Wells Fargo & Company is one of the largest banks in the United States. It reported $83.699 billion of total revenue and $21.3 billion of net income for FY2025, and it is led by Chairman and CEO Charlie Scharf.
From Gold Rush express company to national bank
Henry Wells and William G. Fargo organized Wells, Fargo & Co. in 1852 and opened in San Francisco to buy gold dust, sell bank drafts, and ship valuables by stagecoach. The banking business was separated from the express operation in 1905. The modern company took shape through the 1998 merger with Norwest Corporation and the 2008 acquisition of Wachovia, which gave it a coast-to-coast branch network.
How Wells Fargo makes money
About 57% of FY2025 revenue came from net interest income ($47.484 billion) and the rest from noninterest income ($36.215 billion), such as wealth and brokerage fees, investment banking, trading, and card fees. The bank reports four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.
The scandal and the asset cap
In 2016 regulators fined Wells Fargo $185 million after employees opened accounts customers had not authorized to meet sales goals. CEO John Stumpf resigned, and in 2018 the Federal Reserve capped the bank's total assets at about $1.95 trillion until it fixed its governance and risk controls. Further settlements followed, including $3 billion with the DOJ and SEC in 2020 and more than $3.7 billion with the CFPB in 2022.
After the cap
The Fed lifted the asset cap on June 3, 2025 and terminated the 2018 consent order on March 5, 2026. In the second quarter of 2026, Wells Fargo earned $6.4 billion, or $2.00 per diluted share, on revenue of about $22.6 billion, up 9% from a year earlier, with average loans up 12% and average deposits up 10%. Headcount fell to about 197,000. The next leadership change is already set: COO Scott Powell becomes Chief Risk Officer in January 2027.
