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Bank of America Corp.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 14 January 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Net income and EPS rose 18%: Net income was $7.6 billion, compared with $6.8 billion a year earlier. Diluted EPS was $0.98, against $0.83, an increase of 18%. Source
  • Revenue rose 7% on net interest income: Revenue, net of interest expense, was $28.4 billion, up 7% from a year earlier. Asset management fees and sales and trading revenue also contributed to the increase. Source
  • Net interest income rose on repricing: The company named fixed-rate asset repricing and balance growth as the main drivers, with lower interest rates the offsetting factor. Source
  • Noninterest expense rose 4%: Noninterest expense was $17.4 billion, up 4% from a year earlier, a smaller increase than the 7% growth in revenue over the same period. Source
  • Net charge-offs fell $80 million: Consumer net charge-offs were $992 million, up $14 million from 3Q25, while commercial net charge-offs fell. Source
  • Shareholder returns reached $8.4 billion: Returns totaled $8.4 billion, up from $7.4 billion in 3Q25, including $2.1 billion of common dividends. Source
  • CET1 ratio fell to 11.4%: CET1 capital was $201 billion, and the Standardized CET1 ratio was 11.4% against 11.6% at 3Q25. The company describes this as well above the regulatory minimum. Source

“With their dedication and the economy positioned for growth, we feel confident in our ability to maintain this momentum in 2026 and beyond.”

Brian Moynihan, Chair and CEO

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Effective 4Q25, the company changed its accounting for certain tax-related equity investments, applied retrospectively, and revised the 3Q25 and 4Q24 comparisons. Source

Results and earnings drivers

  • Net income and EPS rose 18%: Net income was $7.6 billion, compared with $6.8 billion a year earlier. Diluted EPS was $0.98, against $0.83, an increase of 18%. Source
  • Revenue rose 7% on net interest income: Revenue, net of interest expense, was $28.4 billion, up 7% from a year earlier. Asset management fees and sales and trading revenue also contributed to the increase. Source
  • Full-year earnings topped $30 billion: For 2025 the company reported net income of $30.5 billion and diluted EPS of $3.81, up 19% from 2024. Source

Business segment results

  • Consumer Banking revenue up 5%: Consumer Banking reported net income of $3.3 billion. Provision for credit losses fell 15% to $1.1 billion from a year earlier. Source
  • Wealth fees rose 13% on valuations: Global Wealth and Investment Management reported net income of $1.4 billion on revenue of $6.6 billion, up 10%. Client balances reached $4.8 trillion, up 12%. Source
  • Global Banking deposits up 13%: Global Banking reported net income of $2.1 billion, with average deposits of $656 billion, up 13%, and treasury service charges up 10%. Source
  • Global Markets sales and trading up 10%: Global Markets net income was $1.0 billion, down from $1.6 billion in 3Q25. Net DVA losses of $17 million were included in revenue. Source
  • All Other loss narrowed year over year: All Other covers asset and liability management, liquidating businesses and certain unallocated expenses. Its pretax loss was $756 million. Source

“With strong liquidity and capital, as well as healthy asset quality, we enter 2026 focused on driving core growth, market share gains and improved profitability.”

Alastair Borthwick, Executive Vice President and CFO

Products, deposits and customers

  • Consumer checking accounts kept growing: The company reported 38.4 million consumer checking accounts, 92% of them primary, and about 4 million small business checking accounts. Source
  • Consumer investment assets up 16%: Consumer investment assets include brokerage assets, deposit sweep balances, brokered CDs and Consumer Banking AUM, and were $599 billion at period end. Source
  • Digital sales reached 69% of total: Digital logins rose 11% from a year earlier, and the company reported 1.9 million digitally enabled sales. Source
  • Card spend and small business lending grew: Combined credit and debit card spend was $255 billion, up 6%, and 11.4 million clients were enrolled in Preferred Rewards, up 2%. Source
  • Card risk-adjusted margin fell: Average credit card outstanding balances were $103.0 billion, up from $101.0 billion in 3Q25. Source

Net interest income, costs and tax

  • Net interest income rose on repricing: The company named fixed-rate asset repricing and balance growth as the main drivers, with lower interest rates the offsetting factor. Source
  • Noninterest expense rose 4%: Noninterest expense was $17.4 billion, up 4% from a year earlier, a smaller increase than the 7% growth in revenue over the same period. Source
  • Litigation costs added to quarterly expense: Compared with 3Q25, the rise mainly reflected technology investment and higher revenue-related expense, along with litigation costs. Source
  • Effective tax rate about 21%: The total effective tax rate was about 21% for the quarter and about 19% for the full year, against roughly 10% in 3Q25. Source

Credit quality and reserves

  • Net charge-offs fell $80 million: Consumer net charge-offs were $992 million, up $14 million from 3Q25, while commercial net charge-offs fell. Source
  • Card charge-off rate improved: This rate covers the credit card book. The total net charge-off ratio over the same period was 0.44%. Source
  • Commercial charge-offs fell on office: Commercial reservable criticized utilized exposure was $24.7 billion, down $1.6 billion from 3Q25 and $1.7 billion from 4Q24. Source
  • Allowance ratio fell to 1.12%: The allowance for loan and lease losses was $13.2 billion, 1.12% of loans, down from 1.14% at 3Q25 and 1.21% at 4Q24. Source

Capital, liquidity and shareholder returns

  • Shareholder returns reached $8.4 billion: Returns totaled $8.4 billion, up from $7.4 billion in 3Q25, including $2.1 billion of common dividends. Source
  • CET1 ratio fell to 11.4%: CET1 capital was $201 billion, and the Standardized CET1 ratio was 11.4% against 11.6% at 3Q25. The company describes this as well above the regulatory minimum. Source
  • Liquidity sources averaged $975 billion: Average Global Liquidity Sources were $975 billion, up from $961 billion in 3Q25. Source
  • Book value per share rose 8%: Return on average common equity was 10.4% and return on average tangible common equity 14.0%, against 9.6% and 13.0% a year earlier. Source

Demand and client activity

  • Equities revenue rose 23%: Equities revenue was $2 billion, up 23% including and excluding net DVA, which the company tied to client activity. Source
  • FICC revenue rose 2%: FICC revenue rose 2% to $2.5 billion, or 1% excluding net DVA, driven by improved performance in macro products. Source
  • Investment banking fees ranked third: Investment banking fees excluding self-led were $1.7 billion, down from $2.0 billion in 3Q25. The company ranked #3 in investment banking fees for 2025. Source

Strategy and client franchise

  • 2025 growth described as organic: Management said the company grew organically in 2025, with fixed-rate asset repricing and disciplined expense management also helping results. Source
  • Client relationships and rankings cited: The company reported relationships with 78% of the Global Fortune 500 and 96% of the U.S. Fortune 1,000, and ranked No. 1 in U.S. consumer deposits. Source
  • Digital usage across client bases: The company reported that 79% of overall households were actively using digital platforms, as of the period cited in the release. Source

Coming up, as management said on 14 January 2026

  • Economic growth expected in 2026: Management expects further economic growth in the year ahead. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Net interest yield (FTE) Source2.08%
Net interest income Source$15.8 billion (GAAP)
Average loans and leases Source$1.17 trillion
Average deposits Source$2.01 trillion
Provision for credit losses Source$1.3 billion
Net charge-offs Source$1.3 billion
Net charge-off ratio Source0.44%
Nonperforming loans, leases and foreclosed properties Source$5.9 billion
CET1 ratio (Standardized) Source11.4%
Efficiency ratio Source61%

Risks management discussed

  • External: Management said the regulatory environment and tax and trade policies have come into sharper focus, and that any number of risks continue. Source
  • Financial: Nonperforming loans rose from 3Q25, while remaining below the level of a year earlier. Source
  • Demand: Credit card delinquency rates rose from 3Q25, which the company described as in line with seasonal trends, though they kept improving from a year earlier. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.