FY2026 EPS Forecast for Bread Financial Decreased by Analyst

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Bread Financial in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $9.12 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $9.36. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Bread Financial’s current full-year earnings is $6.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Bread Financial’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.99 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.56 EPS.

BFH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bread Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.82.

Bread Financial Stock Down 3.1%

Bread Financial stock opened at $68.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.18. Bread Financial has a 12 month low of $38.21 and a 12 month high of $82.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 10.08%.The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,273,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,120,000 after buying an additional 30,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Bread Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,557,000 after acquiring an additional 16,143 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Bread Financial by 16.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,720,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,281,000 after acquiring an additional 248,401 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Bread Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,555,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,776,000 after purchasing an additional 65,223 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,233,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,436,000 after purchasing an additional 247,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a preview arguing Bread Financial may beat upcoming earnings, highlighting factors that could drive an upside surprise. Bread Financial Holdings (BFH) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates: Can the Stock Move Higher?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised Q3 2026 and Q3 2027 EPS estimates (Q3 2026 to $3.10 from $2.77; Q3 2027 to $3.91 from $3.71), indicating some expectations for stronger performance later in the fiscal year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks maintained a “Hold” rating on BFH and left the consensus full‑year view in its note context (market consensus referenced at $6.45 current-year EPS), signaling analysts are not yet shifting to a buy/sell stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut several near‑term and annual EPS forecasts: Q4 2026 was reduced sharply (to $1.18 from $1.72), FY2026 to $9.12 from $9.36, FY2027 to $10.56 from $10.69, and Q1 2027 slightly to $1.99 from $2.00. These downgrades increase short‑term earnings uncertainty and are a likely driver of downward pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reductions include Q4 2027 (to $2.29 from $2.61) and modest cuts to early‑quarter forecasts (e.g., Q1 2026 and Q1 2027 adjustments), reinforcing the near‑term weakening theme in Zacks’ model assumptions.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.