valuation—either the post-cap lift means Wells can deliver better returns for good, or it’s just tied to a strong cycle.
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