Regions Financial beats on profit, misses on revenue in third quarter
EPS of $0.73 topped estimates by $0.05 while revenue of $1.99bn fell short of the $2.05bn expected
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Chart: RF, one-minute prices, three sessions
Regions Financial reported third-quarter earnings per share of $0.73, beating expectations by $0.05. Revenue came in at $1.99bn, below the $2.05bn analysts had expected.
Chairman, President and CEO John Turner said strong credit quality, momentum in fee-based businesses and the bank's footprint in what he called economically vibrant markets drove the results. He said Regions is positioned to modernize and sustain growth going forward.
The bank returned cash to shareholders during the quarter, repurchasing about 3 million shares of common stock for $95 million and declaring $255 million in dividends to common shareholders.
The combination of a profit beat and a revenue miss is a pattern showing up across regional bank earnings this quarter, as lenders lean on fee income and credit quality to offset softer top-line growth. That the bottom-line strength came alongside a revenue shortfall suggests the gain is coming from cost control, reserve releases or non-interest income rather than core lending growth. The scale of the buybacks and dividend payout suggests management views its capital position as sufficient to keep returning cash even with top-line pressure persisting, leaving open the question of whether net interest margin and loan demand can reaccelerate or whether fee businesses will need to keep carrying results into year-end.