Northern Trust Q3 2026: A Near-20% EPS Beat With Dividends and Buybacks to Match
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 21, 2026.
Northern Trust turned a nearly 20% EPS beat into cash for shareholders, lifting the quarterly dividend and approving a fresh repurchase authorization. Management guided Q4 revenue growth higher with positive operating leverage, so the fee momentum is not a one-quarter event.
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Northern Trust's Q3 2026 diluted EPS of $3.40 cleared consensus by nearly 20%, the fourth straight quarter of beating expectations. Revenue also came in ahead of estimates.
Two one-time items lifted the headline EPS figure: a gain on the sale of the guardianship services business and an incremental gain from Northern Trust's participation in the second Visa Exchange Offer. Underlying servicing fees still reached $1.37 billion, up 8% from a year ago, with net interest income climbing on higher deposits and improved funding costs.
CEO Michael O'Grady said that excluding notable items, revenues grew 11% versus the prior year while disciplined expense management generated more than 600 basis points of positive operating leverage, lifting pretax income and earnings per share. Assets under custody and administration rose on net client inflows and constructive markets across all three business lines.
Northern Trust raised its quarterly common stock dividend to $0.88 per share from $0.80, and the board approved a new share repurchase authorization. The company had already returned more than $1.5 billion to common shareholders year to date through Q3, including repurchases during the quarter.
Looking into Q4 2026, management guided for net interest income growth of 8 to 9% versus Q4 2025, with total revenue growth and positive operating leverage above 500 basis points. Full-year 2026 operating leverage is guided above 500 basis points as well. The fee momentum is a trajectory the company expects to maintain through year-end.