Earnings Release

Capital One Financial Corporation's latest earnings press release, filed Oct 20, 2026, scored line by line for tone, guidance and what changed since the prior release.

No guidance given37 lines scoredFiled Oct 20, 2026SEC 8-K · Exhibit 99

Release Tone

UPBEAT

GuidanceNo guidance givenWhat this release does to the company's outlook

Tone change▲ 4.2pointsvs the prior release (Jul 21, 2026)

Hedging language0.00per 100 words▼ 0.00 vs prior

New this quarter6of 37 linesWording that was not in the prior release

The lines that matter most

Ranked by how material, how strongly worded and how new each sentence is.

1
Total non-interest expense decreased 2 percent to $8.9 billion:
New this quarter
2
2 percent decrease in operating expenses.
New this quarter
3
Provision for credit losses decreased $73 million to $2.9 billion:
4
Interest-bearing deposits rate paid increased 3 basis points to 2.94 percent.
5
4 percent decrease in marketing.
New this quarter
6
Total net revenue increased 3 percent to $16.3 billion.
7
Pre-provision earnings (3) increased 10 percent to $7.5 billion.
8
Net interest margin of 8.41 percent, an increase of 40 basis points.

Release by release

Tone and guidance for the last 3 earnings releases.

Oct 20, 2026No guidance given77.3+4.2
Jul 21, 2026No guidance given73.2+17.4
Apr 21, 2026No guidance given55.8

Bar length: tone on a 50–83 scale.

The release, annotated

1Highlight rankPositive toneNeutralNegative toneDimmed text: low materiality

Results

Capital One Reports Third Quarter 2026 Net Income of $3.5 billion, or $5.61 per share

Net of adjusting items, Third Quarter 2026 Net Income of $6.69 per share (1)

McLean, Va.

( October 20, 2026 ) – Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) today announced net income for the third quarter of 2026 of $3.5 billion, or $5.61 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $3.0 billion, or $4.73 per diluted common share in the second quarter of 2026, and with net income of $3.2 billion, or $4.83 per diluted common share in the third quarter of 2025.

Adjusted net income (1) for the third quarter of 2026 was $6.69 per diluted common share.

Management commentary

"The Discover integration continues to go well and we’re making good progress on delivering the expected synergies" said Richard D. Fairbank, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer.

"We continue to invest to deliver sustained growth and value creation over the long-term."

Results

The quarter included the following adjusting items:

Third Quarter 2026 Income Statement Summary:

6Total net revenue increased 3 percent to $16.3 billion.

1Total non-interest expense decreased 2 percent to $8.9 billion:

54 percent decrease in marketing.

22 percent decrease in operating expenses.

7Pre-provision earnings (3) increased 10 percent to $7.5 billion.

3Provision for credit losses decreased $73 million to $2.9 billion:

Net charge-offs of $3.1 billion.

$225 million loan reserve release.

8Net interest margin of 8.41 percent, an increase of 40 basis points.

Efficiency ratio of 54.19 percent.

Adjusted efficiency ratio (4) of 48.76 percent.

Operating efficiency ratio of 44.43 percent.

Adjusted operating efficiency ratio (4) of 38.99 percent.

Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio (5) under Basel III Standardized Approach of 13.8% as of September 30, 2026.

Period-end loans held for investment in the quarter increased $5.4 billion, or 1 percent, to $462.5 billion.

Credit Card period-end loans increased $952 million, or less than 1 percent, to $276.4 billion.

Domestic Card period-end loans increased $1.2 billion, or less than 1 percent, to $260.3 billion.

Consumer Banking period-end loans increased $3.6 billion, or 4 percent, to $94.0 billion.

Auto period-end loans increased $3.6 billion, or 4 percent, to $92.9 billion.

Commercial Banking period-end loans increased $834 million, or 1 percent, to $92.1 billion.

Average loans held for investment in the quarter increased $6.7 billion, or 1 percent, to $457.4 billion.

Credit Card average loans increased $2.5 billion, or 1 percent, to $273.7 billion.

Domestic Card average loans increased $2.7 billion, or 1 percent, to $257.3 billion.

Consumer Banking average loans increased $3.7 billion, or 4 percent, to $92.3 billion.

Auto average loans increased $3.8 billion, or 4 percent, to $91.2 billion.

Commercial Banking average loans increased $481 million, or 1 percent, to $91.4 billion.

Period-end total deposits decreased $3.6 billion, or 1 percent, to $480.7 billion, while average deposits decreased $4.2 billion, or 1 percent, to $482.6 billion.

4Interest-bearing deposits rate paid increased 3 basis points to 2.94 percent.

40 boilerplate lines (safe-harbor disclaimer, contacts, call details) are set aside.

How this is scored

Source: the press release Capital One Financial Corporation filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99 to Form 8-K (Item 2.02). Financial statements and boilerplate are set aside.
Tone: a financial sentiment model scores each sentence 0 to 100; the release score weights sentences by how material they are.
Materiality and guidance: a classifier judges whether each sentence is specific information, and what the release does to the outlook.
New this quarter: wording that does not appear in the prior release.
Hedging: uncertainty words (may, could, approximately, headwinds and similar) per 100 words of narrative.

These scores describe the release's language. They are not a forecast or a recommendation. Read the original filing

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