Fifth Third Bancorp Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Fifth Third Bancorp said the Comerica merger is already boosting results, with adjusted ROTCE at 19%, adjusted ROA at 1.3% and the efficiency ratio improving to 57%. Management said it is tracking ahead of its $850 million annualized cost-synergy target.

Deposit growth was a standout in the quarter, led by consumer and small-business accounts, including strong gains in Southeast and Comerica markets like Texas, Arizona and California. Deposit costs also declined, helping support margins.

Guidance was raised for full-year net interest income, non-interest income and lower expenses, while credit quality improved and loan growth remained broad-based. The bank also expects to resume more regular share repurchases later this year.

Fifth Third Bancorp NASDAQ: FITB reported second-quarter 2026 earnings that management said showed early benefits from its merger with Comerica, with executives pointing to stronger profitability, deposit growth in newer markets and progress toward planned cost savings. The Cincinnati-based bank reported earnings per share of $0.83, or $1.02 excluding certain items outlined in its earnings release, Chairman, CEO and President Tim Spence said on the company’s earnings call.

Spence said Fifth Third’s tangible book value per share increased 10% year-over-year, 1% sequentially and 7% since the Comerica transaction was announced nine months ago.

"While we are still in the middle of integration and not every metric is yet where it will be, our trajectory and long-term potential are visible in this quarter’s results," Spence said.

Fifth Third said adjusted return on tangible common equity improved to 19%, adjusted return on assets rose to 1.3% and the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to 57%. Spence said those results came even though most of the expected expense synergies from the Comerica deal have not yet been captured.

CFO Bryan Preston said second-quarter net interest income was $2.22 billion, while net interest margin expanded six basis points sequentially to 3.36%. Preston attributed three basis points of the margin expansion to the additional month of Comerica results, with the remainder coming from fixed-rate asset repricing, loan growth and deposit performance.

Preston said total adjusted non-interest expense was $1.86 billion, better than the company expected, as Fifth Third realized synergy benefits ahead of schedule. The quarter included $203 million in merger-related charges. The bank remains on track to deliver $850 million of annualized run-rate expense synergies in the fourth quarter, with systems conversion scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Spence said in response to an analyst question that the company is "running a good bit ahead" of the $850 million synergy target, but added that management’s current plan is to redeploy savings above that level into revenue growth opportunities if the operating environment remains supportive.

Management highlighted deposit growth as a key theme in the quarter. Spence said end-of-period consumer and small business deposits increased 4% sequentially, driven by new customer acquisition. In the Southeast, consumer checking households grew 7% year-over-year, which Spence said was about four times the rate of underlying market growth. In Comerica’s Texas, Arizona and California markets, checking households grew 4%, which Spence said marked the first net new household growth in several years. Those markets added $2.5 billion in deposits, more than double the $1 billion expectation management disc...