Firstar Reports 3Q Earnings in Line With Estimates

Firstar (FSR Quote) reported third-quarter earnings of 39 cents a share before merger charges, in line with Wall Street's expectations.

The Milwaukee-based bank and financial services holding company met the 25-analyst First Call/Thomson Financial consensus estimate for the quarter, while reporting earnings that rose 21.9% from the same period a year ago. Total net income, before merger costs, reached $377.3 million for the quarter, 17.8% higher than the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue rose to $1.06 billion in the third quarter, a 4% increase from $1.02 billion a year ago, while total assets at Sept. 30 rose to $74.5 billion from $71.3 billion last year.

On Oct. 4, Firstar said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire U.S. Bancorp(USB Quote) in a stock swap valued at $21.2 billion when the deal was announced.

Shares of Firstar were recently trading down 69 cents, or 3.8%, to $17.25.