Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
CFG · NYSE
Dec 2026
Next quarter
Expected to report Jan 20, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $1.48 EPS for Dec 2026 across 9 estimates, ranging $1.46 to $1.51.
CFG Sep 2026
- 2.17%
- $1.38
- $1.41
- —
- $462.00M
Reported results
- $462.00M
- $636.00M
- $1.41
Highlights
- EPS and earnings — Diluted EPS was $1.41, 2.17% above the $1.38 consensus, up 8% from $1.30 in Q2 and 34% from $1.05 a year earlier; net income was $636 million.
- Net interest income — Revenue reached a record $2.322 billion, up 2% sequentially and 10% year over year, with net interest income rising 3% to $1.675 billion and 13% year over year.
- Margin expansion — FTE net interest margin rose 2 basis points sequentially to 3.19%, 19 basis points above Q3 2025; terminated swaps contributed 2 basis points this quarter.
- Operating leverage — Pre-provision profit increased 4% sequentially and 19% year over year to $929 million. Noninterest expense was essentially flat at $1.393 billion, and the efficiency ratio improved to 59.98%.
- Fee mix — Noninterest income was $647 million, down 1% sequentially but up 3% year over year. Wealth fees reached a record $109 million, up 7% sequentially and 17% year over year; mortgage banking fees fell to $35 million.
- Private Bank growth — Private Bank loans increased $2 billion sequentially to $11.7 billion, while deposits reached $18.5 billion and client assets rose $1.2 billion to $12.4 billion.
- Credit — Net charge-offs were $137 million, or 0.37% annualized, essentially stable sequentially and below 0.46% a year earlier. The allowance for credit losses was $2.172 billion, with coverage of 1.47%.
- Q4 outlook and capital return — CFG expects NII growth of 2.5%–3%, NIM of 3.23%–3.26%, and fee income growth of 4%–5%. The board raised the quarterly dividend 13% to $0.52 and expanded repurchase authorization by $1.3 billion to $1.95 billion.
Analysis
Citizens delivered a solid, NII-led third quarter: diluted EPS of $1.41 beat the $1.38 consensus by 2.17%, rose 8% from $1.30 in Q2, and was 34% above $1.05 a year ago. Total revenue reached a record $2.322 billion, up 2% sequentially and 10% year over year; net income of $636 million increased 8% from Q2 and 29% year over year. The defining driver was continued margin recovery: FTE NIM expanded 2 basis points sequentially to 3.19%, contributing to a 3% quarterly increase in net interest income to $1.675 billion. Two basis points of the quarter’s margin increase came from terminated swaps.
The other notable feature was disciplined costs alongside uneven fee performance. Noninterest expense held nearly flat at $1.393 billion, supporting $929 million of pre-provision profit and a 59.98% efficiency ratio, while fees slipped 1% sequentially as mortgage banking and some capital-markets activity softened; wealth fees set another record. Credit remained broadly favorable, with net charge-offs stable at 0.37% annualized. Loans and deposits were broadly flat sequentially, which management attributed partly to loan pull-forward into Q2 and seasonal deposit movement. For Q4, CFG expects NII growth of 2.5%–3%, NIM of 3.23%–3.26%, and noninterest income growth of 4%–5%; it also raised the dividend and expanded buyback capacity.
Net interest income
- Revenue and earnings — Total revenue was $2.322 billion, up $39 million, or 2%, from Q2 and $204 million, or 10%, from Q3 2025. Net income increased to $636 million from $587 million sequentially and $494 million a year earlier.
- NII and margin — Net interest income rose $44 million, or 3%, sequentially to $1.675 billion, and was $187 million, or 13%, higher year over year. FTE NIM reached 3.19%, up 2 basis points from Q2 and 19 basis points year over year.
- Drivers and caveat — Higher earning assets and margin expansion supported NII growth. A time-based benefit from terminated swaps added 2 basis points to Q3 NIM; repricing of fixed-rate assets and improved yields were largely offset by funding costs as market rates moved higher.
Fees and private bank
- Fee performance — Noninterest income was $647 million, down $5 million, or 1%, sequentially and up $17 million, or 3%, year over year. Capital-markets fees were $149 million, down 3% sequentially and 10% year over year, while management said M&A activity and the pipeline were strong, with some transactions pushed into Q4.
- Wealth — Fees reached a record $109 million, up 7% sequentially and 17% year over year, reflecting higher advisory fees and asset growth.
- Mortgage banking — Fees declined to $35 million from $42 million in Q2 and $49 million a year ago. A $13 million negative MSR valuation change, net of hedges, partly offset $37 million of servicing revenue.
- Private Bank — Loans grew $2 billion sequentially to $11.7 billion, deposits reached $18.5 billion, and client assets rose $1.2 billion to $12.4 billion. Management cited continued hiring and market expansion and expects the business to sustain growth; it described the segment’s medium-term return range as 20%–25%.
Loans and deposits
- Loans — Period-end loans and leases were $148.2 billion, up $736 million from Q2 and 5% from a year earlier. C&I balances rose $422 million sequentially, while CRE fell $483 million; retail loans increased $797 million, led by residential mortgages and home equity.
- Deposits — Period-end deposits were $185.2 billion, down $392 million sequentially but up $5.2 billion, or 3%, year over year. Average deposits were broadly stable as commercial growth was offset by lower consumer balances; management expects seasonal growth across businesses in Q4.
- Funding and mix — The loan-to-deposit ratio was 80.02%, up 56 basis points sequentially. Management said the share of total deposits represented by DDA and other low-cost balances was stable at 42%, and expected year-end growth to reduce FHLB advances from roughly $7 billion to the low-to-mid single-digit billions.
Credit quality
- Charge-offs — Net charge-offs were $137 million, up $2 million sequentially but down $25 million from Q3 2025. The annualized rate was 0.37%, unchanged from Q2 and below 0.46% a year earlier.
- Allowance — The provision for credit losses was $125 million, down from $134 million in Q2 and $154 million a year earlier. The allowance for credit losses ended at $2.172 billion, and coverage of loans and leases was 1.47%, down 1 basis point sequentially.
- Portfolio trends — Nonaccrual loans increased $26 million sequentially to $1.461 billion, while the nonaccrual ratio edged up to 0.99% from 0.97%. Management said it saw no broad-based deterioration, cited planned CRE reductions and a shift toward lower-loss-content lending, and expected charge-offs to be stable to slightly lower in Q4.
Costs and returns
- Expense discipline — Noninterest expense was $1.393 billion, essentially unchanged sequentially and 4% higher year over year. Revenue growth outpaced expenses, producing positive operating leverage of 1.8% sequentially and 5.3% year over year; the efficiency ratio improved to 59.98% from 61.08% in Q2 and 63.03% a year earlier.
- Returns — Return on average tangible common equity improved to 15.08% from 13.91% in Q2 and 11.75% in Q3 2025. Management reiterated its target of 16%–18% ROTCE by the end of 2027.
- Reimagine the Bank — CFG expects about $100 million of annualized pretax benefit exiting 2026, $225 million exiting 2027, and at least $450 million exiting 2028. Management said the program was expected to be roughly breakeven in 2026 and that 2027 benefits would still be partly offset by one-time costs.
Capital and outlook
- Capital position — The preliminary CET1 ratio was 10.5%, versus 10.4% in Q2 and 10.7% a year earlier. CFG returned about $322 million to shareholders in Q3 through $197 million of common dividends and $125 million of repurchases.
- Shareholder returns — The board increased the quarterly dividend 13% to $0.52 per share and expanded the common repurchase program’s capacity by $1.3 billion to $1.95 billion. Management expects at least $200 million of Q4 repurchases and said it may allow gross CET1 to run modestly above its 10%–10.5% target range.
- Q4 expectations — Assuming a 25-basis-point Fed increase in December, management expects NII to rise 2.5%–3%, NIM to reach 3.23%–3.26%, noninterest income to increase 4%–5%, and expenses to rise about 1%. It expects more than 600 basis points of positive operating leverage for full-year 2026.
