Quarterly profit falls to $6.9 billion as shares drop 4.3% premarket
Bank of America’s third-quarter results landed Wednesday morning under the weight of the $1.2 billion settlement charge regulators announced a day earlier. The bank posted a profit of $6.9 billion, or 91 cents a share, for the period, down from $8.3 billion, or $1.04 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The fine reduced per-share earnings by 17 cents.
Without the charge, Bank of America reported adjusted earnings of $1.08 a share, missing the $1.10 consensus compiled by FactSet. Revenue rose to $30 billion from $29 billion a year earlier, also below the $30.58 billion analysts had expected.
Bank of America shares fell 4.3% to $51.65 in premarket trading on Wednesday.
Morgan Stanley, by contrast, reported a stronger quarter. The bank posted third-quarter net revenue of $20.3 billion, up from $18.2 billion a year earlier and ahead of the $19.93 billion analysts had projected. Net income climbed to $4.97 billion, or $3.03 a share, from $4.61 billion, or $2.80 a share, in the year-earlier quarter — beating the $2.93 FactSet estimate.
Morgan Stanley attributed the gain to equity revenue, which drove growth in institutional securities, and to “robust” asset management fees and higher net interest income in its wealth management division.