Wells Fargo & falls after modest Q3 earnings beat

What happened

Wells Fargo & (WFC) fell 3.1% on October 13, 2026, after the bank released third-quarter results that modestly beat earnings expectations, according to Reuters and Business Wire. The company reported earnings per share of $1.87 against $1.85 expected and said revenue was $21.87 billion. Management highlighted broad-based revenue growth, loan and deposit expansion, improved returns and continued strong credit conditions. The company filed results in an Oct. 13, 2026, Form 8-K, held an earnings call the same day and the CFO discussed the quarter on Bloomberg.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $80.74 after opening 3.3% below the previous close and traded 1.7 times its 20-day average. The decline was 2.1 times a typical daily move for this stock and was 2.9 percentage points worse than the Financial Services sector median on the day, while the S&P 500 was unchanged. Over the last five sessions the stock fell 0.9%, versus the S&P 500’s fall of 0.2% over the same period. In the past five years the stock had 52 sessions with a decline of at least 3.1%; twenty trading days later the median result was a gain of 2.1%, and 31 of 52 were higher.

The technical picture

The stock sat 2.2% below its 20-day moving average, 5.6% below its 50-day moving average and 4.3% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend, while the Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 40, in a neutral range. Shares were 17.4% below the 52-week high, had fallen 9.0% over one month and 7.7% over three months, but were up 4.0% over one year, 15.1 percentage points behind the S&P 500. Volatility was 24% annualized over 60 days, lower than 75% of its own readings over five years.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, Wells Fargo & reported revenue of $130.46 billion, which grew 6.7% from a year earlier and followed growth of 5.8% one quarter earlier. Diluted earnings per share for the period were $7.14, which rose 17.4% year-over-year. Gross margin was 63.9% (a year earlier: 64.4%) and operating margin was 21.1% (a year earlier: 19.7%). Return on invested capital was 3.2% and the balance sheet showed net debt of 5.4 times EBITDA. Share count over one year decreased by 5.2%.

The stock traded at 11.3 times trailing earnings and 11.0 times expected forward earnings. Its price-to-earnings reading was lower than 71% of its own readings over the past five years (five-year median: 12.2 times earnings). PromtFinance scores ranked Value 74 (Positive), Growth 53 (Neutral), Quality 37 (Weak), Momentum 28 (Very weak), Revisions 60 (Neutral) and Stability 27 (Very weak).

Earnings and analyst expectations

Wells Fargo & reported net income of $5.95 billion and earnings per share of $1.87 for the quarter, a 13% increase year-over-year that modestly beat the $1.85 consensus, according to Reuters and Business Wire. Revenue of $21.87 billion lagged some expectations. The report marked two consecutive quarters beating estimates and the average surprise over the last four reports was 2.8% above estimates. Typical two-day reaction after recent reports was that the stock fell 1.1%.

Analysts set a consensus price target of $99.13, which is 22.8% above the closing price. Sixty analysts had ratings on the stock; 47% of the ratings were Buy and the consensus rating was Buy. The company’s next scheduled report is January 13, 2027.

What to watch

• Oct. 13, 2026: Form 8-K filing and earnings call reporting $1.87 EPS and $21.87 billion revenue, according to Reuters and Business Wire
• Jan. 13, 2027: next quarterly earnings report date
• Trends in loans and deposits and commentary on credit conditions from management during the post‑earnings conference call
• Changes in analyst estimates or consensus price target among the 60 analysts covering the stock
• Short-term technical pivots around the 20-day and 50-day moving averages