Bank of America tops estimates on better-than-expected interest income, investment banking

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Bank of America on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates for profit and revenue on better-than-expected interest income and investment banking.

Here's what the company reported:

The bank said profit fell 18% to $6.67 billion, or 76 cents a share; excluding a $700 million FDIC assessment, profit was 83 cents a share. Revenue slipped 1.6% to $25.98 billion as net interest income declined from a year earlier.

Shares of the bank climbed 2.2% in premarket trading.

Net interest income, or the difference between what the company earns from loans and investments and what it pays customers for their deposits, was $14.19 billion, topping the $13.93 billion StreetAccount estimate.

The bank's interest income was a «slight positive surprise,» though it's unclear if this means the metric will improve earlier than expected, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo said Tuesday in a research note.

Analysts will likely ask Bank of America management for more guidance on its NII, which has been declining in recent quarters as funding costs have climbed along with the rise in interest rates.

Investment banking revenue jumped 35% to $1.57 billion, exceeding the $1.36 billion estimate and following a similar rise at rivals including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

It's also considerably higher than the guidance given by Bank of America CFO Alastair Borthwick, who told analysts last month to expect investment banking revenue to rise by 10% to 15% from a year earlier.

The bank's trading operations also edged out expectations. Fixed income revenue fell 3.6% to $3.31 billion, slightly beating the $3.24 billion estimate, and equities revenue rose 15% to $1.87 billion, compared with the $1.84 billion