Synchrony Purchase Volume Rises 8% as Earnings Fall 17%

Synchrony Financial reported higher purchase volume and loan balances in the third quarter, but net earnings declined as provisions and expenses increased. The consumer-finance company earned $892 million, down 17% from a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share fell to $2.68 from $2.86.

Synchrony Earnings Pair Growth With Lower Profit

Synchrony’s October 20 SEC filing showed purchase volume of $49.7 billion, up 8%, and loan receivables of $103.3 billion, up 3%. Active accounts were broadly unchanged at 68.3 million, indicating that spending and balances—not account expansion—drove the growth.

Net interest income increased 2% to $4.8 billion, but the net interest margin narrowed 12 basis points to 15.50%. That combination helps explain why volume growth did not translate into higher profit, a dynamic that also matters when comparing the lending growth in our report on Upstart’s September originations.

Credit Trends Improve as Provisions Rise

Credit quality moved in a favorable direction across the main reported measures. The 30-day-plus delinquency rate eased to 4.34% from 4.39%, the 90-day-plus rate fell to 2.06% from 2.12%, and net charge-offs declined to 4.79% from 5.16%.

The provision for credit losses nevertheless increased 10% to $1.3 billion. The contrast between better loss rates and a larger provision shows why investors should evaluate current credit costs alongside the reserve outlook, as in our analysis of Regions Financial’s credit costs.

Deposits Fund Growth While Capital Returns Continue

Deposits rose $3.1 billion, or 4%, to $83.0 billion and funded 83% of Synchrony’s operations. The company returned $1.2 billion to shareholders, including $1.1 billion through share repurchases and $110 million through dividends.

Common equity Tier 1 capital fell to 12.9% from 14.3%, while book value per share increased 8% to $47.64. Readers can use our book value per share explainer to place that increase in context, while noting that Synchrony’s return on equity declined to 21% from 25.1%.

Sharron Kendi

Sharron Kendi is a seasoned crypto market analyst and writer with over three years of experience decoding blockchain trends, price movements, and market dynamics. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (Finance) from Kenyatta University, blending a solid academic foundation with a sharp eye for technical analysis and a deep understanding of on-chain data. Her work delivers clear, data-driven insights that empower investors to navigate the fast-evolving digital asset space with confidence.