Big banks had a big year — and shareholders made bank

Large U.S. banks wrapped up 2025 looking pretty good — especially from shareholders’ point of view. After a year of high interest rates, volatile but rising asset prices, and affluent consumers who kept spending despite uncertainty, profits rolled in across Wall Street, with stock prices rising to match. By most measures, it was a great year for the sector.

As bank earnings week rolls on, new wrinkles are emerging. Political risk — including President Donald Trump’s push to cap credit card interest rates — is making 2026 harder to predict. For now, though, those who hold the stocks are reaping the rewards.

Wells Fargo $WFC, Bank of America $BAC, and Citigroup $C each returned significant capital last year, even as they now head in slightly different directions. After JPMorgan $JPM Chase reported a banner year on Tuesday, here's what Wednesday's earnings showed.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo reported a solid fourth quarter, but the real story isn't the numbers. Instead, it's what the bank can finally do now that regulators have backed off.

Net income hit $5.4 billion, or $1.62 per share, up 13% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 4%. Credit quality stayed strong. Expenses stayed tight. Returns kept climbing. The bigger deal, however, is how the Federal Reserve's asset cap is gone, and multiple consent orders have been lifted. This positions Well Fargo to finally grow its balance sheet again without asking for permission, and management is clearly feeling better. Wells Fargo returned $23 billion to shareholders in 2025 through a mix of dividends and buybacks, and set more ambitious medium-term profitability targets, signaling confidence that the cleanup phase is over.

CEO Charlie Scharf summarized the year this way: "We have built a strong foundation and have made great progress in improving growth and returns though we have operated with significant constraints. We are excited to now compete on a level playing field and are able to dedicate even more resources to growth with the ability to grow our balance sheet."

Bank of America

Bank of America also delivered a strong fourth quarter, buoyed by strong net interest income and balance-sheet growth across the board. Revenue climbed 7% to top $28 billion. Net income came in at $7.6 billion, up 18% from last year.

Credit quality looked good, with net charge-offs falling, while credit card losses kept normalizing. Expenses increased slightly, but the bank still managed to push its efficiency ratio in the right direction. At the same time, consumer banking held, wealth-management numbers came in healthy, and equities trading climbed a whopping 23%.

Across the board, things held up: Consumer banking stayed solid, wealth management benefited from higher markets and client inflows, and equities-trading revenue jumped 23%. Like other management teams, BofA’s looked to return money to shareholders, handing back more than $8 billion, between dividends and buybacks, in the fourth quarter alone.

Citigroup

Citigroup made headlines this week for its layoff plans — with some 1,000 jobs on the block as part of a bigger effort to eliminate tens of thousands by the end of 2026. It’s one more overhaul in a multi-decade story of overhauls and what feels like a near-permanent restructuring story, taking shape across multiple management teams.

At the same time, like other large banks, Citi focused on shareholder returns, directing some $17 billion to shareholders through last year, including $13 billion in buybacks. CEO Jane Fraser pointed to record revenues, positive operating leverage across all five major business lines, and “visible momentum” in the coming year — layoffs and all.