Capital One Financial (COF)

Capital One earned $3.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026, or $5.61 per diluted share, against $3.2 billion a year earlier 1. Total net revenue rose 3 percent from the second quarter to $16.3 billion, and the provision for credit losses, money set aside for loans expected to go bad, was $2.9 billion 1.

Cards drove the quarter: the domestic card charge-off rate, the share of balances written off as lost, fell 73 basis points, hundredths of a percentage point, from the second quarter to 3.98 percent 4. Chief executive Richard Fairbank credited delinquencies that improved earlier in the year and strong recoveries, money collected on loans already written off 4. The bank also released $225 million of its loss reserve 1.

Fairbank said the results so far in 2026 reflect about $1.8 billion a year of savings and added revenue from the Discover merger, mostly from moving Capital One debit cards onto the Discover Network 4. The open question is the merchants' revised settlement with Visa and Mastercard over card fees, which has a court hearing on final approval in November 4. Fairbank said the fees it may cost and the merger gains still to come are "roughly offsetting in magnitude" 4.

Capital One Financial Corporation was established in 1994 as a Delaware corporation and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia 2. It built its business on credit cards and on data and analytics, and by the end of 2025 it was the largest card issuer in the United States by balances 21.

From cards it moved into banking, buying Hibernia in November 2005 for $5.0 billion and North Fork Bancorporation in December 2006 for $13.2 billion 10. In December 2008 it agreed to buy Chevy Chase Bank, the largest retail deposit-taker in the Washington DC region, for about $520 million 10.

The financial crisis hit in 2008: the company reported a net loss of $46.0 million for the year, against net income of $1.6 billion the year before 10. Its auto finance arm alone lost $958.9 million, much of it a goodwill write-down, a charge against the premium paid for past purchases 10.

In 2012 it bought ING Direct's US online bank, adding $84.4 billion of deposits and $40.4 billion of loans 11. The same year it bought HSBC's US card business, with about 27 million active accounts and $27.8 billion of card balances 11.

In March 2019 an outside individual exploited a configuration flaw in its systems and took personal data of card applicants and customers, which the company announced on 29 July 2019 12. It spent $72 million that year on the response, before $34 million of insurance recoveries 12.

In 2020 net income fell to $2.7 billion because the company set aside $5.0 billion in the first half for the losses the pandemic was expected to bring 13. In 2021 those reserves were released as borrowers kept paying, and net income reached $12.4 billion 14.

On 19 February 2024 it agreed to buy Discover Financial Services, and the deal closed on 18 May 2025, each Discover share becoming 1.0192 Capital One shares 2. What it paid was worth $51.8 billion at closing, for $108.2 billion of loans, $106.9 billion of deposits and the Discover, PULSE and Diners Club networks 2.

That deal shaped 2025: total net revenue rose to $53.4 billion from $39.1 billion, but net income fell to $2.5 billion from $4.8 billion 2. The main cause was an $8.8 billion reserve the accounting rules required at closing for Discover loans that were not already troubled, plus integration costs 2.

In April 2026 it completed the purchase of Brex, a corporate card and spend software company, for about $2.56 billion in cash and 10,646,306 shares 6. The same month it brought in-house the Hopper technology and some 150 staff that built its travel booking site, Skift reported 9.

Credit cards

Credit cards are the core: the Credit Card segment brought in $39.6 billion of the $53.4 billion of total net revenue in 2025, 74 percent 2. It covers US consumer and small business cards, personal loans, and card businesses in the UK and Canada 2.

Card loans were $276.4 billion at the end of September 2026 1. In September the domestic card charge-off rate was 3.66 percent, and 3.74 percent of balances were 30 days or more late 8.

Purchase volume grew 11 percent from a year earlier, while legacy Discover card loans shrank about 3 percent, Fairbank said 4. He said Capital One trimmed Discover's lending to some borrowers it trusts less, such as high-balance revolvers, people who carry large balances 4.

Venture X, Savor and Discover it

The cards run from no-fee cash back cards to a premium travel card 1920. Savor pays unlimited 3 percent cash back at grocery stores and on dining and entertainment, with a $0 annual fee 20. Discover it pays 5 percent on purchases at places that change each quarter, up to a cap, with no annual fee 21.

Venture X, the travel card, carries a $395 annual fee and earns 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, plus airport lounge access 19. NerdWallet rates it 4.9 and says its yearly benefits "can more than pay for the cost of carrying it" 22. The Points Guy's Augusta Stone called it "simple and useful" while rival premium cards keep raising fees 23.

Consumer Banking and the Discover Network

Consumer Banking gathers deposits, lends to car buyers through dealers, and runs the Global Payment Network: the Discover card network, the PULSE debit network and Diners Club 2. Auto loans were $92.9 billion at the end of September 2026, and new auto loans rose 22 percent from a year earlier 14.

The network handled about $191 billion of transactions in the third quarter, up 25 percent, after Capital One moved its debit cards onto it early in 2026 4. Consumer Banking revenue rose about 17 percent from a year earlier, mostly from those Discover gains and auto loans 4.

Deposits were $480.7 billion at the end of September 2026, against $672.9 billion of total assets 1.

Commercial Banking and Brex

Commercial Banking lends to and takes deposits from property owners and companies with yearly revenue between $20 million and $2 billion 2. Its loans were $92.1 billion at the end of September 2026, and its revenue rose 6 percent from the second quarter 14.

Brex gives businesses corporate cards, expense software and payments, and more than 25,000 companies ran their finances on it when the deal was announced 7. Its results sit inside Domestic Card from the second quarter of 2026, and its founder Pedro Franceschi still leads it 37.

Offices and people

Capital One had about 76,300 employees at the end of 2025 2. It uses about 12.3 million square feet of offices, branches and cafés, with offices mainly in Virginia, New York, Texas and Illinois 2.

Richard Fairbank is founder, chairman and chief executive, and Andrew Young is chief financial officer 12. For 2025 the board approved a $40 million pay package for Fairbank, almost all in shares and deferred awards, and his 2026 plan pays no cash salary 18.

Rivals

Its cards compete with other Visa and Mastercard issuers, American Express and store-brand cards, and its network competes with traditional networks and new payment providers 2. Fairbank said the biggest rivals keep spending heavily on marketing 4. Total marketing in the third quarter was about $1.6 billion, up 14 percent 4.

Problems

Holders of its older 360 Savings accounts sued because a newer savings product paid a higher rate 3. A settlement with a $425 million fund and a higher rate for 360 Savings won final approval on 20 April 2026, and one objector appealed 3.

Discover had placed some cards in its costliest pricing tier for merchants; a merchants' settlement, backed by a $1.2 billion reserve, won final approval on 20 May 2026 3. The bank is also suing the FDIC over about $150 million of disputed deposit insurance fees, and faces a lawsuit from the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust over access to banking 3.

The umbrella, in words

Its main subsidiary is the bank, Capital One, National Association; the annual report's subsidiaries exhibit lists only that one, saying the others together would not be significant 15. Abroad it lends through Capital One (Europe) plc in the UK and a Canadian branch of the bank, neither of which takes deposits 2.

Its brands include Capital One with cards such as Venture X and Savor, the Discover cards and network, PULSE, Diners Club and Brex 271920. It owns Discover outright since May 2025 and Brex since April 2026 26.

It owns about 7 million of its 10.4 million square feet of offices, including the McLean headquarters 2. The largest holder on file is Vanguard Capital Management, which reported 7.51 percent of the common stock on a Schedule 13G, a filing for passive holders 16. On 11 March 2026 there were 619,050,950 shares outstanding 17.

Capital One plans to grow credit card volume on the Discover Network by opening new cards on it and by moving existing customers over, Fairbank said on 20 October 2026 4. Tests decide which customers and products move and when, and the company expects the card move to be gradual, unlike the quick debit switch 4.

It is widening acceptance abroad, with attention to Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada and the United Kingdom, PYMNTS reported 5. All new Discover cards are now opened on Capital One's systems, and the company expects existing Discover accounts to move over by the first quarter of 2027 4.

Integration work goes on: the third quarter carried $338 million of Discover integration costs and $47 million for Brex, before tax, which the company sets apart as adjusting items 1.

Fairbank said Brex already gains from Capital One's cheaper funding and that the company plans to raise its marketing for Brex over the coming months as tests teach it what works 4. He said Capital One shares sales leads from across its businesses with Brex 4.

For Brex, the company plans over time to offer its spend software to Capital One's small business card customers and to link it with Capital One Travel 4. Fairbank called the travel link "probably a next year kind of thing" 4.

The company expects to spend more on marketing in 2027 and to start marketing Discover cards again 4. Fairbank said the merger savings still to come and the cost of the Visa and Mastercard settlement roughly cancel out, and that the hearing on its final approval is in November 4.

The Federal Reserve kept its stress capital buffer, an extra cushion set by stress tests, at 4.5 percent through 30 September 2027, so the minimum core equity ratio is 9.0 percent 2. That ratio stood at 13.8 percent at the end of September 2026 1. On 20 October 2025 the board authorized buying back up to $16 billion of common stock 2.

Still pending in court are the objector's appeal of the savings settlement and the company's motion of 30 April 2026 to dismiss a shareholder suit over Discover's card pricing 3.

Past

Capital One Financial's revenue grew from $23 billion in fiscal 2016 to $59 billion in fiscal 2025, up 11% a year over ten filed years, and rose in 7 of 9 years; it was profitable in all 10 years. The deepest fall was a 10% drop from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021. Over the three fiscal years to the end of 2025, its diluted share count grew about 11.2% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 13% of its operating cash flow. Its officers and directors filed 72 sales under scheduled 10b5-1 plans and 0 open-market purchases of their own stock in the year to 2026-10-19. 1

Capital One Financial's filings since 2017 show no warning events: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 1

Present

In its latest annual figures on file for the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, Capital One Financial reported revenue of $59 billion and a profit of $2.5 billion. In that same fiscal year, the company earned about 2 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money, owed about 83 cents per dollar of assets, and its share count grew 41.1% over the year. 21

Capital One Financial's revenue of $59 billion in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 6% by size among 79 graded names in its industry family; its net margin of 4.2% ranks in the bottom 3%; its revenue growth of 23.4% a year over the last three filed years ranks in the top 17%. 1

The chief executive on the record is Fairbank, Richard D (Chairman and CEO), filing under that title since 2006-02-14, 20.7 years; the 28 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 6.2 years; 9 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-10-21, against the 28 people in charge now. 1

Future

A quarterly report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ending 2026-09-30 is due by 2026-11-09. An annual report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-03-01. 3

Capital One Financial's revenue grew 23.4% a year over the last three filed years against 11% over all 10, speeding up in the top 11% of its family; the newest year grew 27.5% in the top 4%; capital spending grew 19.1% a year in the top 29%. Cash of $62 billion against debt of $50 billion leaves 1.8% of its assets as net cash in the bottom 41% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 44.5% of revenue in the top 7%. 1

Revenue of $59 billion in fiscal 2025 came in 5% above the $56 billion its prior three years' pace pointed to, in the top 7% of its family; net income of $2.5 billion against a prior three-year average of $5.7 billion fell to the bottom 3%; a net margin of 4.2% against 15.2% before fell to the bottom 6%. 1

How the company operates

Capital One Financial is a lending business classed by the SEC under National Commercial Banks. Capital One Financial tags no split of its revenue by line of business in the annual report on file, so growth by line cannot be read here. 21

New moves

On 2026-10-20, Capital One Financial filed a Form 8-K disclosing investor information under Regulation FD. On the same date, it filed a Form 8-K reporting that its quarterly results were released. 3

On 2026-10-21, a story reported that Capital One, the biggest card lender, saw write-offs fall while Discover card balances kept shrinking, as regional lenders reported slower property lending the week before. 4