Citigroup reported a mixed performance for the fourth quarter of 2025. Reported revenues reached $19.9 billion, a 2% increase year-over-year, though this missed analyst estimates of $20.55 billion. On an adjusted basis, excluding a notable item related to the sale of its Russia operations, revenues rose 8%. Net income for the quarter was $2.5 billion, down 13% from the prior-year period due to higher expenses and tax impacts. However, adjusted EPS of $1.81 surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.70. Growth was primarily fueled by a 78% surge in banking revenues, led by an 84% jump in M&A advisory fees, and strong performance in the services segment, which saw 15% revenue growth.
Note: Citigroup's FY'25 ended on December 31, 2025.
CEO Jane Fraser has accelerated the bank's pivot toward its Services division, specifically focusing on Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) and Securities Services. In 2025, this segment generated approximately $21 billion in revenue with an adjusted Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) approaching 30%. By modernizing its technology stack and retiring hundreds of legacy applications, Citi is transforming these capital-light, fee-generating businesses into a scalable platform. This move is designed to reduce the bank's historical reliance on more volatile capital markets and consumer-oriented earnings while improving overall structural returns.
Below are key drivers of Citigroup's value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the current Trefis price estimate:
For additional details, select a driver above or a division from the interactive Trefis split for Citigroup at the top of the page.
Citigroup is a global financial services holding company that provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Under its current transformation plan, the company is simplifying its organizational structure into five core interconnected businesses: Services, Markets, Banking, Wealth, and U.S. Personal Banking.
Citigroup's value is increasingly anchored in its high-margin, institutional services that leverage its unique global footprint.
Citi possesses an unmatched physical presence in over 90 countries, allowing it to manage liquidity and payments for multinational corporations more effectively than any other global peer. This "pipes and plumbing" of the global financial system creates a high-barrier-to-entry moat and generates consistent, capital-light fee income.
The bank's deep-rooted relationships with 90% of Fortune 500 companies provide a massive installed base for cross-selling. This ecosystem allows Citi to capture value across the entire corporate lifecycle, from daily cash management in the Services segment to large-scale capital raising and M&A advisory in the Banking segment.
As private credit grows into a $2 trillion asset class, Citigroup is increasingly positioning itself as a partner rather than a direct competitor. By providing financing to private credit funds and collaborating on deal structures, Citi aims to retain its role as a key intermediary in the evolving financial landscape without carrying the full risk on its own balance sheet.
Having largely completed its organizational simplification, Citi is now shifting focus toward using AI and automation to re-engineer core processes. The bank is targeting an efficiency ratio of 60% by 2026, using technology to reduce manual breaks in settlement and automate risk and control assessments, which have historically been a major expense driver.
The ongoing exit from non-core international consumer franchises, including the planned sale or IPO of Banamex in Mexico, represents a major strategic shift. By offloading these capital-intensive units, Citi is freeing up resources to reinvest in higher-return segments like Wealth and Services, aiming for a firm-wide ROTCE of 11-12% in the medium term.
