KEY

KeyCorp's FY2025 marks a decisive turnaround from FY2024, when the bank posted a net loss of -$161M. Net income rebounded to $1.83B with diluted EPS of $1.52, and operating cash flow jumped 232% to $2.21B. Equally important, the balance sheet is meaningfully stronger: shareholders' equity rose 12.1% to $20.4B, and per the MD&A the shareholders'-equity-to-assets ratio improved to 11.1% from 9.7%, with tangible common equity to tangible assets up to 8.4% from 7.0%. Book value per share climbed to $16.27 from $14.21 and tangible book to $13.77 from $11.70 — a clear rebuild aided by the Scotiabank investment, which added ~162.9M shares of fresh capital. Long-term debt was cut 18.1% to $9.92B. This is a recapitalized, better-cushioned bank than it was a year ago.

Returns and capital deployment are supportive but not exciting. ROE sits at 9.0% — adequate for a regional bank but below the double-digit level that would justify a premium. Management is now returning capital: the dividend rose 13.7% to a $1.05B outlay ($0.82/share annually), and a $1.0B repurchase program authorized in March 2025 began in Q4, reducing shares by 4.4M. With CET1 capital of $17.2B against $145.9B of risk-weighted assets, the bank says all capital ratios remain in excess of regulatory minimums, giving it room to keep buying back stock and paying the dividend.