The U.S. President praised Citigroup and its CEO, Jane Fraser, in a social media post, saying it had ranked at the top by value for M&A advisory in the first quarter.
- Citi shares jumped to a yearly high of $137.12 during intraday trading following the comments, but closed 1% lower at the end of the day.
- However, data from companies such as Dealogic and Bloomberg show that Citigroup ranks behind several other prominent banks in the overall M&A advisory activity for the year to date.
- Meanwhile, Citi is likely to post stronger-than-expected second-quarter results after the CFO said on Tuesday that market revenue is on track to rise by a high single-digit to low double-digit percentage.
Shares of Citigroup Inc. (C) soared to an annual high on Wednesday before ending lower at market close, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s praise for the bank and its CEO Jane Fraser in a social media post.
Trump touted a “BIG comeback for CITI,” saying that the bank had ranked at the top by value for mergers and acquisitions advisory in the first quarter. “Congratulations to Jane F and ALL of her great people. They’ve worked really hard!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Citi’s shares jumped to $137.12 in the intraday session following the comments, but closed 1% down at the end of the day.
Citi’s Position: The Story Rankings Tell
The president’s comments followed a Fox Business interview featuring Citi’s senior banker Leon Kalvaria, during which an on-screen graphic highlighted Citi’s leadership in power-sector M&A advisory deals in the first quarter, a niche segment of the broader M&A market, according to a Bloomberg report.
However, data from companies such as Dealogic and Bloomberg show that Citigroup ranks behind several other prominent banks in the overall M&A advisory activity on a year-to-date basis.
According to Dealogic’s 2026 Global M&A Advisor Ranking, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and BofA Securities all rank above Citi.
According to the financial data company, Goldman Sachs has advised on 196 deals, almost double Citi’s 99. In terms of value, Goldman’s total advisory is more than three times Citi's deal value.
It remains unclear which specific rankings Trump was referencing in his post.
Citi’s Stock Performance
Meanwhile, Citigroup’s stock performance is another story. The bank has outperformed most major competitors in 2026, gaining more than 15%. The stock has also outperformed the S&P 500 index this year.
Retail sentiment for C stock on Stocktwits has stayed in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past day amid ‘high’ message volumes.
Strong Trading, Investment Banking Growth
Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gonzalo Luchetti said at a financial conference hosted by Morgan Stanley on Tuesday that the bank expects a stronger-than-anticipated second quarter, driven by broad-based momentum across its trading businesses. The bank is expected to post Q2 results on July 14. Wall Street analysts expect the company to report earnings of $2.60 per share on revenue of $23.27 billion for the quarter, compared with $2.04 per share on $20.99 billion in revenue in the prior-year period.
Luchetti said market revenue is on track to rise by a high single-digit to low double-digit percentage, driven by steady strength across equities, derivatives, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. Luchetti also said that the bank expects investment banking fees to increase by the mid-teens, in line with analyst forecasts, with potential for further upside.
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