CitiGroup trades 1.6% higher on Tuesday following upbeat performance results for the fourth quarter

Citigroup revealed its performance results for the fourth quarter on Tuesday. Beating the analysts’ estimate for earnings and revenue, the stock was seen trading higher later in the day. The American multinational investment bank cited better than expected revenue from fixed-income trading to have contributed to the upbeat performance in Q4.

CitiGroup Climbed Over 50% In The Stock Market In 2019

Towards the day close on Tuesday, the stock was reported trading 1.6% higher. Citigroup printed massive gains in the stock market in 2019. Having opened the year around $52 in January, the stock ended the last year at around $80 that marked an over 50% annual growth. The financial services company is currently valued at $178.83 billion. 2019 was also reported to be the best year for Citigroup in the stock market since 1999.

Based on Refinitiv’s data, analysts had expected Citigroup’s earnings per share (EPS) to remain capped at $1.84 in the fourth quarter. On the revenues front, experts were expecting the investment bank to post $17.855 billion in Q4. In a previous estimate, FactSet had estimated fixed-income trading at $1.24 billion while equities trading was forecasted at $673.7 million. The earnings report on Tuesday, however, beat almost all estimates as it showed Citigroup to have generated $18.378 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter that pushed the EPS higher to $1.90 per share. Fixed-income trading came out at $2.9 billion while equities trading was reported at $516 million in Q4.

In terms of revenue from bond-trading, the company climbed 49% as compared to the same quarter last year. The 23% YoY decline in equities trading, as per Citigroup, was the only downbeat figure in Tuesday’s earnings report for the fourth quarter. With $8.5 billion in sales, Citigroup’s global consumer banking unit marked a significant 5% growth as compared to the last year.

CEO Michael Corbat Appreciated The Bank’s Branded Cards Business

CEO Michael Corbat also appreciated the bank’s Branded Cards business that generated $2.4 billion in revenue that marked a 10% growth as compared to 2018’s Q4. In his statement, the CEO remarked:

“The U.S consumer franchise saw continued strong growth in Branded Cards and sustained its momentum in attracting digital deposits. Our earnings of $5 billion for the fourth quarter marked a strong end to 2019.”

The report also highlighted $8.04 per share of full-year profit for Citigroup. In comparison to the 2018’s figure, the profit highlighted a 21% increase.