Why Discover Financial Services Stock Rose 12.5% in October

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) rose 12.5% in October, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The credit card lender rose following a much better-than-feared earnings report that dropped on Oct. 22, in which the company posted surprising year-over-year profit growth.

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Discover's third-quarter results reflected the peculiar backdrop of the coronavirus for credit card lenders. Lower loans and lower net interest income brought revenue down 6%. But thanks to consumers paying down their bills and spending less on travel and leisure activities, credit has actually held up quite well. Discover's provision for credit losses decreased a lot from last quarter, and was even down relative to the year-ago quarter. In addition, Discover cut $102 million in operating expenses, mostly in marketing and professional fees.

Source Fool.com