Wells Fargo CEO Scharf: “Big time bullish on the US”

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf is planting a flag on the US economy. Wells Fargo chief Charlie Scharf says he’s “big time bullish on the US.”

What Scharf said

Speaking with Bloomberg, Scharf discussed the state of the US consumer, the economy, earnings and where his employees want to live and work, in an exclusive with Bloomberg’s Romaine Bostick.

The message from one of the largest US banks: the consumer is holding up, and the corporate earnings picture is supportive. That is a notable tone from a CEO whose balance sheet gives him a direct read on Main Street activity.

Why it matters for markets

Wells Fargo is heavily levered to domestic activity. The bank has roughly $1.9 trillion in balance sheet assets across consumer banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management, and is almost entirely focused on the US.

That domestic tilt makes Scharf’s commentary a useful proxy for how big banks see credit, spending, and loan demand heading into the back half of the year.

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The backdrop

The bullish tone lands with the stock already in an uptrend. Wells Fargo shares gained 6.1% over the past three months, surpassing the S&P 500’s 5.1% gain, and are up 21.2% year-to-date versus the index’s 15% rise.

Sentiment on the name has been building for a while. Wall Street has been bullish on the stock since the company topped revenue and EPS estimates for fiscal Q2 2025, with revenue of $20.82 billion and EPS of $1.54 that beat estimates by $0.14.

Options market and stocks to watch

Watch for flow and follow-through across the big US-centric banks and consumer-exposed names:

• WFC: watch for reaction to Scharf’s comments and any pickup in call flow tied to the domestic bull case.
• JPM: watch as the bellwether for US consumer and commercial credit trends.
• BAC: watch for read-through given its deposit franchise and domestic consumer exposure.
• XLF: watch as the broad financials tape if bank sentiment continues to firm.
• USB: watch as another domestically focused regional bank benchmark.

For more on flow, sentiment, and macro commentary, see other news.

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