US bank results: JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo

J.P. Morgan closed the third quarter of the year with a net profit of $15.3 billion, equivalent to $5.57 per share, up 6.2 per cent on the same period in 2025 but below the $5.93 per share forecast by the market consensus. Revenue rose by 8 per cent year-on-year to $50.17 billion, compared with the $51.23 billion expected by analysts. The results include a loss of 658 million on securities held in the portfolio; excluding this, earnings per share would have been 5.75 dollars per share.

J.P. Morgan has posted another “solid quarter”, commented the chief executive Jamie Dimon. “Investment banking fees grew” by double figures, he added, whilst noting, however, that “the business slowed down somewhat” during the quarter. On a year-on-year basis, investment banking fees rose by 14 per cent, whilst compared with the second quarter of the year, they fell by 8 per cent. Revenues from the Markets division, which encompasses equities and fixed-income trading, increased by 15 per cent year-on-year. Net interest income, for its part, grew by 6 per cent to $24.7 billion, benefiting from the resilience of the US economy, which “continued to be underpinned by business investment and consumer spending”, Dimon remarked. The banker noted that “large public deficits, persistent inflation, high asset prices, rising interest rates and geopolitical conditions continue to simmer beneath the surface”. At present, these forces are manageable, he concluded, but “we remain prepared to deal with a wide range of scenarios”.

Goldman Sachs beat forecasts in the third quarter of 2026, with net revenue rising to $18.68 billion (compared with an expected figure of around $17bn), representing a 23 per cent increase on the same period in 2025 and an 8 per cent rise on the previous quarter. Net profit rose to $5.29 billion (+29 per cent year-on-year). In the first nine months of 2026, net revenue totalled $56.24 billion and net profit reached $17.55 billion. Diluted earnings per ordinary share (EPS) stood at $17.01 (against an expected $13 billion) in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $12.25 in the third quarter of 2025 and $20.98 in the second quarter of 2026. In the first nine months of 2026, EPS rose to $55.56, compared with $37.33 recorded in the same period of 2025. The annualised return on average equity (ROE) for ordinary shareholders stood at 18.7 per cent in the third quarter and 20.7 per cent in the first nine months of the year. The book value per ordinary share increased by 1.4 per cent between July and September and by 4.2 per cent in the first nine months of the year, reaching $372.64.

Wells Fargo ended the third quarter with diluted earnings per share up to $1.87 (compared with $1.66 in the third quarter of 2025). Total revenue stood at $21.87 billion, up from $21.43 billion in the same period last year. Net interest income rose to $12.52 billion. There was a significant increase in provisions for credit losses, which stood at $1.029 billion (up from $681 million).

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf commented: “Our third-quarter results reflect broad-based growth, higher profits and stronger returns. Diluted earnings per share rose to $1.87 in the third quarter, an increase of 13 per cent compared with a year ago. Our ROTCE rose from 14.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2025 to 16.2 per cent in the same period this year and to 16.3 per cent in the third quarter. Both average loan volumes and average deposit volumes have increased by 11 per cent compared with a year ago.”