Wells Fargo's profit beat expectations in the fourth quarter powered by a rebound in dealmaking activity and forecast it would earn more from interest payments this year. The bank's shares rose 3.5% to $73.

Wells Fargo's investment banking fees jumped 59% to $725 million in the quarter compared with a year earlier. The bank also benefited from easier comparisons with the year earlier, when it took sizeable charges related to severance costs and a special assessment fee it had to pay to refill a government deposit insurance fund.

Wells Fargo's fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations as a rebound in dealmaking activity bolstered the lender's investment banking business. Shares of the bank rose 3.1% to $73.40 in premarket trading on Wednesday after it also forecast net interest income (NII) — or the difference between what it earns on loans and pays out for deposits — would increase in 2025.

Wells Fargo is out with its fourth-quarter results. Here are the highlights: Net income rose 47% to $5.08 billion. That amounted to $1.43 a share, above what analysts polled by FactSet expected. Revenue was down slightly at $20.