Bank of America tops estimates on better-than-expected interest income, investment banking

The bank said profit fell 18% to $6.67 billion, or 76 cents a share; excluding a $700 million FDIC assessment, profit was 83 cents a share. Revenue slipped 1.6% to $25.98 billion as net interest income declined from a year earlier.

Net interest income, or the difference between what the company earns from loans and investments and what it pays customers for their deposits, was $14.19 billion, topping the $13.93 billion StreetAccount estimate.

The bank’s interest income was a “slight positive surprise,” though it’s unclear if this means the metric will improve earlier than expected, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo said Tuesday in a research note.

The bank’s total deposits of $1.95 trillion climbed roughly 1% from the fourth quarter, while loans were essentially unchanged at $1.05 trillion.

“I was unimpressed with deposits and loans being flat,” David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, said in an email. “The only areas that BAC did well was where other banks have shown strength.”

Source: CNBC