Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC): 2Q26 First Take: Fee driven quarterly beat, with unchanged 2026 guidance in focus

Research evidence excerpt

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC): 2Q26 First Take: Fee driven quarterly beat, with unchanged 2026 guidance in focus

Goldman Sachs Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC)

going forward, given the robust loan and trading asset growth trends in the quarter; and

the mix of loan growth, trading asset growth, and other investments, as we move further

past the asset cap; and 4) the outlook and priorities for capital deployment from here,

given potential further declines in regulatory capital requirements post the recent Basel

III endgame proposal. Key topics for the call within.

n The company delivered NII of $12.4bn, largely in-line with the Street ($12.4bn),

on ~0.5% higher average earning assets, offset by 1bp lower NIM. Notably, deposit

pricing competition has remained elevated, with deposit yield rising 9bps QoQ (vs.

1bps sequential increase expected by the Street), and deposit balances rose 3%

sequentially. Management maintained 2026 NII guide of $50bn (implying +5% YoY),

slightly above with consensus of $49.8bn. We await further detail on the NII

trajectory into 2H26, namely the underlying assumptions around potential rate hikes

and stronger loan growth, vs. steepening deposit competition that could drive

elevated deposit costs.

n Better quarterly expenses vs. a largely unchanged outlook: 2Q26 expenses came

in at $13.7bn, 1% below consensus expectations. The company reiterated 2026

expense guidance of ~$55.7bn, in line with consensus expectations. We expect

investors to focus on how much operating leverage WFC will be able to generate in

2026, as it balances incremental efficiency gain against continued investments in

growth.

n Credit normalization / pace of reserve builds: The company built $38mn of

reserves (vs Street expectations of a $83mn build). WFC’s NCO rate declined 11bps