Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) announced its earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.49%.The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Regions Financial’s conference call:

• Reported strong full‑year results with $2.1 billion in earnings, GAAP EPS of $2.30 ($2.33 adjusted) and an industry‑leading return on tangible common equity of just over 18%.
• Loan growth was pressured in 2025 by corporate paydowns and capital‑markets refinancing, but management sees improving pipelines, ongoing banker hiring and expects average loans to be up low single digits in 2026 with NII growth guided to 2.5%–4%.
• Asset quality trends are improving: the non‑performing loan ratio declined to 73 bps, the ACL ratio stood at 1.76% (allowance = 242% of NPLs), and management forecasts 2026 net charge‑offs of 40–50 bps.
• Core modernization is progressing into user testing with a production pilot planned in Q3 and target completion in late 2027, and technology spend is being raised to roughly 10%–12% of revenue to support capabilities (including AI) ahead of expected efficiency gains.
• Capital actions and flexibility: CET1 was ~10.8% (9.6% incl. AOCI), the bank returned $2 billion to shareholders in 2025 (including a Q4 $430 million buyback and $231 million dividend) and will prioritize funding loan growth but continue buybacks when excess capital exists.

Regions Financial Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. Regions Financial has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $29.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Key Regions Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Regions Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI drove roughly 20% productivity improvement and digital engagement rose — a structural efficiency gain that can boost long‑term margins. Regions Says AI Lifts Productivity 20% as Loan Growth Cools
• Positive Sentiment: Regions reported revenue and fee income growth for 2025 and cited record wealth-management and treasury-management income for the year — diversification away from pure net‑interest income. Regions Reports Strong Earnings Growth in 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 materials and the earnings‑call transcript provide management’s detailed commentary on capital allocation, expense plans and outlook — useful for reassessing forward estimates. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS of $0.57 missed consensus ($0.61) and revenue of $1.92B missed estimates — the headline miss pressured sentiment. Regions Q4 earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Higher non‑interest expenses (driven by elevated investment and technology spending) and cooler loan balances reduced EPS and prompted caution on near‑term earnings momentum. Regions Financial Q4 Earnings Miss on Higher Expenses

Regions Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the second quarter worth $74,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 80.6% during the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 21.8% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RF. Barclays lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on Regions Financial in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.21.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.