Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) reported fourth-quarter financial results that beat analyst estimates Wednesday morning. Management commentary points to artificial intelligence initiatives helping to grow customer accounts and help with hiring costs.
• Bank of America stock is showing positive momentum. What’s the outlook for BAC shares?
Bank of America Grows Accounts
Shares of Bank of America traded lower on Wednesday, despite the strong report that beat analyst estimates. The company’s outlook and overall market may have contributed to the move.
“We delivered on our commitments to shareholders across the year with solid growth across revenue, earnings and returns,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said of the results.
Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said the company is “investing for growth all the time,” which could mean strength for shares ahead.
Bank of America said its loans were up 8% year-over-year, outpacing the banking industry. Deposits were up 3% year-over-year, marking a 10th consecutive quarter of growth.
The bank reported consumer checking accounts were up by around 680,000 net new accounts in the quarter. This marked a 28th straight quarter of consecutive net growth.
In a company presentation, Bank of America showed that 79% of consumer banking households are digitally active. The bank also ranks strong for mobile app satisfaction according to the presentation.
The company’s Erica virtual financial assistant, which is AI-driven, is seeing growth in customer interactions and in active users utilizing the service. This could be good news for the company’s AI ambitions and also lead to lower headcount in the future.
Bank of America Comments on Headcount
During the company’s conference call, headcount became a topic covered by management and during the analyst question period.
“Erica in our consumer business alone is worth thousands of teammates that we don’t have to do the great work we do for the customers,” Borthwick said.
The executive said the headcount is being worked through new technology, “including AI.”
“We applied the digital capabilities and now AI capabilities.”
Borthwick said the company’s headcount was basically flat during the year. The expectation is that headcount will continue to come down in 2026, he added.
“We can just make decisions not to hire and let the headcount drift down.”
Borthwick said there are multiple projects going on within the company that are using AI techniques that could save the need for more hiring.
“We’re going through the company to generate more ideas how to apply AI.”
Bank of America Stock Price
Bank of America stock closed down 3.78% to $52.48 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $33.07 to $57.55. Bank of America shares are up 14.6% over the last 52 weeks.
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