Author: Claude, DeepChain TechFlow
DeepInsight Summary: On July 14, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo—all major banks—released their Q2 earnings reports simultaneously, all surpassing expectations. Goldman Sachs reported EPS of $20.98, nearly double last year’s figure, with its stock rising nearly 8% to a record high; JPMorgan Chase posted net profit of $21.2 billion, a quarterly record. Market volatility triggered by geopolitical conflicts boosted trading desks’ revenues, while SpaceX’s largest-ever IPO ($86 billion) injected substantial fee income into investment banking. However, “beating expectations” does not guarantee stock price gains—Citigroup’s comprehensive beats were met with a 4.5% decline, and JPMorgan Chase initially dropped 2% before reversing course. Morgan Stanley will release its results on July 15, with market expectations calling for an EPS increase of over 30% year-over-year.
Five major Wall Street banks all submitted their results on July 14, with each one outdoing the last.
Goldman Sachs recorded its strongest quarterly performance in company history. JPMorgan Chase posted record net profits. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all significantly exceeded market expectations. However, stock prices diverged sharply: Goldman Sachs rose nearly 8% to hit an all-time high, while Citigroup fell 4.5%. In June, SpaceX raised $86 billion in its IPO with a $1.77 trillion valuation, becoming the largest IPO in history, with nearly every major bank earning substantial fees from the offering.
Goldman Sachs profits doubled to a record, with shares rising nearly 8%.
Goldman Sachs reported Q2 earnings per share of $20.98, nearly double the $10.91 in the same period last year and significantly above the analyst expectation of $14.48. Net revenue reached $20.34 billion, a 39% year-over-year increase. Net profit was $6.63 billion, compared to $3.72 billion in the same period last year.
According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs’ equity trading division generated $7.42 billion in revenue, a 72% year-over-year increase, marking the third consecutive quarter it broke the previous record set by any bank. Derivatives, cash products, and prime brokerage all showed strong performance. Investment banking fees reached $3.4 billion, up 55% year-over-year, with equity underwriting surging 130% and debt underwriting rising 75%. According to Barron’s, Goldman Sachs served as the lead underwriter for SpaceX’s IPO in June. Per Bloomberg, the bank advised on announced mergers and acquisitions totaling over $1 trillion in the first half of the year.
Asset and Wealth Management revenue reached $4.6 billion, up 20% year-over-year. Assets under management rose to $4.04 trillion, compared to $3.29 trillion a year ago. Goldman Sachs’ board increased the quarterly dividend by 11% to $5 per share, returning $5.36 billion to shareholders during the quarter through repurchases and dividends.
CEO David Solomon stated in a statement that clients are entrusting Goldman Sachs with their most strategic transactions, which often drive联动 across the entire business chain.
According to Schaeffer's Investment Research, Goldman Sachs' stock rose approximately 8% on the day, reaching an intraday all-time high—the largest single-day gain since April 2025. The stock is up about 27% year to date.
JPMorgan Chase reported a quarterly record net profit of $21.2 billion, but guidance on expenses weighed on premarket trading.
JPMorgan Chase reported second-quarter net income of $21.2 billion, or $7.70 per share, the highest quarterly profit in the company's history. This includes $4.6 billion in gains from its Visa stake and $1 billion from other equity investments. Excluding one-time items, net income was $16.9 billion, or $6.14 per share, representing a 13% year-over-year increase. Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) was 23%.
Revenue reached $58 billion, a 27% year-over-year increase, with all business lines setting new records. Stock trading revenue hit $6 billion, surging 86% year-over-year. Fixed income trading revenue amounted to $6.1 billion, up 6% year-over-year. Combined, these two segments totaled $12.1 billion, surpassing the bank’s previous trading revenue record set in Q1 2026. Investment banking fees reached $3.3 billion, a 30% year-over-year increase and the highest level since 2021.
The management raised its full-year net interest income guidance to approximately $105.5 billion (up from $103 billion), but simultaneously increased its full-year adjusted expenses forecast to approximately $107.5 billion. The latter became the primary reason for a pre-market decline of about 2% in the stock price. According to FX Leaders, JPMorgan Chase ultimately closed up about 2% at $341, reversing its intraday trend.
CEO Jamie Dimon chose his words carefully. He said the U.S. economy is showing "significant resilience," with AI capital expenditures and fiscal stimulus as tailwinds, but warned that geopolitical instability, persistent inflation, growing sovereign debt, and elevated asset valuations are "moving like tectonic plates beneath the surface."
Bank of America EPS up 34% year-over-year; Citigroup's strongest revenue in a decade faces selling pressure
Bank of America reported Q2 earnings per share of $1.21, a 34% year-over-year increase, surpassing the market expectation of $1.12. Revenue reached $31.6 billion, up 15% year over year. Net profit was $9.1 billion, up 27% year over year. Sales and trading revenue increased 33% year over year, investment banking fees rose 50%, and asset management fees grew 20%. The efficiency ratio improved to 59%. CEO Brian Moynihan noted resilience among consumers and businesses.
Citigroup's Q2 earnings per share came in at $3.15, surpassing the expectations of all 20 analysts (consensus estimate: $2.74). According to Bloomberg, revenue reached $24.8 billion, a ten-year high, with net profit of $5.8 billion, up 45% year-over-year. Trading revenue totaled $2.3 billion, up 45%, and investment banking fees reached $1.55 billion, up 44%.
However, Citigroup's stock price fell by approximately 4.5% that day. According to Investing.com, market dissatisfaction centered on management's decision not to raise its full-year return target, keeping ROTCE at 10%-11%, despite having already achieved 13.1% year-to-date. CEO Jane Fraser stated that the company chose to reinvest excess earnings into its business rather than sacrifice long-term growth for short-term numerical gains. CFO Gonzalo Luchetti acknowledged that Citigroup has been slow to position itself in the equities business, and catching up to competitors will be a gradual process.
Wells Fargo reported Q2 revenue of $22.62 billion, an 8.6% year-over-year increase. Earnings per share were $2.00, up 25% year over year. Net interest income reached $12.3 billion, a 5% increase year over year. The stock closed down 0.56%.
Two key catalysts: geopolitical volatility fuels trading desks, SpaceX IPO fuels investment banks.
The driving force behind this quarter's better-than-expected performance was highly concentrated on two factors.
First is market volatility. The ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran has heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices higher and causing significant fluctuations in stock, commodity, and foreign exchange markets. This environment has been highly favorable for bank trading desks. Goldman Sachs' stock trading revenue increased by 72% year-over-year, JPMorgan Chase's by 86%, Citigroup's by 45%, and Bank of America's sales and trading revenue by 33%. According to Bloomberg, the combined trading revenue of these five major banks in Q2 approached $39 billion.
Second is SpaceX’s IPO. On June 12, SpaceX went public, raising $86 billion and achieving a valuation of $1.77 trillion, becoming the largest IPO in history. Goldman Sachs served as the lead underwriter, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup as key co-underwriters. According to Indmoney, in addition to underwriting fees, these banks also benefited from subsequent debt financing arrangements and new wealth management clients. Data from A.O. Shearman M&A law firm shows that global M&A transaction volume reached $2.8 trillion in the first half of 2026, the highest since 2021. Goldman Sachs is also a co-advisor for Anthropic’s planned IPO later this year.
Morgan Stanley released its earnings report today, with expectations already raised by peers.
Morgan Stanley will release its Q2 earnings report before the market open on July 15 (today).
According to Zacks data, the consensus EPS estimate is approximately $2.89, up 4% over the past week, representing a year-over-year growth of about 35.7%. Revenue expectations stand at approximately $19.34 billion, up about 16.9% year-over-year. Yesterday (July 14), Morgan Stanley rose about 4% amid broad upside surprises across its peers, though its own earnings report has not yet been released.
Morgan Stanley’s EPS of $3.43 last quarter significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue of $20.6 billion, up 16% year-over-year, and trading revenue reaching $5.2 billion, up 25% year-over-year. The wealth management division added $118 billion in new assets. Compared to peers’ performance, the market expected Morgan Stanley to beat estimates, but expectations had already been raised. Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski downgraded the rating to "Underperform" on June 30, making him one of the few bearish voices currently.