Analyst Note
| Eric Compton, CFA |Narrow-moat-rated Comerica reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.92, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.78. Top-line revenue came in at $829 million compared with consensus of $807 million. Similar to peers, net interest income, or NII, came in a bit stronger than expected while fees and expenses were roughly in line. Fiduciary fees managed to grow in the quarter, despite overall market pressure, and commercial lending fees recovered nicely. Updated guidance for fees was roughly in line with the previous guide and also in line with our expectations, however, the expense outlook is starting to creep up. The guide increased to a range of 4%-5%, up from low single digits previously. Management highlighted extra inflationary pressure in its remarks, with expectations that this could continue in 2023, and we plan to adjust our expense forecast up slightly to account for this.