Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C)
Shares in Citigroup, Inc. jumped 3.3% in premarket trade Wednesday after the bank reported solid third-quarter profit that was aided by cost cuts and a favorable tax law. Like other big U.S. businesses, Citi benefited from the tax law that was passed last year by the Trump administration.
The company’s expenses dropped 1% from a year ago, with its tax provision sinking 21% lower from last year. Citi stock has gone down more than 5% since the beginning of the year through Thursday.
C Earnings & Outlook
The bank reported a profit jump of 24% to $4.62 billion, compared with $4.13 billion in the same period last year. Earnings came in at $1.73 per share for the quarter, beating the estimates for earnings of $1.69 per share.
Revenue totaled $18.39 billion during the quarter, compared with $18.42 billion in the year-earlier period. The decline was caused by a slump in retail banking, branded cards, and weak investment banking fees.
Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had expected revenue of $18.46 billion. Trading revenue totaled to $3.99 billion, up 7% from $3.72 billion in 2017, thanks to a fixed-income trading surge of 9 percent.
Global Consumer banking segment jumped 2%, with Mexico posting a surge of 20% from a year ago, partially due to an asset-management unit sale. North American consumer-banking revenue dropped by 1% from the same period last year.
Citigroup CEO Comments
Michael Corbat, Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup commented on the financial results: “Our results this quarter showed solid year-over-year revenue growth across many of our businesses, including Fixed Income, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Securities Services, the Private Bank and our consumer franchise in Mexico. We also grew loans and deposits while continuing to prudently manage risk as demonstrated by the stability of our credit portfolio. We returned $6.4 billion of capital to common shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the quarter. And over the past twelve months, we’ve reduced our common shares outstanding by over 200 million or 8%. Through a combination of earnings growth and capital return, our earnings per share were 22% higher than one year ago.”
Citigroup, Inc. Company Profile
Citigroup, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Global Consumer Banking; Institutional Clients Group; and Corporate and Other.
The Global Consumer Banking segment includes global, full-service consumer franchise, array of banking, including commercial banking, credit card lending, and investment. The Institutional Clients Group segment composes of banking and markets; and securities services.
The Corporate and Other segment involves activities that are not assigned to a specific business segment as well as certain North America and international loan portfolios, other legacy assets, and discontinued operations. The company was founded in 1812 and is headquartered in New York, NY. – CNN Money
