JPMorgan Chase tops estimates on stronger-than-expected trading, investment banking

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday topped analysts’ estimates on better-than-expected revenue from fixed income trading and investment banking.

Here’s what the company reported:

• Earnings: $5.24 a share, may not compare with $4.48 a share LSEG estimate
• Revenue: $45.68 billion vs $44.06 billion estimate

The bank said that second-quarter earnings fell 17% to $14.9 billion, or $5.24 a share, from the year-earlier period, when it had a $7.9 billion gain on Visa shares. Even when backing out a $774 million income tax benefit that boosted per share earnings by 28 cents, JPMorgan topped estimates for the quarter.

Revenue fell 10% to $45.68 billion, though the comparison with a year ago was also impacted by the bank’s Visa stake.

CEO Jamie Dimon touted his bank’s results and ability to boost dividends and repurchase shares while repeating his frequent warnings about the risks from U.S. trade policy, overseas conflict and rising fiscal deficits.

“The U.S. economy remained resilient in the quarter,” Dimon said in the release. “The finalization of tax reform and potential deregulation are positive for the economic outlook. However, significant risks persist – including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices.”

JPMorgan’s trading operations were able to benefit from turbulent conditions in the quarter as President Donald Trump roiled markets with his push to overhaul global trade agreements.

The bank said fixed income trading revenue jumped 14% to $5.7 billion, topping the StreetAccount estimate by roughly $500 million, thanks to activity in currencies, rates and commodities. Equities trading revenue jumped 15% to $3.2 billion, matching the estimate.

Investment banking fees rose 7% to $2.5 billion on higher debt underwriting and advisory activity, roughly $450 million higher than the StreetAccount estimate.

While investment banking activity “started slow” in the quarter amid the confusion of Trump’s April 2 trade announcements, activity gained as the quarter went on and markets recovered, Dimon said.

That explains how investment banking results improved so much from guidance given at the bank’s annual investor conference in May, when it said that revenue there was headed for a “mid-teens” percentage decline.

JPMorgan’s results in the quarter were also helped by a $2.8 billion provision for credit losses, which is better than the $3.14 billion expected by analysts.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are also scheduled to report quarterly results Tuesday, with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley releasing results Wednesday.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.