Citigroup said next-quarter profits and income exceeded anticipations

July 18, 2023: On Friday, Citigroup said next-quarter profits and income exceeded anticipations.

Despite the beat, Citi’s income decreased by 1% from a year ago as the decline in markets and investment banking businesses weighed on its results. Citi said the pending macroenvironment and low volatility impacted client activity and market performance.

“Amid a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, we continued to see the benefits of our diversified company model and strong balance sheet,” CEO Jane Fraser said.

Here’s how the New York-based lender fared in the quarter compared with what analysts polled by Refinitiv expected from the banking giant.

Last year, Citigroup’s net income decreased 36% to $2.9 billion, or $1.33 per share, from $4.5 billion, or $2.19 per share, pressured by higher costs, high cost of credit, and lower revenue.

“Markets revenues were down from a strong second quarter last year, as clients stood on the sidelines starting in April while the U.S. debt limit recreated out,” Fraser said. “The long-awaited rebound in Investment Banking has yet to materialize, making for a disappointing quarter.”

On the bright side, revenue from personal banking and wealth management increased 6% in the quarter to $6.4 billion, driven by solid loan growth.

Citi returned $2 billion to shareholders through ordinary dividends and share buybacks in the next quarter.

Shares of Citigroup dipped 2.7% on Friday. The stock is up more than 2% year to date, outperforming the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE), down about 12.5%.