Truist Financial, Citizens Financial, M&T Bank Top Third-Quarter Earnings Estimates

10:19 AM EDT, 10/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Truist Financial (TFC), Citizens Financial (CFG) and M&T Bank (MTB) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Friday amid higher net interest income. Truist's adjusted earnings came in at $1.16 per share for the September quarter, up from $1.04 a year earlier, beating the FactSet-polled consensus of $1.12. The result excluded a net negative impact of $0.60 per share related to repositioning of the lender's available-for-sale securities portfolio and the sale of $5.5 billion of auto loans representing substantially all the assets of its Regional Acceptance unit, a presentation showed. Overall revenue on a taxable-equivalent basis decreased to $3.79 billion from $5.24 billion in the prior-year quarter, weighed down by the Regional Acceptance loan sale and available-for-sale securities portfolio repositioning. Excluding these impacts, revenue came in at $5.3 billion. The Street was looking for revenue of $5.35 billion. Taxable-equivalent net interest income increased 0.7% year over year to $3.71 billion. "We delivered a solid quarter while also taking decisive actions to better position Truist for the future," Chief Executive Mike Lyons said in a statement. "These actions strengthen our risk, liquidity, and funding profile and create greater capacity to invest in our best businesses." For the ongoing three-month period, Truist anticipates adjusted taxable-equivalent revenue of roughly $5.35 billion, in line with the average analyst estimate. Truist recently signed a deal to sell $7.7 billion of loans representing the assets of lending platform Lightstream to Carlyle (CG), the company said. Separately, Citizens Financial (CFG) posted net income of $1.41 a share for the third quarter, up from $1.05 a year ago and topping the consensus on FactSet of $1.39. Revenue rose to $2.32 billion from $2.12 billion a year earlier, but trailed the FactSet-polled consensus of $2.34 billion. Net interest income improved 13% to $1.68 billion on higher net interest margin and growth in average interest-earning assets, while noninterest income rose 3% to $647 million. For the current quarter, the bank expects net interest income and noninterest income to increase by 2.5% to 3% and about 4% to 5%, respectively, it said in a presentation. "We continued to deliver attractive revenue and earnings growth in the third quarter, notwithstanding significant volatility in the external environment," according to CEO Bruce Van Saun. "We remain confident in our positioning and outlook for (the fourth quarter) and for 2027." M&T Bank (MTB), meanwhile, recorded adjusted EPS of $5.08 versus $4.87 in the 2025 quarter, exceeding the Street's view for $4.95. Revenue, expressed as the sum of taxable-equivalent net interest income and total noninterest income, edged up to $2.55 billion from $2.53 billion a year earlier, exceeding the FactSet-polled consensus of $2.53 billion. Taxable-equivalent net interest income increased 2% year over year to $1.81 billion. Last week, RBC Capital Markets said in a client note that regional banks are expected to report solid third-quarter earnings, supported by healthy commercial loan growth and positive operating leverage. In contrast, BofA Securities said the setup for regional lenders is tougher than it appears, with stocks likely to continue to "languish" amid macroeconomic challenges. Price: 47.45, Change: +0.88, Percent Change: +1.89