Why Bank of America (BAC) Shares Are Trading Lower Today

What Happened?

Shares of financial services giant Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) fell 4.6% in the afternoon session after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations, but broader concerns about potential government regulation of the banking sector weighed on the stock. 

Bank of America posted earnings per share of $0.98, which edged past the consensus estimate of $0.96. Revenue for the quarter was $28.37 billion, up 7% from the previous year and also ahead of forecasts. 

A key driver was a 10% rise in net interest income. Despite these solid results, the stock fell as the entire financial sector faced pressure. The negative sentiment was connected to reports that the U.S. President suggested a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. This proposal raised worries among investors about a potential squeeze on profitability for consumer banks, leading to a sell-off in financial stocks, including major peers.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Bank of America’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 3.8% on the news that the company reported strong third-quarter 2025 financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both profit and revenue. 

The bank announced earnings per share of $1.06, comfortably beating analysts' estimates of $0.95 and increasing from $0.81 in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter grew 10.8% year-over-year to $28.09 billion, also ahead of the consensus forecast of $27.58 billion. 

A key driver of the positive results was a 9.1% rise in net interest income—the profit a bank makes from its lending activities. Furthermore, the bank demonstrated strong cost control, with its efficiency ratio improving to 61.7%, a better result than analysts had anticipated.

Bank of America is down 6.6% since the beginning of the year, but at $52.25 per share, it is still trading close to its 52-week high of $57.25 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bank of America’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,537.

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