Capital One reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $3.5B, or $5.61 per diluted share, on Oct. 20. Adjusted earnings came in at $6.69 per share.
That topped the $5.50 consensus estimate. Revenue of $16.31B also beat analyst expectations of $16.25B.
Revenue rose 6.4% from a year earlier and 3% from the prior quarter, reaching $16.3B. Non-interest expense fell 2% to $8.9B, and pre-provision earnings climbed 10% to $7.5B. Adjusted earnings of $6.69 per share compare with $5.95 a year ago.
Capital One Q3 2026 results vs estimates and year-ago quarter (as of Sept. 30, 2026)
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Analyst estimate | Year-ago (Q3 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total net revenue | $16.3B | $16.25B | — |
| Adjusted EPS | $6.69 | $5.50 | $5.95 |
| Net income | $3.5B | — | $3.2B |
| Provision for credit losses | $2.9B | — | — |
| Net interest margin | 8.41% | 8.3% | — |
Credit got better, so the bank set aside less
Provision for credit losses fell $73M to $2.9B, helped by a $225M loan reserve release.
The domestic card charge-off rate dropped to 3.98%, down 65 basis points from a year earlier and 73 basis points from the second quarter. Delinquencies of 3.74% sat 15 basis points below last year.
Capital One released $250M of domestic card reserves on favorable credit performance, while weighing downside economic scenarios tied to geopolitical risk.
Net interest margin expanded 40 basis points to 8.41%, ahead of the 8.4% versus 8.3% estimated. Auto charge-offs moved the other way, up five basis points year over year to 1.59% as the subprime mix drifts back toward pre-pandemic levels.
Discover integration is running ahead of plan
Annualized combined synergies reached ~$1.8B year to date, with the integration ahead of schedule.
Credit card purchase volume grew 11% year over year to $254.7B, driven mainly by legacy Capital One customers. Legacy Discover purchase volume was essentially flat during a deliberate slowdown in Discover loan growth.
Global payment network transaction volume hit ~$191B, up 25%, largely from moving Capital One debit customers onto Discover.
"The Discover integration continues to go well and we're making good progress on delivering the expected synergies."
Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One
Moving credit cards over will be slower. The migration "is not going to be a big-bang thing like you saw on the debit side," Fairbank told analysts, with pace tied to network acceptance.
Management flagged heavier spending on generative and agentic artificial intelligence across software development, credit marketing, fraud operations, and cybersecurity.
Period-end loans held for investment rose $5.4B to $462.5B, while total deposits slipped $3.6B to $480.7B. The common equity Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 13.8% as of Sept. 30.
Marketing spend fell 4% in the quarter, and management plans to raise marketing and other investments in 2027.
