Bank of America Q4 Earnings: $6.7 Billion Profit, $1.7 Billion In Investment banking fees, Forecasts Higher NII In 2025

Bank of America Corp BAC reported a fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 net income of $6.7 billion (versus $3.1 billion a year ago) and EPS of $0.82, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.77.

Revenue, net of interest expense, increased 15.0% year over year to $25.35 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $25.19 billion.

Higher asset management, investment banking fees, and sales and trading revenue drove the growth.

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Segment Net income: Consumer Banking clocked $2.82 billion versus $2.77 billion Y/Y, Global Wealth and Investment Management was $1.17 billion versus $1.02 billion Y/Y, Global Banking was $2.14 billion versus $2.47 billion Y/Y, and Global Markets was $955 million versus $736 million Y/Y.

Investment banking fees grew by 44% to $1.7 billion.

Net interest income was $14.4 billion (+3.0% Y/Y), driven by Global Markets activity, fixed-rate asset repricing, and loan growth.

Noninterest income was $10.99 billion (+37.1% Y/Y). Provision for credit losses grew 31.5 Y/Y to $1.45 billion.

The efficiency ratio for the quarter was 65.83%, compared to 80.22% Y/Y. The bank reported a CET1 ratio of 11.9%, compared to 11.8% a year ago. The book value per share of $35.79 improved by 7%.

The average loan and lease balance was $1.08 trillion (+3.0% Y/Y). Average deposits are up 3% Y/Y to $1.96 trillion. Bank of America added ~4.0 million credit card accounts during the quarter.

CFO Alastair Borthwick noted substantial fee income throughout 2024, finding the company on track to continue growing net interest income in the year ahead. He said that the fourth quarter also marked a return to operating leverage. He added that asset quality is healthy, and client spending continued to grow at a moderate pace, reflecting a solid economic environment.

Outlook: In the first quarter, Bank of America expects a net interest income of $14.5 billion—$14.6 billion. It expects to grow sequentially to ~$15.5 billion—$15.7 billion in the fourth quarter, with second-half 2025 growth exceeding first-half 2025 growth.

Price Action: BAC stock is up 0.38% at $47.28 premarket at the last check Thursday.

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