Bank of America and Wells Fargo announced on Wednesday morning that their profits for the fourth quarter and full year had increased compared to the previous year.
Bank of America's net income for the quarter reached $7.6 billion, a 12% rise from a year ago and exceeding forecasts of $7.4 billion. Wells Fargo's net income rose 6% to $5.4 billion, matching expectations.
Both banks recorded their highest annual net income in four years.
Bank of America's earnings per share were $0.98, above forecasts, while Wells Fargo reported earnings per share of $1.62, slightly below the forecast of $1.67. Wells Fargo's results included a $0.14 impact from severance costs during the quarter.
Bank of America's stock rose approximately 1% before Wednesday's market open, and Wells Fargo's shares fell about 1%.
Revenue at both firms was driven by higher lending revenues and fees compared to the year-ago quarter. Bank of America's firm-wide revenue increased 7% to $28 billion, and Wells Fargo posted a 4% rise in revenue to $21.3 billion.
Bank of America's fourth-quarter dealmaking revenue rose 1% from the year-ago quarter to $1.67 billion, while trading fees within its sales and trading business increased 10% to $4.5 billion, driven by equities.
Over the same period, Wells Fargo's investment banking revenue fell 1%. Its markets division, which includes trading operations, reported an 8% increase in trading fees to $1.6 billion for the fourth quarter.
The CEOs of the nation's second- and fourth-largest banks shared optimistic views on the U.S. economy and their institutions' paths ahead. Both banking giants set new growth and return targets last fall.
"While any number of risks continue, we are bullish on the U.S. economy in 2026," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.
With the loosening of an onerous growth restriction last summer, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said, "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."
For both banks, the growth calls for higher efficiency in using resources to generate revenue.
Wells Fargo reported a severance charge of $612 million during the quarter. The bank has periodically slimmed down its workforce over the past several quarters. It had 205,000 employees as of the end of December, a 6% decrease from the end of 2024.