Synchrony Financial (SYF) Earnings

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Dec 2026upcoming

Next quarter

Expected to report Jan 26, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.

Consensus is $2.00 EPS for Dec 2026 across 6 estimates, ranging $1.96 to $2.09.

SYF Sep 2026

Reported Oct 20, 2026 · before the open

: 8.06%

: $2.48
: $2.68
: —
: —

Reported results

: $892.00M; from $1.08B
: $2.68; from $2.86

Highlights

EPS beat: Diluted EPS of $2.68 exceeded the $2.48 consensus by 8.06%, but was down from $2.86 a year earlier; net income was $892 million versus $1.08 billion.
Record spending: Purchase volume rose 8% year over year to $49.7 billion, a record third-quarter level, with growth across all five sales platforms.
Receivables grew: Period-end loan receivables increased 3.2% year over year to $103.3 billion as higher purchase volume more than offset elevated payment rates.
Credit improved: The quarterly net charge-off rate fell 37 basis points year over year to 4.79%; 30-plus-day delinquencies eased 5 basis points to 4.34%.
Full-year outlook: Synchrony now expects 2026 diluted EPS of about $9.50, the high end of its original $9.10–$9.50 range and above management’s cited full-year consensus of $9.38–$9.40.
NIM recovered sequentially: Net interest margin was 15.50%, down 12 basis points year over year but up 42 basis points from Q2, helped by lower earned-income reversals and a higher loan share of earning assets.
Costs and reserves weighed: Provision for credit losses increased $120 million year over year to $1.27 billion, including a $30 million reserve build versus a $152 million release a year earlier; other expense rose 9.9% to $1.37 billion.
Capital returned: Synchrony returned $1.2 billion in the quarter, including $1.1 billion of share repurchases and $110 million of common dividends; $4.6 billion remained under its repurchase authorization.

Analysis

Synchrony’s Q3 2026 was a strong operating quarter that beat EPS expectations, though earnings remained below the year-ago peak. Diluted EPS of $2.68 topped the $2.48 consensus by 8.06%; net income of $892 million was down from $1.08 billion and EPS declined from $2.86 a year earlier. Sequentially, net income rose from $885 million and EPS from $2.59. Record purchase volume of $49.7 billion, up 8%, supported 3.2% year-over-year growth in ending receivables to $103.3 billion, while credit performance improved.

The earnings mix explains the contrast: net interest income grew 1.9% to $4.81 billion, but retailer share arrangements rose 7.0% to $1.10 billion, provision increased to $1.27 billion, and other expense climbed 9.9% to $1.37 billion. NIM’s 42-basis-point sequential recovery was encouraging, although it remained 12 basis points below last year. Management lifted its full-year EPS outlook to about $9.50, the upper end of its original range and above its cited $9.38–$9.40 consensus. It attributed the expected Q4 earnings cadence versus market estimates mainly to reserve timing and the loss trajectory, while reaffirming mid-single-digit year-end receivables growth and a full-year charge-off rate below 5.5%.

Earnings and outlook

Quarterly result: Net income was $892 million and diluted EPS was $2.68, beating the $2.48 consensus by 8.06%. Net income and EPS were down year over year from $1.08 billion and $2.86, but up sequentially from $885 million and $2.59.
Full-year outlook: Management expects about $9.50 of 2026 diluted EPS, the high end of its original $9.10–$9.50 range. It cited full-year consensus of $9.38–$9.40 and said the Q3-to-Q4 estimate gap mainly reflected market assumptions about reserves and the loss trajectory.
Operating returns: Return on average assets was 2.9%, return on tangible common equity was 25.2%, and tangible book value per share increased 6%.

Purchase volume and balances

Broad-based growth: Purchase volume reached $49.7 billion, up 8% year over year and a third-quarter record. Diversified & Value grew 13%, Home & Auto 9%, Lifestyle 6%, Digital 5%, and Health & Wellness 3%.
Co-brand momentum: Co-branded card spend represented about 53% of total volume and increased 23%, reflecting new programs, product upgrades and broader spending growth.
Receivables: Period-end loans rose 3.2% year over year to $103.3 billion. Growth in purchase volume more than offset higher payment rates; the 16.9% payment rate was about 60 basis points above the prior year, with management attributing most of the increase to portfolio and product mix.

Credit performance

Losses improved: The quarterly net charge-off rate was 4.79%, down 37 basis points year over year, and net charge-offs fell $62 million to $1.24 billion. Management expects the full-year rate to be below 5.5%, below its 5.5%–6.0% long-term target range.
Delinquencies eased: The 30-plus-day delinquency rate was 4.34%, down from 4.39% a year earlier; the 90-plus-day rate was 2.06%, versus 2.12%.
Allowance: The allowance was $10.3 billion, or 10.01% of receivables, compared with 10.35% a year earlier and 10.09% in Q2. Provision rose to $1.27 billion, including a $30 million reserve build, versus a $152 million reserve release in Q3 2025.

Margins and expenses

Net interest income: NII increased 1.9% year over year to $4.81 billion as higher loan interest and fees and lower interest expense more than offset reduced liquidity-portfolio income.
Margin movement: NIM was 15.50%, down 12 basis points year over year. Lower assessed late fees, a lower liquidity yield and a smaller loan share of earning assets were headwinds; sequentially, NIM improved 42 basis points as reversals eased from Q2’s seasonal high and receivables became a larger share of earning assets.
Expense pressure: Retailer share arrangements rose 7.0% to $1.10 billion, primarily on program performance. Other expense increased 9.9% to $1.37 billion, driven by operational losses, technology investment and marketing; the efficiency ratio rose to 35.9% from 32.6%.

Capital and liquidity

Shareholder returns: Synchrony repurchased $1.1 billion of stock and paid $110 million in common dividends during Q3. It had $4.6 billion remaining under its authorization and had increased the quarterly dividend to $0.34 per share.
Capital position: The CET1 ratio was 12.9%, down 140 basis points year over year, as the company continued repurchases while growing assets.
Funding and liquidity: Deposits accounted for 83% of total funding. Liquid assets increased 7% year over year to $19.5 billion, or 15.9% of total assets.

Commerce and product expansion

Embedded financing: Synchrony integrated CareCredit with Stripe for online health and wellness checkout and with Vetspire’s veterinary practice platform, which is used by more than 1,000 hospitals and clinics.
New customer options: CareCredit Pay Later became available at nearly 20,000 health and wellness locations; Synchrony also refreshed the Venmo card proposition with rewards for splitting purchases.
AI commerce: The company launched a Synchrony marketplace plugin in ChatGPT and joined the Personal Agent Protocol initiative as a design partner. Management sees agent-led shopping as a way to reduce checkout friction and surface card offers, while acknowledging the channel is still early.

Synchrony Financial

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