Citi posts Q2 profit surge on trading windfall
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The news: Citigroup posted a 25% rise in profit for the second quarter, driven largely by record trading volumes and revitalised dealmaking.
The numbers: The bank reported a profit of USD4.02 billion, or USD1.96 a share, for the period, compared with USD3.22 billion, or USD1.52 a share the year prior.
Revenue from Citi’s fixed-income trading business climbed 20% to USD4.3 billion ($6.54 billion), well ahead of the USD3.9 billion forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
The bank’s stock traders brought in USD1.6 billion, also exceeding expectations, as an increase in prime balances hit record levels during the period.
The bank’s markets revenue jumped 16% to USD5.9 billion year on year.
Citi’s revenue climbed 8% in Q2 from one year earlier to USD21.7 billion, marking second-quarter records for its services, wealth and US personal banking businesses.
The group’s wealth division which serves high-income clients saw a 20% increase in revenues.
The context: While investment banking remained subdued for most of the quarter, a result of economic uncertainty exacerbated by Trump’s trade tariffs, a rebound in dealmaking in June is fuelling optimism for the second half of the year.
Citi jointly led the IPO of stablecoin issuer Circle (USD1.5 billion), and the USD650 million listing of eToro. Citi also advised Charter Communications on its USD21.9 billion buyout of Cox Communications. Citi's investment banking fees climbed 13% in the second quarter, while overall banking revenue increased nearly 19% to USD1.9 billion.
What they said: Citi CEO Jane Fraser said, “We reported another very good quarter and continue to demonstrate that our strong results are sustainable through different environments. We’re improving the performance of each of our businesses to take share and drive higher returns."
"With revenue up 8%, Services continues to show why this high-return business is our crown jewel. Markets had its best second quarter performance since 2020 with a record second quarter for Equities. Banking revenues were up 18% and we continue to be at the center of some of the most significant transactions.”
The sources: Citi Q2 earnings, Bloomberg, Reuters, WSJ
