10:33 AM EST, 01/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Truist Financial's ( TFC ) fourth-quarter results increased year over year and topped market expectations, buoyed by net interest income and noninterest income gains.

The financial services company on Friday posted adjusted earnings of $0.91 a share for the December quarter, up from $0.81 the year before, ahead of the FactSet-polled consensus of $0.87. Revenue advanced to $5.11 billion from $4.94 billion, above the Street's view for $5.04 billion. The stock rose 4.5% in Friday trading.

"We executed on several important strategic initiatives, including the sale of Truist Insurance Holdings and the repositioning of our balance sheet," Chief Executive Bill Rogers said in a statement. "These actions increased our capital and further enhanced our ability to support the growth needs of clients, while also returning capital to shareholders."

Net interest income on a taxable-equivalent basis increased 1.8% to $3.64 billion mainly due to the company's balance sheet repositioning in the second quarter. Noninterest income rose 7.9% to $1.47 billion as a result of higher investment banking and trading income, partially offset by lower lending-related fees.

Deposits declined to $390.04 billion from $395.33 billion at the end of 2023.

Truist expects adjusted revenue on a taxable equivalent basis to decrease about 2% on a sequential basis in the ongoing three-month period, according to an earnings presentation. The company estimates adjusted expenses to be down by roughly 3%.

The company forecasts net interest income to decline 2% in the first quarter, mainly due to two fewer days in the period versus the prior quarter and "seasonally lower average deposit balances," partially offset by slightly higher loan balances, Chief Financial Officer Mike Maguire said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Noninterest income is expected to decrease by 2.5%, Maguire said.

For full-year 2025, Truist anticipates adjusted revenue to be up 3% to 3.5% driven by net interest income and noninterest income gains, Maguire told analysts. "Our net interest income outlook assumes a low single-digit end-of-period loan growth and two reductions in the (Federal Reserve) funds rate, including a cut in March and another in September," the CFO added.

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