Comerica Earnings: Third Straight Quarter of Rising Profit

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Comerica Inc. (NYSE:CMA) reported its results for the third quarter. Comerica is a financial holding company that operates in business, retail, and wealth management.

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Comerica Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for Comerica Inc. rose to $117 million (61 cents per share) vs. $98 million (51 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 19.4% from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Comerica Inc. fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 63 cents per share.

Quoting Management: “Our customer relationship focus supported loan and deposit growth in the third quarter, despite a slow growing national economy,” said Ralph W. Babb Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. “Average loans were up $369 million, or one percent, compared to the second quarter, primarily reflecting an increase of $717 million, or three percent, in commercial loans. This was the ninth consecutive quarter of average commercial loan growth, resulting in more than a 20 percent year-over-year increase, including our acquisition of Sterling in July 2011.”

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income rise in three straight quarters. In the second quarter, net income rose 50% and in the first quarter, the figure rose 26.2%.

The company fell short of forecasts after beating estimates in the previous two quarters. In the second quarter, it topped the mark by 14 cents, and in the first quarter, it was ahead by 11 cents.

Looking Forward: The average estimate for the fourth quarter is steady at 63 cents a share. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from $2.51 a share to $2.54 over the last thirty days.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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