PNC Financial Services Group Inc's stock plummeted over 7% in premarket trading on Thursday, underperforming the broader market. The sell-off appears to be driven by the company's disappointing first-quarter guidance provided along with its Q4 2024 earnings results.
While PNC reported a 4% year-over-year increase in Q4 revenue and higher earnings per share, outperforming estimates, its guidance for the current quarter fell short of expectations. For the first quarter of 2025, PNC expects:
-Average loans to be down around 1%
-Total revenue to decline 1-2%
-Net interest income to drop 2-3% sequentially
The bank also forecasts relatively flat fee income and a 2-3% decrease in core non-interest expenses compared to the prior quarter. These muted predictions, particularly for net interest income, reflect PNC's concerns over sluggish loan growth and heightened competition for deposits as interest rates decline.