All five major businesses are working together to drive growth, and Citigroup (C.US) has turned a loss into a profit in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year.

Citigroup Group (C.US) announced its fourth quarter results on Wednesday. The data shows that the bank's Q4 revenue was $19.58 billion, a 12% increase year over year, exceeding market expectations; net profit was $2.9 billion, compared to a loss of $1.8 billion in the same period last year; earnings per share were $1.34, higher than the market expectation of $1.22. Revenue from Citigroup's five major business lines all saw growth. Market revenue grew 36% to $4.6 billion, driven by fixed income and equity trading. Fixed income trading revenue soared 37% to $3.5 billion, surpassing the analyst average expectation of $2.94 billion; equity trading revenue increased by 34% to $1.1 billion. Although revenue from loans and bond underwriting was below expectations, revenue from investment banking and stock underwriting exceeded expectations. However, Citigroup Group has lowered a key profit target, which is the core of CEO Jane Fraser's reform plan. According to a statement, the bank currently expects its return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) to be between 10% and 11% by 2026, down from the previous expectation of 11% to 12%. This move confirms analysts' warnings: Citigroup may struggle to control expenses while implementing its plan to reform its global operations and strengthen internal controls. Nevertheless, Fraser is still seeking to improve investor returns. She announced on Wednesday that the company's board of directors has approved a plan that allows Citigroup Group to repurchase $20 billion worth of stock in the coming years. Fraser told investors at the beginning of 2022 that she needs five years to turn around Citigroup, which is the only one of the major U.S. banks whose market value is lower than it was five years ago. The bank's ROTCE in 2024 was 7%. In contrast, rival JPMorgan Chase announced a ROTCE of 22% on Wednesday. Fraser mentioned the revised target in the statement: "This is a milestone, not the end point. We intend to raise the return level far above this target and fully unleash Citigroup's potential for shareholders." As of the time of writing, Citigroup's stock price is up 3.6% in pre-market trading.