Citigroup delivered a robust second-quarter performance in 2025, underscoring its strategic transformation and operational discipline.
Revenues climbed 8% year-over-year to US$21.7 billion, ahead of $21 billion expected, while net income surged 25% to $4.0 billion, driving a 150-basis-point improvement in Return on Tangible Common Equity (RoTCE) to 8.7%.
Earnings per share (EPS) also beat estimates, coming in at $1.96 versus $1.61 expected.
The bank’s efficiency ratio improved by 340 basis points to 63%, reflecting cost containment and productivity gains.
Shareholder returns remain a priority, with $3.1 billion distributed via dividends and buybacks, and a dividend hike to $0.60 per share slated for Q3.
Segment-level momentum was evident across Citigroup’s five core businesses.
Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) posted notable market share gains, reinforcing the Services division’s position as a high-return anchor.
Wealth Management revenues rose 20%, fuelled by Citigold and Private Bank growth, while United States Personal Banking saw a 6% uptick, supported by higher interest-earning balances on branded cards.
Credit costs totalled $2.9 billion, largely from U.S. card losses, yet the CET1 capital ratio stood firm at 13.5%, 140 basis points above regulatory minimums, with nearly $24 billion in card reserves.
Citigroup’s transformation agenda accelerated in H1 2025, with 211 legacy applications retired and payment controls enhanced across 85 countries.
The bank scaled its use of Generative AI tools, completing over 740,000 automated code reviews weekly — saving an estimated 100,000 hours and boosting developer productivity.
Looking ahead, Citi reaffirmed full-year revenue guidance of $84 billion and a RoTCE target of 10–11% by 2026, contingent on macroeconomic conditions.
Citi CEO Jane Fraser said, "We reported another very good quarter and continue to demonstrate that our strong results are sustainable through different environments.
"We’re improving the performance of each of our businesses to take share and drive higher returns. With revenue up 8%, Services continues to show why this high-return business is our crown jewel. Markets had its best second quarter performance since 2020 with a record second quarter for Equities. Banking revenues were up 18% and we continue to be at the centre of some of the most significant transactions. Wealth revenues were up 20% with solid growth across all three lines of business. In U.S. Personal Banking, we saw good growth in Branded Cards while Retail Banking benefited from higher deposit spreads.
“We returned $3 billion in capital during the quarter, including $2 billion in share repurchases as part of our $20 billion repurchase plan. I’m particularly pleased that the momentum across our franchise includes the Transformation, as we streamline processes, drive automation and deploy AI.
“As I’ve said, next year’s 10-11% ROTCE target is a waypoint, not a destination. The actions we’ve taken have set up Citi to succeed long term, drive returns above that level and continue to create value for shareholders."
Citi’s disciplined capital deployment, digital innovation, and segment resilience signal a franchise poised for durable value creation.
At the time of writing, the Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) share price was US$90.71 in after-hours trading. Earlier, it closed at US$90.72, up $3.22 (3.68%) today. Citigroup has a market cap of around $169.44 billion.
