Truist Shares Rise 2% Despite Earnings Miss on One-Time Charges

Shares of Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) rose about 2% intra-day on Wednesday even after the bank reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations.

Truist reported net income available to common shareholders of $1.29 billion, or $1.00 per diluted share, missing estimates of $1.09 per share. Revenue totaled $5.25 billion, below the consensus forecast of $5.31 billion. Results were impacted by a $130 million legal accrual and $63 million in severance costs, which together reduced earnings by $0.12 per share.

Despite the headline miss, the bank reported improving underlying trends. Net interest income increased 1.9% sequentially to $3.75 billion, while net interest margin expanded six basis points to 3.07%. Average loans held for investment grew $4.3 billion, or 1.3%, reflecting broad-based loan growth.

Compared with the year-ago period, revenue rose 5.2% from $5.06 billion.