Something big just broke...
The cost of living keeps rising. The divide keeps widening. The anger keeps building.
Listen, I’ve spent three decades studying financial systems, and I’ve never seen pressure like this. It’s as if the old order of the economy has cracked and something new is forcing its way through.
Most people can’t see it yet. But they sense it. They feel it in their gut.
I’ve pulled on that thread for the past year, and what I’ve uncovered is bigger than anything I’ve ever reported. And it’s happening much faster than anyone imagines.
I explain everything in my new documentary.
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Sunday's Exclusive Article
Fifth Third Bancorp: An Inflection With Double-Digit Upside Ahead
Submitted by Thomas Hughes. Article Published: 1/21/2026.
What You Need to Know
- Fifth Third Bancorp is well-positioned for organic growth and margin improvement.
- An upcoming acquisition could accelerate growth, margins, and capital returns.
- Institutional and analyst trends indicate the market is accumulating the stock, and double-digit upside could lie ahead.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) stock is at an inflection point, and double-digit upside could lie ahead. A combination of favorable economic conditions, resilient consumer markets, operational quality, and acquisitional growth underpins a robust outlook for cash flow growth and capital returns.
Capital returns are critical for this financial stock, with dividends and share buybacks expected to increase in the coming years. The dividend yielded more than 3.2% in January 2026—more than double the broad market average—and is growing at a 7.25% annual pace.
That CAGR may slow in the coming years, but it is not expected to decline significantly. For the foreseeable future, it should remain roughly double the inflation rate.
At the same time, share repurchases reduced the diluted share count by an average of about 2% for the fiscal year, and a similar pace is expected in 2026.
Meanwhile, the dividend payout ratio fell below 40% as of year-end 2025. Overall, total capital returns were approximately 65% of GAAP net income in Q4.
Fifth Third Bancorp Has a Strong Year Ahead of a Key Merger
Fifth Third Bancorp delivered a strong Q4, finishing fiscal 2025 with revenue up 7.3% to $2.34 billion. While top-line results largely met expectations and therefore didn't immediately catalyze the stock, they were supported by stronger internals, wider margins, and an important upcoming catalyst.
FITB's guidance highlights 2026's primary catalyst: the acquisition of Comerica. Management expects the deal to improve both the scale and scalability of the business, potentially accelerating account and loan growth by year-end. The company forecasts the merger will compound organic growth and drive a greater-than-30% increase in net interest income (NII) and non-interest income. Such increases would be well ahead of analyst forecasts and could be exceeded given favorable macro and company-specific trends.
Growth in Q4 was driven by consumer and commercial strengths, including record net investment income, 5% loan growth, and modest deposit gains.
Margins were the true strength in Q4 and across 2025. NII reached record levels, and improving credit trends aided the bottom line: charge-offs and non-performing assets declined compared with the prior year, contributing roughly 700 basis points of bottom-line outperformance despite a tepid top line. That strength is expected to be amplified in the coming year.
Analysts and Institutions Accumulate FITB Stock
Analyst and institutional trends for FITB are broadly bullish, indicating accumulation. MarketBeat data shows analyst coverage of FITB rose 22% year over year as of January 2026.
The company's Moderate Buy rating remains intact with an 86% buy-side bias, and consensus price targets are trending higher.
Analysts project roughly 10% upside at the consensus midpoint, with potential upside of as much as 45% at the high end of the range. Institutional activity presents an even stronger picture.
The institutional group owns approximately 85% of the shares and, on balance, bought throughout 2025 at a pace of nearly $2 purchased for every $1 sold.
So far, that trend has carried into the first weeks of 2026.
Stock price action in 2025 and early 2026 reflects the company's financial health and sell-side interest. The stock rebounded from the Q2 2025 low set in April and moved steadily higher throughout the year.
The setup in early 2026 suggests the market could press to a fresh high, breaking above a critical resistance level. That multi-decade resistance represents a meaningful inflection point that could open the door to another roughly 40% advance.
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Today's Bonus Content: Don't be fooled by bread and games (From Porter & Company)
