PNC Financial profit beats estimates on dealmaking rebound

By Arasu Kannagi Basil

Jan 16 (Reuters) – PNC Financial’s profit for the fourth quarter exceeded analysts’ estimates on Friday, as it reaped gains from a rebound in dealmaking, sending its shares to a four-year high.

Global mergers and acquisitions surged past $5 trillion in 2025, the second-biggest year on record as looser U.S. antitrust scrutiny and record markets fueled a flurry of megadeals.

PNC’s quarterly capital markets and advisory revenue jumped 41% to $489 million, buoyed by higher M&A activity.

Among deals in the quarter, PNC’s Harris Williams advised Warburg Pincus’ portfolio company, TRC, on its $3.3 billion sale to Canadian engineering firm WSP Global.

Net interest income (NII) – the difference between what PNC earns on loans and pays out on deposits – rose 6% to record $3.73 billion in the quarter.

Healthy loan growth and a decline in deposit costs boosted interest income at PNC, which is also benefiting from the repricing of fixed-rate assets.

Analysts said PNC’s results were solid, highlighting strong capital markets momentum and anticipated buyback acceleration.

“Credit metrics were stable at excellent levels,” Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said.

PNC’s profit was $2.03 billion, or $4.88 per share, in the three months ended December 31. That topped Wall Street expectations of $4.22 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Total quarterly revenue surged 9% to record $6.07 billion. PNC expects NII to jump roughly 14% in 2026, ahead of Wall Street expectations of 11.1%.

BUYBACK RAMP

The bank is set to ramp up buyback activity in 2026 as it looks to boost its share price performance.

CEO Bill Demchak said last month PNC was going to be “pretty aggressive” with share repurchases as the bank puts excess capital to work.

PNC expects share repurchase activity to be about $600 million to $700 million in the first quarter of 2026.

The bank’s stock rose 8.2% in 2025, compared with the KBW Bank Index’s 28.8% jump.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Lananh Nguyen in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel)