Citigroup earnings: $1.35 per share, vs. expected EPS of $1.24

Citigroup reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat on both the top and bottom line, helped by a jump in bond trading.

Net income rose 17 percent year over year to $4.1 billion, boosted by increased revenue and lower cost of credit. Expenses changed little.

Revenue from fixed income trading jumped 19 percent from the same period last year to $3.62 billion. Equity trading revenue rose 10 percent.

Here's how the results came in versus what Wall Street was expecting:

• EPS: $1.35 a share vs. $1.24 expected by Thomson Reuters analysts' consensus.
• Revenue: $18.120 billion vs. $17.758 billion expected by Thomson Reuters analysts' consensus.

In the first quarter of 2016, Citi posted earnings of $1.10 per diluted share, on revenue of $17.555 billion.

Citi shares climbed more than 1 percent in morning trade.

"The momentum we saw across many of our businesses towards the end of last year carried into the first quarter, resulting in significantly better overall performance than a year ago," Citi CEO Michael Corbat said in a release.

"Revenues increased in both our consumer and institutional lines of business, most notably in areas where we have been investing such as equities, U.S. cards, and Mexico," he said.

For the institutional clients group, revenue rose double digits across all regions except Asia, which saw a 3 percent decline year on year. Asia accounts for about one-fifth of total revenue in the institutional clients group.

Loans rose 2 percent to $629 billion at the end of the period, while deposits were up 2 percent at $950 billion.

The firm's CET 1 capital ratio increased to 12.8 percent, helped primarily by earnings. Return on tangible common equity rose to 8.5 percent.

Net interest margin declined to 2.74 percent.

In response to reporter questions on a media call about views on the Trump administration, Citi CFO John C. Gerspach said he believes the president will stick to promises of "looking to catalyze growth in the economy."

President Donald Trump has promised deregulation and tax reform in an effort to increase U.S. growth.

Financials remain the top-performing sector since the U.S. presidential election. However, the category has struggled this year as Treasury yields have fallen. Financials are little changed for the year so far, while Citi shares are more than 1 percent lower over that time.

Wells Fargo also reported earnings Thursday, but its results were mixed. Earlier in the day, JPMorgan Chase posted earnings and revenue that easily topped expectations.