First Citizens BancShares beats Q3 estimates and adds $1.2 billion buyback

Revenue was $2.43 billion, against $2.39 billion expected. Chairman and CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. said, "Third quarter performance exceeded our expectations, fueled by strong, high quality top-line growth, accelerated loan and deposit growth, highly resilient credit quality, and expense discipline."

Adjusted net income available to common stockholders was $623 million. That is $36 million less than the prior quarter, when it was $659 million, or $57.09 per share. Net interest income, the gap between what the bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits and borrowings, rose $43 million to $1.70 billion. Interest income on loans rose $88 million. Interest expense on deposits rose $90 million.

The board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $1.2 billion of Class A common stock through 2027. In the quarter, the company bought back $600 million of its stock and repaid another $8.0 billion of the Purchase Money Note.

Management credits the quarter to loan and deposit growth, credit quality and expense discipline. The durability of those three drivers matters more than the single result. Revenue beat expectations by roughly $40 million, a much smaller margin than the per-share beat. The buyback gives the company room to return capital well beyond this quarter. The pace of repurchases will show how the board balances that against growth in its balance sheet.