Regions Financial Corporation (RF Quick QuoteRF - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 16, 2026, before the opening bell. Quarterly earnings and revenues are expected to register year-over-year growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s results benefited from higher net interest income (NII), wealth management income, service charges and lower provisions. However, higher non-interest expenses played spoilsport.

Regions Financial has a decent earnings surprise history. Its earnings have surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 1.58%.

Regions Financial Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Regions Financial Corporation price-eps-surprise | Regions Financial Corporation Quote

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 earnings of 64 cents per share has been unchanged over the past seven days. The figure indicates a 6.4% rise from the year-ago reported number.

The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.98 billion, indicating a 3.4% increase from the prior-year reported figure.

RF’s Recent Developments

In July 2026, Regions Financial acquired The Frazer Lanier Company, strengthening its municipal and corporate investment banking capabilities and expanding fee-based revenue opportunities. In September 2026, RF also announced plans to add 130–150 branches over the next three to four years and renovate more than 1,000 existing branches, primarily in key Southeastern markets. These initiatives support its broader growth strategy by deepening customer relationships and expanding its deposit franchise.

Key Factors & Estimates for RF's Q3

NII & Loans: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points in mid-September 2026, bringing the target range to 3.75-4.00% amid persistently elevated inflation. Given that rates remained unchanged for most of the third quarter, the latest hike is unlikely to have materially affected RF’s NII in the quarter to be reported. Management expects NII to grow nearly 2% sequentially in the third quarter of 2026.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NII is pegged at $1.30 billion, indicating a 3.81% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actuals.

Following solid lending activity in the first half of 2026, loan growth momentum likely moderated in the third quarter. According to the Federal Reserve’s latest data, the demand for overall loans was decent in the third quarter. Given this, the company is likely to have witnessed improvement in average interest-earning assets. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 billion for average earning assets indicates a 1.42% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actual.

Non-Interest Income: After a record-setting first half, global deal-making activity moderated in the third quarter of 2026 amid geopolitical uncertainty, persistent valuation gaps, elevated inflation and interest rates and a stubbornly high backlog of private equity exits.

Although strategic buyers remained active, pursuing acquisitions to enhance scale, strengthen resilience and improve supply-chain security, overall global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity remained subdued, with only a handful of large transactions dominating the market. Thus, the subdued deal-making environment is anticipated to have weighed on RF’s capital markets revenues in the quarter to be reported. Management expects quarterly capital markets revenue to be at the lower end of the $90-$105 million range compared with $104 million recorded in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for capital markets income is $91.20 million, indicating a 12.3% decline from the prior-year quarter’s actual.

In the third quarter of 2026, mortgage rates remained elevated near 7%, as borrowing costs and affordability constraints continued to weigh on housing demand. As such, refinancing activities and mortgage origination volumes likely faced persistent headwinds. Thus, RF’s mortgage banking income is expected to have declined in the third quarter. The consensus estimate for mortgage income is pegged at $34.29 million, indicating a 9.8% decline from the prior quarter’s reported figure.

Although persistent inflation and financial pressures may have constrained spending growth, resilient consumer spending across income groups and sustained card usage are expected to have supported RF’s card and ATM fee revenue in the third quarter of 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for card and ATM fees is $128.01 million, implying a 4.9% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actual.

The consensus estimate for revenues from service charges on deposit accounts of $173.46 million indicates an 8.4% rise from the prior year’s reported level.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for wealth management income is pegged at $152.70 million, indicating a 9.8% increase from the prior-year quarter’s reported number.

Overall, the consensus estimate for total non-interest income is pegged at $673.30 million, indicating a 2.2% rise from the prior-year quarter’s reported number.

Expenses: RF’s expenses are expected to have remained elevated in the third quarter of 2026 due to higher salaries and employee benefits, along with continued investments in technology and franchise strengthening. Despite ongoing expense-management efforts, these factors are likely to have kept the expense base elevated.

Asset Quality: Persistent inflation and higher borrowing costs could have weighed on borrowers’ repayment capacity in the third quarter of 2026. Nevertheless, the year-over-year decline in provisions in the first half of 2026 and lower non-performing loans indicate improving asset quality. This, along with high-quality loan growth, is likely to have supported RF’s provision numbers in the third quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for non-performing loans is pegged at $683.90 million, indicating an 11.1% decline from the prior-year quarter's reported figure.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts for RF

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for RF this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that is not the case here, as you can see below. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Regions Financial has an Earnings ESP of -0.54%.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Bank Stocks to Consider

Here are a couple of other bank stocks that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around.

The Earnings ESP for M&T Bank (MTB Quick QuoteMTB - Free Report) is +0.73% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company is slated to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 16, 2026. Over the past seven days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTB's quarterly earnings has been revised downward to $4.98 per share.

The PNC Financial Services Group (PNC Quick QuotePNC - Free Report) is scheduled to announce third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 15. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.80% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

Quarterly earnings estimates for PNC Financial have been revised lower to $4.97 over the past week.