PNC Financial reported OK third-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share growing 17% year over year, excluding noncore items. The bank raised its 2026 fee income growth guidance by 1.5 percentage points and its expense guidance by 1 percentage point.
The acquisition of FirstBank makes PNC as the bank with the No. 2 deposit market share in Denver and could result in above-market balance sheet growth for PNC.
Bears
The US economy has some pockets of softness, particularly in the labor market recently. If the economy experienced a recession, PNC could face lower balance sheet growth and higher credit costs.
PNC Financial is one of the three super-regional banks in the US, with over $600 billion in total assets at the end of June 2026. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PNC Financial has a coast-to-coast branch network, with a strong presence in the US Midwest and Northeast. It closed its acquisition of FirstBank in January 2026, which added around $26 billion in assets to its balance sheet, and PNC is currently expanding in the Southern and Western regions of the US. The bank provides a diversified set of financial services in retail banking, commercial banking, card and treasury management, asset management, and investment banking. PNC derived around 38% of revenue from fee income and 62% from net interest income in 2025.