Shares of Ally Financial ALLY rallied 1.7% following the release of its fourth-quarter and 2020 results. Adjusted earnings of $1.60 per share handily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05. Also, the bottom line surged 68.4% from the year-ago figure.Results benefited from growth in revenues and lower provisions, partly offset by higher expenses. Further, the balance sheet position remained strong during the quarter.After considering non-recurring items, net income available to common shareholders (on a GAAP basis) was $687 million or $1.82 per share, up from with $387 million or 99 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.In 2020, adjusted earnings per share of $3.03 declined 18.5% year over year. Net income available to common shareholders (on a GAAP basis) was $1.09 billion or $2.88 per share, down from $1.72 billion or $4.34 per share in 2019.Revenues Improve, Expenses RiseTotal net revenues for the reported quarter were $1.98 billion, up 20.6% year over year. The figure also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 billion. In 2020, total net revenues grew 4.6% from the prior year to $6.69 billion.Net financing revenues were up 12.7% from the prior-year figure to $1.30 billion. The rise was driven by higher gains on off-lease vehicles, higher retail auto revenues and lower funding costs. These were partially offset by higher mortgage premium amortization and lower commercial auto portfolio balance and yield.Adjusted net interest margin was 2.92%, up 26 basis points (bps) year over year.Total other revenues of $678 million improved 39.2%.Total non-interest expenses were up 16.3% to $$1.02 billion. The upswing stemmed from a rise in all cost components.Adjusted efficiency ratio at the end of the fourth quarter was 49.8%, up marginally from 49.4% in year-ago period. A rise in efficiency ratio indicates deterioration in profitability.Credit Quality: Mixed BagNon-performing loans of $1.52 billion as of Dec 31, 2020, were up 46.9% year over year. However, net charge-off rate was 0.67%, down 24 bps. Moreover, provision for loan losses declined 63% to $102 million.Balance Sheet Strong, Capital Ratios ImproveTotal net finance receivables and loans amounted to $115.3 billion as of Dec 31, 2020 increasing marginally from the third quarter. Deposits totaled $137 billion, up 1.6%.As of Dec 31, 2020, total capital ratio was 14.1%, up from 12.8% in the prior-year quarter. Tier I capital ratio was 12.4%, up from 11.2% as of Dec 31, 2019.Our ViewAlly Financial’s efforts to diversify the revenue base, enhance digital offerings and introduce products to further boost its profitability are impressive. However, persistently mounting expenses (as witnessed in the fourth quarter as well) and low interest rates are near-term concerns.Ally Financial Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Ally Financial Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ally Financial Inc. QuoteCurrently, Ally Financial sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Earnings Release Date of Other Consumer Loan ProvidersBoth Capital One COF and Navient Corporation NAVI are slated to announce quarterly numbers on Jan 26, while SLM Corporation SLM will report on Jan 27.Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.4% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.See these time-sensitive tickers now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SLM Corporation (SLM): Free Stock Analysis Report Capital One Financial Corporation (COF): Free Stock Analysis Report Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY): Free Stock Analysis Report Navient Corporation (NAVI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research