U.S. commercial bank Citigroup (C) has reported financial results for this year’s first quarter that surpassed the consensus expectations of Wall Street.
The Wall Street firm announced earnings per share of $1.96, which was ahead of the $1.75 forecast among analysts who track the bank’s progress. Revenue in the January through March quarter totaled $21.60 billion, which topped forecasts that called for sales of $21.29 billion.
Citigroup said that its quarterly profit rose 21% while its revenue climbed 3% from a year earlier. The strong print was mostly attributed to exceptional results in the bank’s stock and bond trading units at a time when markets were posting successive all-time highs.
Citigroup’s earnings per share. Source: Main Street Data
Vote of Confidence
In Citigroup’s earnings release, CEO Jane Fraser sounded an optimistic note despite the recent volatility caused in financial markets by U.S. President Donald Trump’s import tariffs. Fraser said that “When all is said and done, and longstanding trade imbalances and other structural shifts are behind us, the U.S. will still be the world’s leading economy, and the dollar will remain the reserve currency.”
Citigroup’s fixed income traders generated $4.5 billion in revenue on heightened activity in markets for currencies and government bonds during Q1. Stock traders saw their revenue in the quarter rise 23% to $1.5 billion on higher client activity that led to more transactions and fees.
Citigroup’s stock has declined 8% so far in 2025.
Is C Stock a Buy?
The stock of Citigroup has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 15 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 11 Buy and four Hold recommendations assigned in the last three months. The average C price target of $88.17 implies 36.68% upside from current levels. These ratings are likely to change after the latest financial results.
