The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC has delivered adjusted earnings per share of $4.85 in the second quarter of 2026, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.51 and up from $3.85 a year ago.
Results reflected higher net interest income (NII), strong fee income growth, an improvement in the net interest margin (NIM) and solid loan growth. However, higher expenses and a decline in the deposit balance were headwinds. Given the concern, PNC shares were down nearly 3.8% in the early trading session. A full day’s trading session will depict a clearer picture.
Results excluded FirstBank integration costs and certain significant items. After considering those, net income (GAAP basis) was $2.06 billion, which rose 25.1% from the year-ago quarter.
PNC Financial’s Q2 Revenues & Expenses Rise
Quarterly revenues were $6.88 billion, up 21.4% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.44 billion.
NII rose to $4.1 billion in the quarter, increasing 15.5% from the year-ago period. The company’s NIM improved to 2.96%, expanding 16 basis points year over year, as the bank benefited from commercial loan growth, higher non-interest-bearing deposit balances, the FirstBank acquisition and lower funding costs.
Non-interest income totaled $2.8 billion, up 31.4% from the second quarter of 2025, reflecting improvement across all fee categories. Within fee income lines, capital markets and advisory revenues surged 79.8% from last year, while asset management and brokerage revenues, card and cash management revenues, lending and deposit services revenues, and residential and commercial mortgage revenues also increased.
Noninterest expenses increased to $4.1 billion, up 21.1% year over year. The rise reflected increased business activity, higher marketing expenses, continued investments to support growth and FirstBank operating expenses. PNC incurred $127 million of integration costs (pre-tax) in the second quarter of 2026 related to the FirstBank acquisition. Expenses also included a $140-million contribution to the PNC Foundation.
The efficiency ratio was 60%, unchanged from the prior-year quarter.
PNC's Loan Balance Rises, Deposits Decline
Total loans increased 1.9% sequentially to $367.9 billion, driven by commercial loan growth and strong new production. Total deposits declined 1.7% sequentially to $449.8 billion.
PNC’s Credit Quality
Total non-performing loans were $2.03 billion, down 3.8% from the year-ago quarter.
Net loan charge-offs were $226 million, up 14.1% from the year-ago quarter. The net charge-offs to average loans ratio was 0.25%, unchanged from the prior-year quarter.
The company reported a provision for credit losses of $191 million in the second quarter, down 24.8% from the year-ago quarter. The allowance for credit losses increased to $5.5 billion from $5.3 billion as of June 30, 2025. The allowance for credit losses to total loans ratio was 1.48% compared with 1.62% in the year-ago quarter.
PNC’s Capital Position & Profitability Ratios
As of June 30, 2026, the Basel III common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 9.9% compared with 10.5% as of June 30, 2025.
Return on average assets and average common shareholders’ equity were 1.34% and 13.61%, respectively, compared with 1.17% and 12.20% in the year-ago quarter.
PNC’s Capital Return Stays Robust
In the second quarter of 2026, PNC returned $1.3 billion of capital to its shareholders. This included $0.7 billion in common stock dividends and $0.6 billion in common share repurchases. Share repurchase activity in the third quarter of 2026 is expected to approximate the second-quarter level.
The company also raised its quarterly common stock dividend by 18% to $2 per share from $1.70.
PNC Financial’s Guidance
For the third quarter of 2026, PNC expects average loans to rise 1% to 2% from the second-quarter baseline.
NII is expected to increase 3% to 3.5% sequentially, while fee income is projected to decline 5% to 5.5%.
Other non-interest income is expected to be between $150 million and $200 million.
Adjusted non-interest expenses are expected to decline 2% to 3% sequentially. Net charge-offs are projected to be nearly $225 million.
For 2026, the company raised its average loan growth outlook to approximately 12.5% from about 11% mentioned previously.
PNC also raised its 2026 NII outlook to 15-15.5% from the previously expected approximately 14.5%. The company now expects non-interest income and total revenues to rise about 9% and 13%, respectively, compared with the prior projections of nearly 6% and 11%.
PNC raised its adjusted non-interest expense growth expectation to approximately 8.5% from about 7%, while maintaining its effective tax rate outlook of nearly 19.5%.
Our View on PNC
PNC Financial’s higher NII, expanding NIM, strong fee income and solid loan growth will likely continue supporting the top-line performance. The company’s strong capital position and improving credit quality also provide room for steady shareholder returns.
In June 2026, PNC completed the conversion of approximately 780,000 FirstBank customers, more than 1,620 employees and 95 branches across Colorado and Arizona. This marked a key integration milestone and positioned the company for enhanced long-term growth. However, elevated expenses tied to integration and an anticipated sequential decline in fee income remain near-term headwinds.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc Quote
Currently, PNC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Dates & Expectations of Other Banks
U.S. Bancorp USB is scheduled to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 16.
The consensus estimate for USB’s quarterly earnings has remained unchanged at $1.28 per share over the past seven days. This indicates a 15.3% increase from the year-ago reported level.
State Street STT is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 16.
Over the past seven days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for STT’s quarterly earnings has been revised upward to $3.30 per share. This indicates a 30.4% increase from the year-ago reported level.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).