Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Bread Financial

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Bread Financial in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.78 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.47. Zacks Research 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 Q3 2026 earnings at $3.02 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.27 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.30 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $3.68 EPS.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $1.67. The company had revenue of $975.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 11.02%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Evercore raised Bread Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.09.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $72.51 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.17. Bread Financial has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $82.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.26.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Curat Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 81,068.5% in the 2nd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 450,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,732,000 after acquiring an additional 449,930 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 241.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,711,000 after purchasing an additional 380,039 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,059,000 after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,273,000 after purchasing an additional 299,439 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Bread Financial

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised near-term estimates — Q1 2026 EPS to $2.78 (from $2.47), Q2 2026 EPS to $2.47 (from $2.37), and FY2026 EPS to $9.27 (from $9.12). These upward revisions suggest stronger expected performance in the coming quarters, supporting near-term earnings momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also bumped Q1 2027 to $2.30 (from $1.99) and Q2 2027 to $2.41 (from $2.37), indicating improved early‑2027 visibility versus prior forecasts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks maintained a “Hold” rating across its notes — signaling the firm sees limited upside from current levels absent clearer fundamental catalysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published an FY2028 estimate of $10.76 (new), giving a longer‑term baseline but not yet changing the analyst stance materially.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered several later-quarter estimates — Q3 2026 to $3.02 (from $3.10), Q4 2026 to $1.00 (from $1.18), Q3 2027 to $3.68 (from $3.91), and Q4 2027 to $2.09 (from $2.29). These cuts reduce visibility for back‑half performance and could cap longer‑term valuation expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: FY2027 estimate was trimmed to $10.48 (from $10.56), signaling modest downward revision to multi‑year growth expectations and leaving upside dependent on execution or better macro trends.

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.