U.S. Bancorp (USB)

U.S. Bancorp reported record net revenue of $7,970 million for the third quarter of 2026, with net income of $2,202 million, up 10.0 percent from a year earlier 1.

The bank credited a full quarter of BTIG, the brokerage it bought, for a 69.3 percent rise in capital markets revenue 1.

BTIG added $226 million of fee revenue in the quarter, according to GuruFocus's summary of the earnings call 2.

The provision for credit losses, money set aside for loans that may go bad, rose 14.5 percent to $654 million 1.

The bank tied the rise to an initial $135 million set aside for a small business credit card portfolio it bought, which the call summary names as Amazon's 12.

Management raised its outlook on the call and now expects full-year 2026 net revenue growth of 8 percent to 9 percent, up from 5 percent to 7 percent 2.

Share buybacks were paused in the third quarter, and chief financial officer John Stern said they are expected to resume within a quarter or two 2.

Whether they restart soon depends, Stern said, on loan demand, interest rates and pending bank capital rules 2.

U.S. Bancorp is a financial services holding company based in Minneapolis, and its banking arm, U.S. Bank National Association, carries all of its deposits, which were $522.2 billion at the end of 2025 4.

The pandemic year 2020 was the first sharp turn in this record: the bank earned $5.0 billion, down from $6.9 billion in 2019, after setting aside $3.8 billion for expected loan losses 17.

In late 2020 it also took on deposits and a credit card portfolio from State Farm Bank 17.

Profit then rose to $8.0 billion in 2021, helped by a negative provision for credit losses of $1,173 million, meaning the bank took money back out of its loan-loss reserve 1516.

Net revenue, interest and fee income after interest costs, then grew from $22,827 million in 2021 to $24,302 million in 2022 and $28,144 million in 2023 16.

The biggest change came on 1 December 2022, when U.S. Bancorp completed its purchase of MUFG Union Bank's core regional banking franchise, serving California, Washington and Oregon 14.

The deal added $81.4 billion of assets, $53.1 billion of loans and $82.0 billion of deposits to the balance sheet by year end 15.

Only one month of the acquired bank's results counted in 2022, when profit fell to $5.8 billion after $329 million of merger and integration charges 15.

In 2023 the first full year with the acquired bank lifted net revenue, but noninterest expense, the bank's running costs, rose $4.0 billion (26.6 percent), leaving profit at $5.4 billion 16.

The 2024 results included $400 million of notable items, among them $155 million of merger and integration charges tied to the Union Bank purchase and $136 million of extra FDIC special assessment charges 5.

Gunjan Kedia, who had been president since May 2024, became chief executive in April 2025 10.

In 2025 the bank earned $7.6 billion, or $4.62 a share, as total net revenue rose $1.2 billion (4.4 percent) and noninterest expense fell $351 million (2.0 percent) 5.

In January 2026 the bank agreed to buy BTIG for up to $1 billion, and the purchase closed effective 1 June 2026 43.

On 31 March 2026 Yahoo Finance reported that U.S. Bank would become the new issuer of Amazon's small-business credit cards, which American Express had formerly run 6.

What the bank does

U.S. Bancorp lends money, takes deposits, processes card and merchant payments, manages investments and trusts, and runs brokerage and insurance services for individuals, companies and governments 4.

Its bank runs 2,075 branches across 26 states and 4,428 ATMs, mostly in the Midwest and West 4.

In its June stress-test statement the bank called itself the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States, serving 15 million clients with nearly 70,000 people 8.

It reports four segments: Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support 1.

Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking

This segment provides core banking, specialized lending, capital markets, asset management and brokerage services to wealthy families, mid-sized and large companies, real estate investors, governments and institutions 1.

It is the largest earner: it contributed $1,598 million of net income in the third quarter of 2026, up 29.8 percent, on net revenue of $3,997 million, up 19.9 percent 1.

Trust and investment management fees were $802 million, up 9.9 percent, and capital markets revenue was $640 million, up 69.3 percent, in that quarter 1.

BTIG, founded in 2005, specializes in investment banking, institutional sales and trading, research and prime brokerage, and ranks among the top 10 U.S. brokers for high-touch equity volume 3.

Consumer and Business Banking

This segment covers consumer banking, small business banking, debit cards and consumer lending, delivered through branches, phones, online and mobile services, ATMs and partners such as auto dealers and mortgage banks 1.

It earned $633 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 6.7 percent, on net revenue of $2,404 million, little changed 1.

Mortgage banking revenue fell 13.9 percent to $155 million, reflecting lower gains on selling loans, while average savings accounts grew 26.2 percent 1.

Payment Services

Payment Services includes consumer and business credit cards, stored-value cards, corporate, government and purchasing card services and merchant processing 1.

Its net revenue was $1,868 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 6.5 percent, but net income fell 31.4 percent to $175 million because of the Amazon portfolio's initial loan-loss provision 1.

Within fees, corporate payment and treasury management revenue was $457 million, up 12.3 percent, card revenue $440 million, and merchant processing $461 million, little changed 1.

U.S. Bank is the new issuer of Amazon's Business and Business Prime credit cards, with Mastercard as the network, and said it had just under 1.5 million small-business customers 6.

Yahoo Finance reported that the bank would not say how large the portfolio was or what it paid 6.

In September it also launched Business Essentials, a no-annual-fee card with 2 percent cash back, and Business Essentials Plus, which charges $295 a year, according to PYMNTS 18.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that 35.5 percent of small and mid-sized businesses called the best rewards or cash back features a factor in choosing a primary card 18.

Treasury, digital assets and the balance sheet

Treasury and Corporate Support holds the bank's investment portfolios, funding and interest-rate management, and reported a loss of $204 million in the third quarter of 2026 1.

On 9 September 2026 the bank announced a live pilot of USBDC, its own dollar-backed stablecoin, moving value between its North American and European entities on the Stellar blockchain 1213.

People, plants and offices

Gunjan Kedia is chairman and chief executive; Andrew Cecere retired from the board on 21 April 2026 after 40 years with the company, and Kedia took the chair 7.

The bank employed 68,520 people at the end of 2025, with more than 20 corporate hub locations 4.

Stephen Philipson, vice chair, leads the wealth and corporate segment that now contains BTIG, and John Stern is chief financial officer 32.

The bank leases its Minneapolis headquarters and four operations centers and owns eight principal operations centers, in Cincinnati, Fargo, Knoxville, Oshkosh, Olathe, Owensboro, Portland and St. Paul 4.

At the end of 2025 it owned 1,056 facilities and leased 1,409 more 4.

Rivals

In credit cards the bank took Amazon's business cards from American Express, and the 10-K says fintech companies offering bank-like products are a growing competitive pressure 65.

In digital money, Cointelegraph reported that 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi and Goldman Sachs, announced plans on 1 September 2026 to form a company issuing a dollar stablecoin 13.

Current problems and risks

Credit card losses remain the main loan-quality cost: the card net charge-off ratio was 3.29 percent in the third quarter of 2026, down from 3.83 percent in the second 1.

Nonperforming assets, loans in trouble, were $1,324 million at 30 September 2026, down from $1,654 million a year before 1.

The bank also carries an open-ended promise to cover Visa for losses from antitrust lawsuits, with no maximum amount 5.

The umbrella, in words

The bank's main brand is U.S. Bank, the name of its banking arm, U.S. Bank National Association, which sells accounts, loans, cards and trust services 4.

Exhibit 21 lists subsidiaries by legal name and place of organization, among them Elavon, Inc. (Georgia), Syncada LLC (Delaware), Talech, Inc. (Delaware), U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (Wisconsin) and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. (Delaware) 9.

The exhibit does not say which are listed, and none is described here as separately listed 9.

Owns: BTIG, LLC, bought effective 1 June 2026, continues as a separate broker-dealer inside U.S. Bancorp, and its former owners received 6,600,594 U.S. Bancorp shares as part of the price 34.

Agreed: the bank is the issuer of Amazon's business cards under a contract with Amazon and Mastercard, and it guarantees Visa against certain lawsuit losses, with no maximum 65.

Land and plants: the bank owns eight principal operations centers and 1,056 facilities and leases 1,409 others, as described above 4.

Control: the proxy statement names two holders of more than 5 percent, The Vanguard Group at 8.7 percent and BlackRock, Inc. at 7.0 percent, based on filings made in early 2024 10.

A newer Schedule 13G dated 31 March 2026 reports Vanguard Capital Management, a Vanguard business unit, with 116,747,179 shares, or 7.52 percent 11.

Directors and executive officers have said none of their shares is pledged 10.

At the annual meeting on 21 April 2026, shareholders elected twelve directors, with 1,159,332,384 votes for Kedia 19.

For the fourth quarter, management guided to net interest income growth of 6 percent to 7 percent and fee revenue growth of 13 percent to 14 percent, GuruFocus summarized 2. Noninterest expense growth is guided at about 8 percent 2.

For the full year, the company now expects about 300 basis points of positive operating leverage, up from 200, which means revenue growing faster than costs 2.

Stern said net interest margin, what the bank earns on loans and securities less what it pays for funds, should rise by a similar 5 basis points in the fourth quarter 2.

He said a path to a 3 percent margin in 2027 remains intact, with an exit rate near 2.90 percent 2.

On capital, the bank said share repurchases are expected to resume within a quarter or two, with a payout of 70 percent to 75 percent of earnings as its commitment 2.

In its June stress-test statement the bank said its stress capital buffer stays at 2.6 percent until 1 October 2027 8. It planned a 3.8 percent dividend increase, from $0.52 to $0.54 a share, subject to board approval 8.

Stern named the final Basel III capital rules, tailoring rules, interest rates and loan growth as the variables for restarting buybacks 2.

Kedia said branch investment is rising from about $200 million to $300 million a year, aiming at 8 percent to 10 percent branch share in high-growth markets, with client centers giving a faster national presence 2.

The BTIG sellers may earn up to $275 million more in cash over three years if defined performance targets are met 4.

The bank said it is exploring uses of its stablecoin platform in liquidity management, collateral mobility and cross-border treasury operations 12.