PNC Q3 2026: EPS $4.97 (+14.3%) as NII Jumps 15.3%

PNC Financial Services (NYSE: PNC), the Pittsburgh super-regional, reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $2,097 million — up 15.1% from $1,822 million a year ago — or $4.97 per diluted share, up 14.3% from $4.35. Adjusted EPS of $5.09 excluded $48 million after tax of integration costs and significant items ($0.12 a share). Total revenue grew 10.9% to $6,562 million, powered by net interest income up 15.3% to $4,206 million, and management raised full-year 2026 guidance. The quarter also carried a $2.00 common dividend, up from $1.70 — a 17.6% raise funded by earnings, not leverage: the CET1 ratio actually fell to an estimated 9.8% from 10.7% as the FirstBank acquisition consumed capital.

The NII engine ran on both sides of the balance sheet: loan interest income rose 9.2% to $5,187 million while deposit interest expense fell 9.1% to $1,799 million, even as average deposits grew on the acquisition. Noninterest income added 3.9% to $2,356 million — card and cash management up 4.3% to $769 million, asset management up 10.6% to $447 million — while capital markets and advisory printed $433 million, flat year over year but down 25% from the second quarter's $577 million. The provision for credit losses was $189 million against net charge-offs of $257 million (0.28% annualized), with the allowance at 1.42% of loans and nonperforming loans at 0.58%. Expenses grew 8.4% to $3,751 million — personnel up just 3.1% to $2,031 million, other expense up 22.8% to $917 million — yet the efficiency ratio improved to 57% from 59% as revenue outran costs.

The Headline Numbers​

* Balance-sheet figures as of September 30, 2026 versus December 31, 2025; CET1 a year ago is September 30, 2025.

Nine-month net income to common of $5,645 million is up 20.5% year over year on revenue up 15.1% to $19,602 million. The balance sheet tells the FirstBank story: the Q1 2026 deal added $29.1 billion of assets ($16.0 billion of loans, $23.1 billion of deposits) for stock, and nine months later loans stand $47,311 million above year-end at $378,792 million, deposits $25,496 million higher at $466,362 million, and goodwill $2,358 million higher at $13,317 million. Federal Home Loan Bank advances more than doubled to $36,512 million (up $23,512 million) while interest-earning deposits with banks fell $8,266 million to $24,670 million. Buybacks continued through the deal — treasury stock deepened $1,823 million — even as acquisition stock lifted shares issued, and accumulated other comprehensive loss nearly doubled to $(6,472) million from $(3,408) million on the quarter's rate rise.

Five years in the ledger: the rate cycle, the trough, and the deal​

The ledger runs FY2021–FY2025 plus this quarter. Revenue compounded from $19,211 million to $23,099 million while net interest income marched from $10,647 million to $14,410 million without a down year after 2023. Three artifacts reward a look: FY2021's provision is a $(779) million recapture — a credit, the only one in the file; FY2022 is the hiking-cycle trough, with an $88,605 million AFS-to-HTM transfer and accumulated other comprehensive loss bottoming at $(10,172) million; and FY2024's other income carries the $754 million Visa-shares-exchange gain (mind the column — it belongs to 2024, not 2025). Noninterest-bearing deposits nearly halved from $155,175 million to $91,748 million while FHLB advances traced the full arc — zero, to $38,000 million in 2023, back to $13,000 million, now $36,512 million — and the diluted share count shrank from 412 million to 396 million before FirstBank stock pushed it back to 401 million. Every annual income statement and balance sheet, plus this quarter's 8-K statements, is modeled as examinable Beancount below.

Sources​

• Q3 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, October 15, 2026)
• Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025
• Form 10-K for fiscal year 2022