Synchrony forecasts EPS near $9.50 despite third-quarter profit decline
Key Facts
Synchrony forecast diluted earnings per share of approximately $9.50 for fiscal 2026, according to its third-quarter earnings presentation filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The new estimate puts expected EPS near the upper end of the range of $9.25 to $9.50 announced in the company's July update. The full-year forecast came as third-quarter net income fell to $892 million, according to the earnings release filed with the SEC. Net income declined 17% year on year, a decrease of $185 million from the corresponding quarter. Diluted quarterly earnings per share were $2.68, compared with $2.86 in the third quarter of 2025.
In its financing business, Synchrony's purchase volume rose 8% year on year in the third quarter of 2026 to $49.7 billion, according to the company's statement. Loan balances also grew 3% from the same period a year earlier to $103.3 billion at quarter-end. Growth in purchases and loans was accompanied by an increase in net interest income to $4.8 billion in the same quarter. That represented a year-on-year increase of $89 million, or 2%, according to figures in the earnings release filed with the SEC. On credit quality, the net loan charge-off rate improved to 4.79% in the third quarter from 5.16% in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The company attributed the rise in other expenses primarily to "higher operational losses, technology investments and marketing expenses" in its earnings presentation.
Among the quarter's key developments, Synchrony announced the launch of "CareCredit Pay Later," adding an installment loan with fixed monthly payments to its financing options. According to the service's provider-facing page, loans start at $500, with minimum financing requirements varying by the sector using the product. For dental financing specifically, the minimum loan starts at $9,500, according to terms published by CareCredit for providers. The consumer-facing page explains that the product is a single-use loan that closes when fully repaid at the end of its specified term. This comes alongside an announced integration with Stripe aimed at enabling health and wellness providers to activate CareCredit through the payments platform they already use.
In another technology initiative, Synchrony announced an enterprise collaboration with OpenAI on August 17, 2026, covering AI-powered shopping and payment experiences. The company said in its announcement that the collaboration aims to bring financing services into shopping and payment experiences designed to operate with the technology. The collaboration also covers incorporating rewards and loyalty programs into those experiences, alongside the financing the company provides. The announced collaboration thus extends to services accompanying the purchase and checkout journey, according to the areas Synchrony identified in its partnership statement. In healthcare financing, the company said its Stripe integration allows CareCredit to be activated directly online, "without any additional integration required."
Synchrony is also participating as a design partner in the development of the "Poppy" protocol for personal agents, led by Sierra and Meta, according to an article the company published on agentic commerce standards. Synchrony's role is to provide feedback during the protocol's development, according to the company's description of its participation among the design partners. It said in the article that it was "among the design partners providing feedback as development of the protocol progresses." This participation comes alongside the enterprise collaboration with OpenAI covering financing, rewards and loyalty in shopping and payment experiences. On its existing business, Synchrony said in its third-quarter earnings presentation that it expects "continued strong growth in purchase volume."
The next date for shareholders concerns the cash dividend on common stock that Synchrony announced alongside its quarterly results. The company set the close of business on November 5, 2026, as the record date for shareholders eligible for the dividend, according to the earnings and dividend announcement published on its investor relations website. Eligibility covers holders of common stock registered on that date, under the terms of the announcement. The cash dividend is scheduled to be paid on November 16, 2026. Synchrony said the dividend is "payable on November 16, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 5, 2026."