Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) on Wednesday reported earnings that surpassed analyst expectations. The Company reported earnings per share of USD 0.74 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of USD 0.70 per share. The Company has been able to beat earnings estimates for four consecutive quarters.

One of the world’s leading financial institutions, Bank of America reported that net income rose by 8% for the quarter, up to USD 7.3 Billion. The increase in net income was primarily driven by continued positive operating leverage and strong asset quality. This is the 18th consecutive quarter that Bank of America has reported positive operating leverage.

Bank of America is a company with multiple different business segments and each segment is essential to the success of the business. These different business segments include; consumer banking, global wealth management, global banking, and global markets. The consumer banking segment saw a net income increase of 13% to USD 3.3 Billion. The global wealth and investment management division saw a net income increase of 11%, to USD 1.1 Billion. The global banking segment did not perform as well, and saw a net income decrease of 9%, to USD 1.9 Billion. The global markets segment reported sales and trading revenue of USD 3.2 Billion.

Bank of America reported its earnings following estimate beating earnings from many competitors this week. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs each reported earnings on Tuesday that surpassed analyst expectations.

Bank of America was able to repurchase USD 6.5 Billion in common stock during the second quarter. The Company also paid out USD 1.4 Billion in common dividends to shareholders.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said, "Our customers gave us more of their assets to handle for them. That includes an increase of $75 billion in deposits, with $37 billion from consumers. And customers gave us more of their investment dollar, as we reached $2.9 trillion in balances. This quarter, we also regained the leading U.S. market share in lending to the important small business economy. These customers continue to engage in solid activity to build their businesses. We also see consistent borrowing and activity from our commercial and corporate clients, who are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities that arise as trade and other open issues are resolved. Importantly, we have seen improvement in our investment banking market share as we have repositioned that business."