PNC Earnings: Broad-based Strong Results and Upgrade in 2026 Revenue and Expense Guidance

Key Morningstar Metrics for PNC Financial

• Fair Value Estimate
  : $241.00
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating
  : Narrow
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating
  : Medium

What We Thought of PNC Financial’s Earnings

PNC Financial PNC reported strong second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share growing 26% year over year, excluding non-core items. The bank also raised its loan growth, net interest income growth, fee income growth, and expense guidance for 2026.

Why it matters: We previously expected elevated deposit competition in the US banking industry, but PNC’s performance stood out in the quarter. The bank grew its non-interest-bearing deposit mix by 1.0% sequentially, much better than peers’ range of a 1.3% decline to a 0.3% increase.

• The bank grew non-interest-bearing deposit balances across both retail and commercial clients, which we attribute to its successful expansion in newer markets and the strength of its deposit franchise.
• PNC remains confident of achieving a 3% net interest margin in the second half of 2026, implying around 4 basis points of upside from the second quarter, though it expects interest-bearing deposit costs to drift back to first-quarter levels after a 5-basis-point sequential improvement in the second quarter.

The bottom line: As we incorporate the latest results and updated guidance, we plan to raise our $241 fair value estimate for narrow-moat-rated PNC by a mid-single-digit percentage. Most of the increase comes from higher near-term fee income and net interest income growth, partially offset by higher expenses in 2026.

• We view PNC’s shares as fairly valued after our valuation updates. We think the bank has done a good job integrating BBVA USA, and we continue to expect it to execute well with the FirstBank acquisition. PNC successfully converted FirstBank customers to its platform in June.
• We still do not plan to include any revenue synergies from the FirstBank acquisition. Our more optimistic view on PNC’s fee income growth is mostly driven by strong performance in capital markets fees and asset management fees in the first half of the year.