First Citizens Raises Quarterly Dividend 7.1% to $2.25

First Citizens BancShares raised its quarterly common dividend 7.1% to $2.25 per share from $2.10. FCNCA shares trade ex-dividend on November 30, 2026, and the payment is due December 15, 2026. The increase applies to the company’s Class A and Class B common stock. The board’s declaration also covered First Citizens’ preferred shares.

Why the dividend changed

First Citizens did not give a specific reason for the common-dividend increase in its declaration. The operating and capital context nevertheless shows a bank generating earnings while using several channels to return capital and reshape its balance sheet. The increase is a regular dividend action, not an adjustment related to a split, merger or spin-off.

Third-quarter net income was $606 million, down from $672 million in the second quarter. Net income available to common shareholders was $577 million, compared with $640 million. Net interest income increased to $1.70 billion as loan and investment-security income rose, while a lower average borrowing balance reduced interest expense. Chairman and CEO Frank Holding said results were supported by “strong, high quality top-line growth,” loan and deposit growth, resilient credit quality and expense discipline. The company’s third-quarter earnings release provides the results and management commentary.

Capital returns were weighted much more heavily toward repurchases than dividends. First Citizens repurchased $600 million of Class A shares during the quarter and authorized an additional $1.2 billion repurchase plan for 2027. It also repaid another $8.0 billion of the FDIC Purchase Money Note. Those actions indicate that the dividend increase was part of a broader capital-allocation program rather than an isolated distribution decision.

The bank also completed its acquisition of 138 BMO branches, adding approximately $4.9 billion of deposits and $650 million of loans. Management said the acquired liquidity supported repayment of the Purchase Money Note. For the fourth quarter, First Citizens projected loans and leases of $158 billion to $161 billion, deposits of $189 billion to $192 billion and net interest income of $1.70 billion to $1.77 billion. The outlook and capital plan appear in the third-quarter investor presentation.

Dividend track record

The latest increase extends First Citizens’ dividend-growth streak to 3 consecutive years. The recent payment pattern has been stepwise: four payments of $1.95 ran from November 29, 2024, through August 29, 2025, followed by four payments of $2.10 from November 28, 2025, through August 31, 2026. The new $2.25 rate begins the next step. First Citizens publishes its payment history through its investor-relations site.

Full-year totals show that growth accelerated sharply before moderating. The annual total rose from $1.67 in 2020 to $1.88 in 2021, an increase of 12.6%, and to $2.16 in 2022, an increase of 14.9%. It then climbed 80.1% to $3.89 in 2023 and 76.6% to $6.87 in 2024. The 2025 total was $7.95, up 15.7%. The 5-year rate is 37.3% annual growth, although the latest 7.1% increase is considerably smaller than the largest recent advances.

Is the dividend covered?

The dividend uses 4% of earnings, leaving a wide accounting-earnings cushion if profits weaken or capital needs rise. That low payout also explains why the dividend can grow while First Citizens directs substantially more capital toward repurchases and balance-sheet management.

SmarterDividends rates the dividend A with a safety score of 99. The grade means very safe, within the score range of 80-100. It reflects strong coverage at the current payout level, not a guarantee that the board will maintain or increase future payments.

Yield and valuation

FCNCA’s forward yield is 0.36%, well below the Financial Services sector median forward yield of 5.84%. The low yield reflects both the restrained earnings payout and a share price of $2,345.61. At the stated annual dividend per share of $8.40, 100 shares produce $840.00 in annual income.

SmarterDividends estimates fair value at $4,874.14 and classifies the shares as undervalued, with 105% upside to fair value. That verdict is a valuation comparison, not a forecast of the share price or dividend.

What to watch

The immediate dates are November 30, 2026, when FCNCA trades ex-dividend, and December 15, 2026, when the $2.25 payment is due. After that, the next quarterly results will show whether loan and deposit balances landed within management’s fourth-quarter ranges.

The other issues are capital allocation and integration. Investors can track the pace of share repurchases, repayment of the Purchase Money Note and retention of deposits from the acquired BMO branches. Credit quality also bears watching after management guided to a fourth-quarter net charge-off ratio of 30 basis points to 35 basis points. Together, these items will show how the bank balances growth, funding costs and capital returns after the dividend increase.