Wells Fargo 4Q profit rose 4%, tops Street estimates

Wells Fargo & Co. says its profit rose 4% to $2.99 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The bank, based in San Francisco, said Friday that it had earnings of 64 cents per share, compared with earnings of 60 cents a year earlier.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 59 cents per share.

The biggest U.S. mortgage lender posted revenue of $19.12 billion in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $17.93 billion, down from $19.86 billion a year ago and slightly below Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $18.02 billion.

Wells Fargo shares have climbed 15% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased 1%. The stock has declined 30% in the last 12 months.

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This story was partially generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WFC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WFC