Citigroup beats estimates, boosted by gains in fixed income 

Citigroup beat on the top and bottom lines during the first quarter.

Here’s what the firm reported on Tuesday, compared with Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $3.06 vs. $2.65 estimate
• Revenue: $24.63 billion vs. $23.55 billion estimate

Those results marked the firm’s best quarterly revenue in a decade and a 56% year-over-year jump in earnings per share. 

Citigroup’s return on tangible common equity, a measure of profitability, came in at 13.1%, the highest since 2021 and above the firm’s goal of between 10% and 11% ROTCE. 

CEO Jane Fraser said in a statement the bank is on track to deliver that ROTCE target this year and said of the firm’s recent streamlining, “We’ve entered into the final phase of our divestitures and 90% of our transformation programs are now at or near our target state.”

Citigroup, whose stock is the best performer year-to-date among the large banks, has gotten a boost from its turnaround effort and relatively low valuations. The firm has been streamlining its operations and working through several regulatory consent orders, which it reportedly expects to complete this year. 

However, with its global footprint, Citigroup is also perceived to be more impacted by the geopolitical environment than many of its peers. 

The bank’s markets division was a big driver of its first-quarter beat, with its larger, fixed income division gaining 13% to $5.2 billion in revenue, topping the StreetAccount estimate of $4.68 billion. Equities jumped 39% to $2.1 billion, topping the estimate by about $500 million.

Investment banking came in light compared with estimates, except for equity underwriting, which came in at $208 million and beat estimates of $186.3 million, according to StreetAccount. The unit comprising services showed revenue that increased by 17% in the quarter to $6.1 billion and surpassed Wall Street expectations of $5.8 billion. 

Citi’s wealth and U.S. consumer cards divisions were slightly reconfigured in the quarter and not comparable to estimates. However, they each saw gains thanks to Citigold and retail banking.

The firm’s provision for credit losses was higher than expected — at $2.81 billion versus $2.64 billion expected, per StreetAccount — due to net credit losses in consumer cards and an allowance for credit loss build of $579 million. 

Expenses were higher by 7% due to severance and foreign exchange translation. 

— CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan contributed to this report.