Citigroup beats 2nd-quarter earnings estimates as strong stock-trading offsets fixed-income miss

• Citigroup's second-quarter earnings came in above analyst estimates stock trading offset a miss in fixed income.
• Citi's equities sales and trading revenue grew 37% year over year to $1.06 billion, crushing analyst estimates.
• Citi also beat on revenue, adjusted EPS, and net income.

Citigroup's second-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday came in above analyst estimates as the banking giant's stock trading offset a miss in fixed income.

Citi's fixed income sales & trading revenue came in at $3.21 billion, down 43% year over year and less than the $3.64 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. However, Citi crushed stock trading, with equities sales and trading revenue at $1.06 billion, up 37% year over year and higher than the estimated $916.5 million. The firm's 37% jump in stock-trading revenue trounced rival banks, with Bank of America and JPMorgan notching a 33% and 13% increase, respectively.

Fees from investment banking grew to $1.77 billion, more than the $1.64 billion expected by analysts. The firm cited jumps in fees from equity underwriting and advisory.

Shares of Citigroup climbed 0.4% in premarket trading following the results.

Here are the key numbers:

Revenue: $17.5 billion, versus the average analyst estimate of $17.2 billion
Adjusted earnings per share: $2.85 per share, versus the average analyst estimate of $1.94
Net Income: $6.2 billion, versus the average analyst estimate of $4.67 billion

During the quarter, Citigroup repurchased 40 million common shares and returned $4.1 billion to common shareholders in the form of common share repurchases and dividends.

"The pace of the global recovery is exceeding earlier expectations and with it, consumer and corporate confidence is rising," said CEO Jane Fraser. "We saw this across our businesses, as reflected in our performance in Investment Banking and Equities as well as markedly increased spending on our credit cards. While we have to be mindful of the unevenness in the recovery globally, we are optimistic about the momentum ahead."

This quarter marked Citi's second with Fraser at the helm.

Citigroup's earnings come amid a busy week for bank earnings. Bank of America missed revenue forecasts but smashed income estimates. On Tuesday JPMorgan beat expectations as the banking giant benefited from record investment-banking fees and the release of cash set aside to cover loan losses. Goldman Sachs also handily exceeded analysts' estimates.