About Citigroup, Inc. (C)
In 1988, Citigroup Inc was founded through the merger of Citicorp (a holding company) and Travelers Group, Inc. Its legacy of 210 years spans across its financial and social avenues. It has a widespread global presence in about 180 countries. Citigroup businesses are in services, markets, banking and international, wealth and U.S. personal banking. On NASDAQ, it has performed moderately well in 2025 and surpassed many of its S&P global competitors. As of this May, it holds a stable long-term credit rating BBB+ from Standard & Poor's Global Ratings. [The projected-cash-flow based intrinsic value of $15.34 for the current price of $68.70] of Citigroup has been reported by GuruFocus.
Citigroup Stock Forecast- Worth It or Not?
Citigroup stock is worth a watch due to its strong financial performance, strategy and business developments and market competitiveness. This certainly makes it watch-worthy. The investor sentiment is mixed due to its promising financials, coupled with concerns for the regulatory and economic environments. Citigroup net income for FY 2025, first quarter was $4.1 billion and its revenue increased by 3% from the prior-year period. An increase in equity trading revenue, effective cost management, operational excellence and regulatory conformity were pivotal to this.
It has introduced some robust moves, such as its aggressive $20 billion stock repurchase plan as reported by Bloomberg earlier this year and its on-going restructuring-led initiatives. Currently, it is pushing forward to outdo its competitors. The market anticipates its performance in the coming quarters.
Glimpsing at its Recent Past
In the past few years, Citigroup has underperformed and witnessed notable fluctuations. This is because of its tactical efforts to restructure, broader market movements and conflicted investor sentiment. In 2022, NBC reported that Citigroup shares slumped 29% in the year, leaving it by far the lowest-valued among its U.S. peers. Additionally, it witnessed a sharp decline in skilled employees and a high exposure to regulatory reprimands.
The following years saw an upswing with the Citigroup stock gaining about 23% as compared to the 9% rise in the S&P500 over the same period, as reported by Forbes. This was mainly due to its operational simplification, increase of 35% in investment banking revenue, streamlined cost management and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.6% in FY 2024, first quarter.
Future of Citigroup
Regardless of the past pitfalls of Citigroup, the way forward is hopeful. Its CEO Jane Fraser expressed, “We remain intently focused on executing our strategy, which is based on a diversified business mix and will perform in a wide variety of macro scenarios.” Its previous quarter displayed a robust performance. A key highlight was its return on tangible common equity, a closely watched profitability gauge, which reached 9% and thus moved closer to its goal of 10% to 11% in the next year.
In 2024, Citigroup plummeted its number of management layers from 13 to 8. In synchronization, the Citigroup lay-off of 20,000 jobs were part of its restructuring exercise. Aggressive business divestitures in the consumer banking markets, UK retail banking and China wealth portfolio have been well-received by the market. These vital actions resulted in a significant surge in the investor confidence in Citigroup.
Is it a Buy, Hold or Sell?
The market resonates positively with the key undertakings of Citigroup and current diverse market conditions. Although, there is trepidation with the slow pace of recovery of Citigroup and the prevalent macro-economic factors, such as market volatility, impending inflation, tariff war, fiscal and monetary measures and unstable sector performance. Citigroup is poised for steady growth with instrumental challenges, and therefore holds a Moderate Buy status.
This is symbolic of the market sentiment, with 14 Wall Street analysts issuing ratings for Citigroup in the last 12 months that are in coherence. Also, its price is currently discounted and positions itself for high-returns. Citigroup’s average price target is $84.04. The highest price target is $109.00, while the lowest price target is $65.00. It is almost at par with its competitors, as most of them also hold the status of Moderate Buy, though with marginally higher projections.
The game-changer for Citigroup is its focus on high-margin businesses through strategic restructuring and operational proficiency. Its efforts to augment investor assurance have been reciprocated by the market. Wells Fargo has crowned Citigroup’s stock as the 'Dominant pick,' citing that it could double in three years. Its financial indicators powerfully represent its measurable shift towards financial buoyancy.
About Citigroup, Inc. (C) In 1988, Citigroup Inc was founded through the merger of Citicorp (a holding company) and Travelers Group, Inc. Its legacy of 210 years spans across its financial and social avenues. It has a widespread global presence in about 180 countries. Citigroup businesses are in services, markets, banking and international, wealth and U.S. personal banking. On NASDAQ, it has performed moderately well in 2025 and surpassed many of its S&P global competitors. As of this May, it holds a stable long-term credit rating BBB+ from Standard & Poor's Global Ratings. [The projected-cash-flow based intrinsic value of $15.34 for the current price of $68.70] of Citigroup has been reported by GuruFocus.
Citigroup Stock Forecast- Worth It or Not? Citigroup stock is worth a watch due to its strong financial performance, strategy and business developments and market competitiveness. This certainly makes it watch-worthy. The investor sentiment is mixed due to its promising financials, coupled with concerns for the regulatory and economic environments. Citigroup net income for FY 2025, first quarter was $4.1 billion and its revenue increased by 3% from the prior-year period. An increase in equity trading revenue, effective cost management, operational excellence and regulatory conformity were pivotal to this.
It has introduced some robust moves, such as its aggressive $20 billion stock repurchase plan as reported by Bloomberg earlier this year and its on-going restructuring-led initiatives. Currently, it is pushing forward to outdo its competitors. The market anticipates its performance in the coming quarters.
Glimpsing at its Recent Past In the past few years, Citigroup has underperformed and witnessed notable fluctuations. This is because of its tactical efforts to restructure, broader market movements and conflicted investor sentiment. In 2022, NBC reported that Citigroup shares slumped 29% in the year, leaving it by far the lowest-valued among its U.S. peers. Additionally, it witnessed a sharp decline in skilled employees and a high exposure to regulatory reprimands.
The following years saw an upswing with the Citigroup stock gaining about 23% as compared to the 9% rise in the S&P500 over the same period, as reported by Forbes. This was mainly due to its operational simplification, increase of 35% in investment banking revenue, streamlined cost management and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.6% in FY 2024, first quarter.
Future of Citigroup Regardless of the past pitfalls of Citigroup, the way forward is hopeful. Its CEO Jane Fraser expressed, “We remain intently focused on executing our strategy, which is based on a diversified business mix and will perform in a wide variety of macro scenarios.” Its previous quarter displayed a robust performance. A key highlight was its return on tangible common equity, a closely watched profitability gauge, which reached 9% and thus moved closer to its goal of 10% to 11% in the next year.
In 2024, Citigroup plummeted its number of management layers from 13 to 8. In synchronization, the Citigroup lay-off of 20,000 jobs were part of its restructuring exercise. Aggressive business divestitures in the consumer banking markets, UK retail banking and China wealth portfolio have been well-received by the market. These vital actions resulted in a significant surge in the investor confidence in Citigroup.
Is it a Buy, Hold or Sell? The market resonates positively with the key undertakings of Citigroup and current diverse market conditions. Although, there is trepidation with the slow pace of recovery of Citigroup and the prevalent macro-economic factors, such as market volatility, impending inflation, tariff war, fiscal and monetary measures and unstable sector performance. Citigroup is poised for steady growth with instrumental challenges, and therefore holds a Moderate Buy status.
This is symbolic of the market sentiment, with 14 Wall Street analysts issuing ratings for Citigroup in the last 12 months that are in coherence. Also, its price is currently discounted and positions itself for high-returns. Citigroup’s average price target is $84.04. The highest price target is $109.00, while the lowest price target is $65.00. It is almost at par with its competitors, as most of them also hold the status of Moderate Buy, though with marginally higher projections.
The game-changer for Citigroup is its focus on high-margin businesses through strategic restructuring and operational proficiency. Its efforts to augment investor assurance have been reciprocated by the market. Wells Fargo has crowned Citigroup’s stock as the 'Dominant pick,' citing that it could double in three years. Its financial indicators powerfully represent its measurable shift towards financial buoyancy.