⚡What does Wells Fargo do, in 30 seconds?
Wells Fargo is a big US bank: at the end of 2025 it was the fourth largest US bank holding company by assets 9. It takes deposits and lends to people and companies, and it also offers investment banking and wealth services 3 3 3. In FY2025 its revenue, after paying interest to savers, was $83.7bn ✓, and it kept $21.3bn ✓ as profit.
📱What does Wells Fargo sell?
Wells Fargo's revenue comes in two streams: net interest income, and fees and other income 2 2. It reports four segments 9. Here is what each stream is, and the segments described with it.
Net interest income
This is the bigger stream, at $47.5bn ✓ in FY2025. It is the interest Wells Fargo earns on loans, debt securities and trading assets, minus the interest it pays on deposits, borrowings and long-term debt 2. Consumer Banking and Lending offers checking and savings accounts, cards, and home, car, personal and small business loans 3. Commercial Banking serves private, family-owned and some public companies, and cities and towns, with loans, leases and cash management 3.
👥 Consumers, small businesses, private and family-owned companies, and cities and towns 3 3.
Fees and other income
This stream brought in $36.2bn ✓ in FY2025. The biggest parts in 2025 were advisory and other asset-based fees of $10.5 billion, trading gains of $5.1 billion, deposit fees of $5.1 billion and card fees of $4.6 billion 2. Corporate and Investment Banking serves companies, governments and big investors with loans, deal advice, payments and trading in bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks 3 3. Wealth and Investment Management offers financial advisors, brokerage and trust services 3.
👥 Companies, governments and institutions, plus affluent and very wealthy clients 3 3.
How the mix has shifted
💸How does Wells Fargo make money?
Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what comes in (after paying interest to savers and lenders), what it costs to run, what is lost on bad loans, and what is left as profit.
For a bank, revenue means what is left after paying interest to savers. Wells Fargo's revenue was $83.7bn ✓ in FY2025. Net interest income, the gap between interest earned and interest paid, brought in $47.5bn ✓. Fees and other income added $36.2bn ✓.
Deposits are the money people and companies keep at the bank. At the end of 2025, Wells Fargo had about $1.4 trillion of deposits and $986.2 billion of loans 9. At that date, $365.4 billion of its $1,426.2 billion of deposits paid no interest at all 2.
Running costs, such as pay, technology, offices and branches, took $54.8bn ✓. Next, the bank set aside $3.7bn ✓ for loans that may not be repaid. Pretax profit was $25.2bn ✓. After tax of $3.8bn ✓ and other small items, Wells Fargo kept $21.3bn ✓ as profit. Out of every $100 of revenue, about $66 ✓ went on running costs, $4 ✓ on loan losses and $5 ✓ on tax. Wells Fargo kept $25 ✓.
Out of every $100 of revenue in FY2025…
⏱️ Wells Fargo by the clock
Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 365 days and you get this. Source: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY/MN 10-K [1].
📈How is Wells Fargo doing?
Wells Fargo's revenue has gone sideways for a decade. It was $86.1bn ✓ in FY2015 and $83.7bn ✓ in FY2025, a change of -0.3% ✓ a year. Revenue rose in only 5 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. For much of that time, a 2018 Federal Reserve action barred the bank from growing beyond its total assets at the end of 2017 19. The Fed lifted that cap in June 2025 20 and ended the whole action in March 2026 22.
Profit has risen from $13.7bn ✓ in FY2022 to $21.3bn ✓ in FY2025. In the four quarters to 30 June 2026, revenue reached $86.8bn ✓, up 6.2% ✓ on the four quarters before, and profit was $22.6bn ✓. In the July to September 2026 quarter, net income was $6.0 billion, up from $5.6 billion a year earlier 3. Average loans and average deposits each rose 11% from a year earlier in that quarter 3.
📝 The report card
Wells Fargo earns a good mark for steadiness, middling marks for profit and its equity cushion, and a weak mark for growth. Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where Wells Fargo (orange) and its 4 peers land; further right is better.
Growth
Wells Fargo's revenue grew 4.0% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns a D ✓. That ranked last, number 5 ✓ of the five banks, below the 7.8% ✓ peer median. Revenue jumped 11.1% ✓ in FY2023, then changed by -0.4% ✓ in FY2024 and grew 1.7% ✓ in FY2025.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Growing revenue is the engine of a business. For a bank, revenue is what it earns after paying interest to savers and lenders; for an insurer, it is mostly premiums. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.
Profitability
Over the last three years combined, Wells Fargo earned 11.0% ✓ profit on its owners' money, which earns a C ✓. That matches the 11.0% ✓ peer median. JPMorgan Chase earned 15.9% ✓, which gets an A ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Banks and insurers work with other people's money, so profit margins on revenue say little. Return on equity shows how much profit they make on the owners' money; above 15% is excellent for a big bank or insurer.
Cash generation
Not graded for banks and insurers: their cash flow mostly moves customers' money (deposits, loans, premiums), so it says little about the business.
Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. A bank's cash flow mostly shows customers' money moving in and out. Wells Fargo's operating cash flow swung from $3.0bn ✓ in FY2024 to -$19.0bn ✓ in FY2025, which says little about how the business did.
Balance sheet
Shareholders' equity was 8.4% ✓ of everything Wells Fargo owned at the end of FY2025, which earns a C ✓. That is a little above the 8.1% ✓ peer median. Regulators use a different test called CET1. Wells Fargo's was 10.0% at 30 September 2026, above its estimated 8.5% minimum and buffers 38.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Owners' equity is the cushion that absorbs losses before customers' money is at risk. The thicker the cushion compared with everything the company owns, the safer it is.
Steadiness
Wells Fargo's yearly growth swings by 6.8% ✓, measured as a standard deviation, which earns a B ✓. Bank of America, at 3.8% ✓, earns an A ✓. Years like FY2022, when revenue changed by -6.1% ✓, add to Wells Fargo's swing.
Why this measure? (lower is better)
Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean revenue depends on interest rates, markets or one-off events.
🧑🏫 How the grades work
- Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
- Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
- Banks and insurers are graded differently. They lend or invest customers' money, so profitability uses return on equity, the balance sheet uses the owners' share of total assets, and cash generation is not graded. They are compared only with other banks and insurers.
- Peers for context. The rank shows how Wells Fargo compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
- Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
- Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.
11 years at a glance
Where the cash goes
Wells Fargo hands much of its profit back to shareholders. From FY2015 to FY2025 it spent $209.7bn ✓ on dividends and buybacks. In FY2025 alone it paid out $23.0bn ✓, or 107.6% ✓ of profit. It raised its quarterly dividend to 50 cents a share in the July to September 2026 quarter, from 45 cents 8.
🧮Ratios 101: what are Wells Fargo's key financial ratios?
Ratios shrink Wells Fargo's giant numbers into easy comparisons. For a bank, profit on the owners' money and on total assets matter most. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with Wells Fargo's real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.
💰 Profitability: how much of each dollar of revenue is kept?
Net margin
The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of revenue.
👉 Wells Fargo keeps 25.5% ✓ of revenue as final profit, close to the 25.4% ✓ peer median and a little below 26.6% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.
Return on equity (ROE)
Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.
👉 ROE of 11.8% ✓ is below the 12.6% ✓ peer median and about level with 11.9% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.
⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?
Return on assets (ROA)
Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.
👉 Banks earn thin profits on huge balance sheets. Wells Fargo made 1.0% ✓ on $2,148.6bn ✓ of assets, level with the 1.0% ✓ peer median and below 1.3% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: For big banks, about 1% on assets is usual and above 1.2% is strong; insurers are not judged on that scale.
💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?
Stock pay
Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.
👉 Stock pay is 1.8% ✓ of revenue, below the 2.7% ✓ peer median but up from 0.9% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Banks and insurers pay part of their staff in shares, so a few percent of revenue is normal.
Shareholder payout
How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.
👉 Wells Fargo returned 107.6% ✓ of FY2025 profit, more than it earned, up from 70.3% ✓ in FY2015 and above the 93.1% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.
Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.
🥊Who are Wells Fargo's competitors?
Wells Fargo competes with the other big US banks, each on slightly different ground. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase meet it in everyday banking, business lending and wealth 103 113. Morgan Stanley meets it in wealth and deal advice 153.
| Company | Where they compete | Revenue | Growth/yr (3y) | Pretax margin | Return on equity (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo (WFC, FY2025) | Branch banking, cards, home and car loans, business lending, investment banking and wealth 9 3 | $83.7bn | 4.0% | 30.1% | 11.0% |
| Bank of America (BAC, FY2025) | Nationwide consumer banking plus business, investment banking and wealth; average deposits of $2.02 trillion against Wells Fargo's $1.48 trillion in the third quarter of 2026 103 | $113.1bn | 6.0% | 33.3% | 9.4% |
| JPMorgan Chase (JPM, FY2025) | Consumer banking, business lending, investment banking and wealth; $50.2 billion of revenue against Wells Fargo's $21.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026 113 | $182.4bn | 12.3% | 39.8% | 15.9% |
| Citigroup (C, FY2025) | Another large US bank holding company, with $2.66 trillion of assets at the end of 2025 but only about 31% of its staff in the US 121314 | $85.2bn | 4.2% | 23.3% | 5.8% |
| Morgan Stanley (MS, FY2025) | Wealth management and investment banking, with $10.5 trillion of client assets against Wells Fargo's $2.7 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2026 153 | $70.6bn | 9.6% | 31.1% | 12.5% |
Wells Fargo's annual report warns that non-banks, technology firms, digital assets and stablecoins offer bank-like payment, lending and savings services. It says they could pull deposits away from banks 2.
🧭Wells Fargo SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
💪 Strengths
- It held $1,426.2 billion of total deposits at 31 December 2025 2.
- Consumer primary checking accounts grew from a year earlier for 14 quarters in a row through the third quarter of 2026 8.
- In the July to September 2026 quarter, revenue rose in all four segments from a year earlier, by between 3% and 12% 3.
- It had 4,068 retail branches and 34.0 million mobile active customers at 30 September 2026 8.
🩹 Weaknesses
- Its costs run higher than JPMorgan Chase's: its efficiency ratio was 63% in the third quarter of 2026, against a 54% overhead ratio at JPMorgan Chase 3111015.
- Its name was hurt by past abuses: in 2016 a regulator found staff had opened more than two million accounts that may not have been authorized 17.
- Deposits that pay no interest fell 5% in 2025, to $365.4 billion at 31 December 2025 2.
- Home Lending revenue fell 15% from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2026 3.
🚀 Opportunities
- The Federal Reserve lifted the limit on its asset growth in June 2025 20.
- In the third quarter of 2026, Corporate and Investment Banking average loans rose 19% and its average deposits 22% from a year earlier 3.
- M&A revenue rose 30% in that quarter, and it climbed to sixth in announced US M&A deal volume for the year to date, from ninth 38.
- In 2025 it set a medium-term target of 17% to 18% return on tangible common equity, against 16.3% in the third quarter of 2026 213.
⚠️ Threats
- Money set aside for loan losses is rising: the provision for credit losses grew to $1.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026, from $681 million a year earlier 3.
- The bank said lower rates on floating rate assets and higher deposit costs held back net interest income in the third quarter of 2026 3.
- Non-banks, technology firms and stablecoins could reduce deposits at banks 2.
- Regulators proposed new capital rules in March 2026 that would change how large banks calculate risk-weighted assets 16.
- It is still under a September 2024 formal agreement with a bank regulator over its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls 216.
🏰Does Wells Fargo have a moat?
Why 3?
Wells Fargo ranked No. 38 on Fortune's 2026 list of America's largest corporations 16. Consumer primary checking accounts grew from a year earlier for 14 quarters in a row through the third quarter of 2026 8. But in 2016 a regulator found more than two million accounts that may not have been authorized 17. In 2022 it was ordered to pay $3.7 billion for harm to over 16 million consumer accounts 18.
Why 4?
Wells Fargo says its success depends on deep and lasting customer relationships 2. Corporate and Investment Banking's treasury management and payments revenue rose 8% in the third quarter of 2026, on higher deposit balances 3. But deposits that pay no interest fell 5% in 2025 2. Non-banks and stablecoins could also pull deposits away from banks 2.
Why 2?
Customers spent $144.9 billion on its debit cards and $45.0 billion on its credit cards in the third quarter of 2026 8. It also bought out its merchant services joint venture in 2025 2. It had 34.0 million mobile active customers at 30 September 2026 8. But non-banks and technology firms offer payment services too 2.
Why 3?
At the end of 2025 it was the fourth largest US bank holding company, with about $2.1 trillion of assets 9. Its average deposit cost was 1.56% in the third quarter of 2026 8. But its efficiency ratio of 63% in that quarter was above JPMorgan Chase's 54% overhead ratio 3111015. It was 66% in both 2025 and 2024 2.
Why 3?
Wells Fargo generally needs federal approval to buy a bank or certain other financial firms 2. At 30 September 2026 its capital rules included a 1.50% surcharge for the biggest global banks and a 2.50% stress capital buffer 16. Its CET1 ratio of 10.0% was above the estimated 8.5% minimum and buffers at that date 38. But in 2018 regulators also capped its own growth at its end-2017 assets 19.
A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is Wells Fargo; grey dots are peers).
🔭What should you watch next?
New Chief Risk Officer
Scott E. Powell becomes Chief Risk Officer and will then no longer be Chief Operating Officer 29.
New capital rules
Regulators proposed the final parts of Basel III in March 2026, which would change how large banks measure risk-weighted assets 16.
Business loan losses
Commercial net loan charge-offs rose to 0.18% of loans in the third quarter of 2026, from 0.10% in the second quarter 3.
📚Learn the words
❓Frequently asked questions about Wells Fargo
How does Wells Fargo make money?
Wells Fargo makes money from interest and from fees. In FY2025, net interest income brought in $47.5bn ✓ and fees and other income $36.2bn ✓. Net interest income is what it earns on loans, debt securities and trading assets minus what it pays on deposits, borrowings and long-term debt 2.
What was the Wells Fargo asset cap?
It was a limit the Federal Reserve set in 2018, holding the bank's total assets at their end-2017 level until it fixed its governance and controls. The cap was removed in June 2025, and the whole action ended in March 2026 192022.
What was the fake accounts scandal?
In 2016 a federal consumer regulator found that Wells Fargo staff had opened more than two million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized. It fined the bank $100 million 17. In 2022 it ordered a further $3.7 billion in payments and penalties for harm to over 16 million accounts 18.
Is Wells Fargo the biggest bank in the US?
No. It was the fourth largest US bank holding company by assets at the end of 2025, with about $2.1 trillion 9. It was also fourth in assets among US banks at 30 September 2026 16.
What is the efficiency ratio?
It is a bank's noninterest expense divided by its total revenue, which is net interest income plus fees and other income 2. Wells Fargo's was 66% in 2025 2. It was 63% in the third quarter of 2026 3111015.
🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself
Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [1] [4] [5] [6] [7].
🧠 Test yourself
5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5
1. What did Wells Fargo do when it started in 1852?
2. Which company's board said no, leading Wells and Fargo to set up their own firm?
3. Roughly how much profit did Wells Fargo make each second in FY2025?
4. What is a loan-loss provision?
5. What was the most common special award Wells Fargo gave staff after the asset cap was removed?
🔎Sources and method
Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Wells Fargo (WFC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Wells Fargo 2025 Annual Report (Exhibit 13 to the 2025 Form 10-K) — Financial review: net interest income, noninterest income by type, segment results, deposits, capital, risk factors (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 results, segment descriptions and drivers (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ (BAC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO (JPM) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: CITIGROUP INC (C) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: MORGAN STANLEY (MS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Wells Fargo third quarter 2026 financial results presentation (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.3) — Branches, mobile customers, headcount, segment growth metrics, deposit cost (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo & Company Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Cover and Item 1: headquarters, incorporation, size rank by assets, segments, employees, executive officers (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Bank of America third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 revenue, efficiency ratio, deposits, consumer deposit rank (accessed 2026-10-30)
- JPMorgan Chase third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 revenue, overhead ratio, loans, retail deposit rank (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Citigroup Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Executive summary, selected financial data and balance sheet overview: efficiency ratio, assets, deposits, capital returns, capital ratios and buffers (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Citigroup Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Human capital (employees, countries, U.S. share) and executive officers (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 business: assets, deposits, size rank, segments, employees (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 revenues, expense efficiency ratio, wealth client assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo & Company Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 — Overview, recent developments, capital rules, rail car leasing sale, legal actions (accessed 2026-10-30)
- CFPB press release, September 8, 2016: Wells Fargo fined for secretly opening unauthorized accounts — 2016 unauthorized accounts finding (accessed 2026-10-30)
- CFPB press release, December 20, 2022: Wells Fargo ordered to pay $3.7 billion — 2022 consumer redress and penalty (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Federal Reserve press release, February 2, 2018: enforcement action against Wells Fargo — 2018 enforcement action and asset growth restriction (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Federal Reserve press release, June 3, 2025: Wells Fargo asset growth restriction lifted — Removal of the asset cap (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo Form 8-K dated January 27, 2026 — Board review of 2025: regulatory milestones, return target (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Federal Reserve press release, March 5, 2026: termination of 2018 enforcement action against Wells Fargo — End of the 2018 consent order (accessed 2026-10-30)
- FDIC: Understanding Deposit Insurance — Standard deposit insurance amount and basis (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A) — CEO tenure, consent orders ended, employee award, 2025 business highlights (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo History: The surprising start of Wells Fargo & Co. — Founding in 1852 and the original express business (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Wells Fargo (WFC) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Wells Fargo (WFC) — balance sheet at 2026-06-30 (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Wells Fargo (WFC) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-02-24 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Wells Fargo Form 8-K dated September 23, 2026 — Chief Risk Officer appointment (accessed 2026-10-30)