JPMorgan Chase reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Tuesday, with higher-than-expected fixed income and investment banking revenue.
Here’s what the company reported:
- Profit: $5.94 per share versus $5.45 estimated by LSEG
- Revenue: $50.54 billion versus estimated $49.17 billion
The company said its net income rose 13% to $16.49 billion, or $5.94 per share. Revenue rose 10% to $50.54 billion.
The bank’s fixed-income trading revenue rose 21% to $7.08 billion, about $370 million above StreetAccount’s estimate, driven by increased activity in commodities, credit, currencies and emerging markets.
Investment banking fees jumped 28% to $2.88 billion, about $260 million more than expected, due to higher merger advisory and stock underwriting fees.
Another factor that helped the bank beat expectations in the quarter: It set aside less money for loan losses than analysts had expected.
The company’s allowance for credit losses was $2.5 billion, about half a billion dollars less than StreetAccount’s estimate, a sign that JPMorgan’s borrowers remain in good health. Specifically, the company released consumer reserves of $139 million during the quarter, although business reserves were increased by $327 million. A year ago, the company’s provision was $3.3 billion.
Banks have benefited from tailwinds in recent quarters, from a rebound in investment banking and trading activities to stable consumer credit. Bank trading floors, which match buyers and sellers of securities and provide them with financing to make trades, have delighted in the period’s volatility as more corporate clients consider mergers to improve their prospects.
JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets and the world’s largest by market capitalization, has held up on both the Wall Street and Main Street sides of its business, leading its chief financial officer to declare last year that it was “running on all cylinders.”
This year, however, markets have been buffeted by concerns about disruption from the latest models of artificial intelligence, risks posed by private credit and the war in Iran that began in late February.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy was resilient during this period, thanks to consumers and businesses spending and paying down debt, but he noted that uncertainties were rising.
“There is an increasingly complex set of risks, such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global budget deficits and high asset prices,” Dimon said.
“While we cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately manifest, they are important and reinforce why we are preparing the company for a wide range of environments,” he said.
Of note, the bank lowered its forecast for full-year 2026 net interest income, a key driver of bank profits, from the previous $104.5 billion to around $103 billion.
The bank’s shares fell about 1% in premarket trading.
Goldman Sachsa trading and investment banking rival to JPMorgan, reported first-quarter results Monday that beat expectations for record stock trading revenue.
Citi Group And Wells Fargo came out with their results on Tuesday, while Bank of America And Morgan Stanley will report on Wednesday.
