Citi leads a rally in bank stocks after beating Wall Street earnings estimates (C)

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Citigroup reported second-quarter financial results on Monday before the opening bell.
Both revenue and earnings per shares outperformed Wall Street expectations.
Equities trading revenue fell below expectations while fixed-income revenues surpassed estimates.
Watch Citigroup trade live.

Citigroup kicked off earnings seasons this morning when it reported better than expected earnings per share and total revenue. Shares rose nearly 1% in early trading, and lifted other bank shares.

Here are Citi’s second quarter results compared to what analysts expected:

Revenue: $18.8 billion versus $18.52 expected
Earnings per share: $1.83 versus $1.80 expected
Net income: $4.8 billion versus $4.14 billion expected
FICC trading revenue: $3.32 billion vs. $2.99 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
Equities trading revenue: $790 million versus $824 million expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg

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A $350 million pre-tax gain from the firm’s investment in Tradeweb, an electronic trading platform, offset shrinking revenue in equities and fixed-income trading.

Investors and analysts were keeping a close watch on how well the bank was able control its expenses.

"We navigated an uncertain environment successfully by executing our strategy, and by showing disciplined expense, credit and risk management." Michael Corbat, the chief executive officer of Citigroup said in a press release.

Corbat also estimated the bank could save as much as $600 million a year by using technology to make its operations more efficient.

Citi’s results were also helped by the continuing growth of its consumer business, which posted its best second-quarter since 2013. Credit card spending increased by 6% and the bank added an $3 billion in deposits.

Citi is the first major bank to report earnings this week. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo all expected to report this week as well.

Shares of Citi are up as much 30% since the beginning of the year.

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