Citigroup ( NYSE: C) stock gained 5.6% in Wednesday premarket trading after the megabank posted better-than-expected Q4 results and approved a $20B stock buyback program. Furthermore, the company expects its net interest income to rise in 2025.

Citigroup said its board of directors authorized a new multiyear $20 billion stock buyback program that will begin in the first quarter of 2025, helping to trigger a surge in the share price. CFO Mark Mason said the planned buyback reflects confidence in the bank’s strategy.

Citigroup stock is soaring Wednesday after the big bank topped earnings expectations and unveiled a massive stock buyback program. Here's why that's important.

The bank unveiled stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, in which revenue rose across all five of its main business lines.

Citigroup (C) reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, sending shares higher in pre-market trading Wednesday. Citi's net income for the fourth quarter was $2.86 billion, up from a loss of $1.

Citigroup Inc. lowered a crucial profitability target central to Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser's plan to turn around the bank, but offered investors a sweetener in the form of share buybacks. Bloomberg's Todd Gillespie has the story.