Truist earnings fell in the third quarter of 2026 as securities-sale losses weighed on reported profit, even as adjusted earnings per share increased from a year earlier. The bank announced the results on October 16, alongside a completed Regional Acceptance Corporation loan sale and an agreement to sell $7.7 billion of LightStream consumer loans.
Key Takeaways
- Reported diluted EPS fell to $0.56 from $1.04 a year earlier; adjusted EPS rose 12% to $1.16.
- A $1.4 billion pretax securities-sale loss drove a wide gap between reported and adjusted results.
- The completed RAC loan sale reshaped credit metrics, while the LightStream transaction remained an agreement.
Table of Contents
- Truist earnings show a sharp reported-adjusted split
- Interest income improves as deposits grow
- RAC sale changes the credit picture
- LightStream agreement extends the portfolio reshaping
- Conclusion
Truist earnings show a sharp reported-adjusted split
Truist’s third-quarter 2026 earnings release showed net income available to common shareholders of $680 million, down from $1.35 billion a year earlier. Reported diluted earnings per share also declined from $1.23 in the second quarter to $0.56.
Adjusted net income available to common shareholders was $1.42 billion, producing adjusted diluted EPS of $1.16. That non-GAAP per-share measure increased from $1.04 a year earlier but fell from $1.23 in the preceding quarter.
The adjustments excluded a $1.4 billion pretax loss on sales of available-for-sale securities, a $581 million pretax loan-loss reserve recapture and $106 million of pretax impacts associated with the Regional Acceptance Corporation, or RAC, loan sale. The reserve recapture benefited reported results, while the securities loss reduced them.
Total reported revenue fell to $3.75 billion from $5.19 billion a year earlier. Adjusted revenue on a taxable-equivalent basis was approximately $5.3 billion, stable against the second quarter. These measures therefore give materially different views of the quarter and should not be treated as interchangeable.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Preliminary CET1 capital ratio | 10.7% at September 30, 2026, versus 10.9% at June 30. |
| Common share repurchases | $1.2 billion during the third quarter of 2026. |
| Common dividend declared | $0.52 per share during the third quarter. |
| Average liquidity coverage ratio | 110% for Q3, compared with a regulatory minimum of 100%. |
Interest income improves as deposits grow
Taxable-equivalent net interest income reached $3.707 billion, up 1.1% from the second quarter and 0.7% from a year earlier. Truist attributed the sequential increase to an additional day and asset and liability repricing, partly offset by lower loan balances.
Taxable-equivalent net interest margin widened two basis points sequentially to 3.00%, although it remained slightly below the year-earlier 3.01%. Average deposits increased 1.4% from the second quarter to $410.7 billion, driven by interest checking.
Fee businesses were mixed. Wealth management income reached a quarterly record of $407 million, up 8.5% sequentially, while investment banking and trading income declined 8.0% to $324 million. Noninterest expense excluding $40 million of RAC sale costs was broadly stable at $3.065 billion.
RAC sale changes the credit picture
The completed RAC sale accounted for $5.5 billion of the $5.9 billion sequential decline in period-end loans and leases held for investment, which finished September at $323.9 billion.
Nonperforming loans fell to 0.40% of loans held for investment from 0.51% in June. Truist said the sale was the primary reason nonperforming assets declined, making the portfolio change important when interpreting the improvement.
At the same time, the annualized net charge-off ratio rose to 0.77% from 0.50%, including 39 basis points related to RAC. A $581 million reserve recapture helped produce a $253 million credit-loss provision benefit, rather than an expense.
LightStream agreement extends the portfolio reshaping
Truist signed an agreement on October 14, 2026, to sell $7.7 billion of unsecured consumer loans to Carlyle Group. The loans represent substantially all assets of LightStream, its unsecured lending platform. Unlike the RAC sale, this transaction was described as agreed, not completed.
Chief Executive Mike Lyons said the bank was simplifying its operations and directing resources, capital and expenses toward businesses and capabilities it considers priorities. He also expressed confidence in Truist’s near- and long-term return-on-tangible-common-equity targets, without specifying new numerical targets in the supplied remarks.
Conclusion
Truist’s quarter combined modest growth in interest income with substantial portfolio-related effects on reported profit and credit measures. The next transaction milestone to watch is completion of the agreed LightStream loan sale; the supplied announcement did not specify a closing date.
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