Capital One isn't known for offering the premium credit-card perks that its rivals, namely JPMorgan Chase and American Express, have come to dominate in recent years. More than a year after closing its $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services, it is aiming to change that.

On Tuesday, Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts that the bank would increase its marketing spend as it takes on competitors ramping up their own efforts to get in front of more customers.

"We expect to lean harder into marketing in 2027," Fairbank said on a call to discuss Capital One's third-quarter earnings. "We're fully pursuing our origination opportunities, and the window is open across our businesses. Our biggest competitors continue to invest heavily in marketing, and we need to be at the top of our game."

Fairbank, who founded the McLean, Va.-based lender in 1987, said a bigger marketing push reflects the bank's ambitions "at the top of the market with heavy spenders, Capital One shopping, and our national banking business." He touted those businesses as having "lower risk, lower capital, and long-term revenue annuities."

For now, investors appeared to be receptive to Fairbank's vision.

Shares rose 5% in after-hours trading on Tuesday as the firm reported third-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' estimates. Profit of $3.5 billion rose 17% from a year ago and 11% from last quarter.

In the third quarter, total marketing expenses rose 14% to $1.6 billion, driven by higher direct marketing in the domestic cards business and increased media spend and investments into premium benefits. Growth in marketing spend between the third and fourth quarters should be similar to the growth in the same period of 2025, Fairbank said.

"Winning at the top of the market with heavy spenders is a very marketing-intensive business," Fairbank said.

Seasonally, the third quarter tends to be Capital One's strongest, Truist Securities analyst Brian Foran wrote in a note to clients shortly after the company reported results. Still, results showed better expenses and net interest margins than expected, in addition to a release of credit-loss reserves on strong credit performance, he said.

"Our charge-offs are benefiting from the steady improvement in delinquencies that we observed in the first half of this year, and from strong recoveries performance," Fairbank told analysts.

Capital One's stock has slumped 18.7% this year through Tuesday. Investors will watch for Capital One's progress in its ability to draw in more affluent spenders and maintain strong credit quality as it continues to integrate both Discover and Brex, an acquisition it closed in April.