Bank of America Makes Earnings Confusing With Reporting of Charges

By Jon C. Ogg Published Apr 15, 8:05AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) has reported that its first quarter of 2015 brought net income of $3.4 billion. This generated earnings of $0.27 per share, on revenues of $21.42 billion. The banking giant did disclose that the earnings per share (EPS) included $0.06 per share in annual retirement-eligible incentive costs, and that it included $0.03 per share in charges to revenue for market-related net interest income adjustments.

Thomson Reuters had the consensus earnings estimate at $0.29 per share on $21.5 billion in revenue. This further compared to -$0.05 EPS and $22.77 billion in revenues from a year earlier.

Shares closed at $15.82 ahead of earnings. This level compared to a stated book value that rose 4% from a year earlier to $21.66 per share, and it compared to a tangible book value per share that was up 7% from a year earlier to $14.79 per share.

Bank of America went on to show that its estimated common equity Tier 1 ratio under Basel 3 was at 10.3%. It also posted record global excess liquidity of $478 billion, a gain of $51 billion from a year earlier.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Sees 3 Financials Beating Earnings Handily

The bank showed several other metrics and milestones as well:

Deposit balances hit a record of $1.15 trillion.
It originated $17 billion in first-lien residential mortgages and home equity loans.
It issued 1.2 million new credit cards, with 66% of those to existing relationship customers.
Merrill Edge brokerage assets increased by 18% from a year ago to $118 billion.
Wealth management fees rose 10% to $2.1 billion.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch total investment banking fees were $1.5 billion.
Global banking loans were up $6 billion to $296 billion.
Noninterest expenses ex-litigation and ex-retirement-eligible incentive was cut by 6% to $14.3 billion.
Adjusted net charge-offs were down 28%.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan tried to remain upbeat in the report:

Continuing the trend from last quarter, we saw core loan and deposit growth, higher mortgage originations, and increased wealth management client balances. We retained a top position in investment banking as our team generated the highest advisory fees since the Merrill Lynch merger. We see continued encouraging signs in customer and client activity, with consumer spending increasing and utilization of credit by our commercial customers rising. This should bode well for the near-term economic outlook.

At a time of continued low interest rates, we had good expense control as we focus on responsible growth with a balanced platform to create long-term value for customers and shareholders.

ALSO READ: Why Many Banks Need Fed Interest Rate Hikes Sooner Rather Than Later

It appears as though investors are treating the net number second to the operating number, even if you remove whatever it said about market-related net interest income adjustments. If so, then Bank of America beat earnings and revenues were just a fraction under expectations. After closing up two cents on Tuesday at $15.82, the premarket indication was down three cents at $15.79. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $14.37 to $18.21 and a consensus price target of $18.40.

About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.