JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday posted first-quarter results that topped expectations on stronger-than-expected fixed income and investment banking revenue.
Here’s what the company reported:
Earnings: $5.94 per share vs. $5.45 LSEG estimate Revenue: $50.54 billion vs. $49.17 billion estimate
The company said net income rose 13% to $16.49 billion, or $5.94 a share. Revenue increased 10% to $50.54 billion.
The bank’s fixed income trading revenue rose 21% to $7.08 billion, or about $370 million more than the StreetAccount estimate, on rising activity in commodities, credit, currencies and emerging markets.
Investment banking fees jumped 28% to $2.88 billion, or about $260 million more than expected, on higher mergers advisory and stock underwriting fees.
Another factor helping the bank top expectations in the quarter: it set aside less money for loan losses than analysts had anticipated.
The firm’s provision for credit losses was $2.5 billion, about half a billion dollars less than the StreetAccount estimate, in a sign that JPMorgan’s borrowers remain healthy. Specifically, the firm released reserves for consumers by $139 million in the quarter, though business reserves were boosted by $327 million. A year ago, the firm’s provision was $3.3 billion.
‘Complex set of risks’
Banks have enjoyed tail winds for the past few quarters, from a rebound in investment banking and trading activity to stable consumer credit. Bank’s trading desks, which match buyers and sellers of securities and provide them with financing to make trades, have feasted off of the volatility of the period, while more corporate clients are planning mergers to boost their prospects.
JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets and the world’s largest by market cap, has held up on both the Wall Street and the Main Street side of its businesses, leading its CFO to declare last year that it was “firing on all cylinders.”
This year, though, markets have been roiled by concerns over disruption from the latest artificial intelligence models, the risks posed by private credit and the Iran war that began in late February.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. economy was resilient in the first period, thanks to consumers and businesses spending and repaying debts, but he noted that uncertainties were mounting.
“There is an increasingly complex set of risks— such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices,” Dimon said.
“While we cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately play out, they are significant and they reinforce why we prepare the firm for a wide range of environments,” he said.
Of note, the bank lowered its guidance for full-year 2026 net interest income, a key driver of bank earnings, from the previous $104.5 billion to about $103 billion.
Goldman Sachs, a rival to JPMorgan when it comes to trading and investment banking, on Monday posted first-quarter results that topped expectations on record equities trading revenue.
Citigroup and Wells Fargo are out with their results Tuesday, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will report on Wednesday.
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