1 Number More Important Than Earnings at Truist

Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC), the product of the blockbuster merger between SunTrust and BB&T, reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.20 on revenue of $5.6 billion earlier this month. Due to all the costs associated with the merger, the bank also tells investors what earnings would have looked like on a more normalized basis. Adjusted EPS would have been $1.42, which translates to a 1.51% return on assets (ROA) and a 22.6% return on tangible common equity (ROTCE), both of which are strong returns.

But beyond earnings, there is one longer-term metric I am watching at Truist that I believe is more important than these near-term, highly impacted earnings results.

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Source Fool.com