On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made a surprising post on social media, praising Citigroup and its CEO Jane Fraser. Following his comments, Citigroup shares outperformed the broader market as well as other major bank stocks.

At 9:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, just as the U.S. stock market opened, Trump wrote on Truth Social:

"Wow! Citigroup Inc.(C.US) ranked #1 in M&A advisory by value for the first quarter! Congratulations to Jane Fraser and all the outstanding employees for their hard work! Citi is making a powerful comeback!!!"

Trump's precise timing drew attention on Wall Street. Citi’s stock briefly surged to an annual high of 137.12,upnearly1.8), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.(GS.US), and the S&P 500 index(SPX.US), making Citi relatively resilient amid overall market weakness.

Ranking Controversy: President’s Claim Vs. Industry Data

So, what ranking data was President Trump referencing?

At least two authoritative sources provide a very different picture. According to Dealogic, for 2026 year-to-date, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.(GS.US), Jpmorgan Chase(JPM.US), Morgan Stanley(MS.US), and Bank of America Corp(BAC.US) all rank ahead of Citi. Goldman led 196 deals worth $992.3 billion, while Citi advised on just 97 deals totaling $285.3 billion. In fact, Citi has dropped from fourth place in 2025 to fifth in 2026 in Dealogic’s M&A advisory rankings.

Another industry report shows Citi has slipped to seventh place. Intriguingly, just before Trump’s post, Citi’s Global Banking Chair, Leon Kalvaria, appeared on TV with an on-screen caption highlighting Citi as the leader in “power sector M&A” for Q1—a much narrower segment of the overall M&A market. According to Global Data, Citi participated in four energy sector M&A deals totaling $41.4 billion in 2026.

It's likely that Trump saw this TV segment touting Citi as #1 in the power sector rather than #1 overall in M&A—a nuance easily missed. Regardless, his post thrust Citi into the market spotlight.

The President’s "Midas Touch": From Tesla to Citi, Trump’s Endorsement Portfolio Grows

Trump’s use of social media to boost stock prices is nothing new. In March 2025, he famously turned the White House South Lawn into a Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US) showroom, praising the Model S and the Cybertruck’s “coolest design ever.” Tesla shares rallied, adding $20 billion in value to Elon Musk’s net worth in a single day. Since then, companies like Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C(DELL.US), Intel Corporation(INTC.US), Micron Technology, Inc.(MU.US), and IBM Corp(IBM.US) have also appeared on Trump’s public praise list.

In February of this year, after Trump reportedly bought $1–5 million of Dell shares, he publicly encouraged people to "buy a Dell, they’re great," causing the stock to jump about 14% intraday. Intel is a special case—after the U.S. government converted $8.9 billion in unpaid CHIPS Act subsidies into equity in August 2025, America became Intel’s largest shareholder at ~9.9% (acquired at $20.47 per share), leading to Intel being dubbed "America’s state-owned enterprise."

In April, Trump became the first sitting president to cite a stock ticker directly, endorsing Palantir(PLTR.US) on Truth Social for its “robust combat capabilities,” which reversed a 6% intraday decline.

Citi’s Transformation: A "Comeback" with Over 200% Gains

Controversy over Trump’s endorsement aside, Citi’s ongoing transformation has been noteworthy. Since Jane Fraser became CEO in 2021, Citi has embarked on a multi-year restructuring: streamlining divisions, cutting jobs, and focusing on high-margin markets and services. The goal: reduce headcount by around 60,000 by the end of 2026. Citi began 2026 with nearly 1,000 layoffs, and announced further reductions would continue.

Looking at Citi’s stock performance:

• 2023: +19%
• 2024: +42%
• 2025: over +70%
• 2026 YTD: +15% (outpacing the S&P 500’s +6.2%), significantly outperforming Wells Fargo (-12% YTD), JPMorgan Chase (-4%), and Bank of America (-1%).

CFO Gonzalo Luchetti recently stated that better-than-expected trading momentum should boost Q2 results, with projected revenue growth in the high single to low double digits, and investment banking fees growing in the mid-double digits.

Conclusion

While Trump’s claim of a “powerful comeback” may be based on selective or misinterpreted data, he’s not entirely wrong. Under Jane Fraser’s leadership, Citigroup is indeed making its way back into the Wall Street mainstream—even if not quite at the top just yet.

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