JPMorgan Chase reported profit and revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations as the firm released money set aside for loan losses.
The bank posted second-quarter earnings of $11.9 billion, or $3.78 per share, exceeding the $3.21 estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Companywide revenue of $31.4 billion exceeded the $29.9 billion estimate.
One key factor is that after the industry set aside tens of billions of dollars for loan losses last year, banks have been releasing reserves as borrowers have held up better than expected.
There was a wide range of expectations for second-quarter credit loss provisions at JPMorgan; analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a release of as much as $967 million to a provision of up to $2.6 billion. The bank had a $5.2 billion reserve release in the first quarter.
Trading revenue is expected to decline from the year earlier period, which saw frenzied activity in the aftermath of Federal Reserve actions to bolster markets during the early stage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last month, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that while trading revenue will decline from the previous year, investment banking revenue was headed for a 20% jump due to strength in mergers fees, he said.
Analysts may ask Dimon about the bank’s succession planning after it named two senior executives, Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak, to run the company’s sprawling consumer bank. The changes led to the promotion of global research head Jeremy Barnum to CFO succeeding Piepszak; this is Barnum’s first quarter handling the firm’s earnings release.
Dimon may also be asked about his acquisition strategy after making the third purchase of a fintech start-up since December. Last month, the bank agreed to buy ESG investing platform OpenInvest, CNBC reported first.
Shares of JPMorgan have climbed 24% so far this year, exceeding the $17% rise of the S&P 500 Index.
Here’s what Wall Street expected:
Earnings: $3.21 per share, 132% higher than a year earlier, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue: $29.9 billion, 11% lower than a year earlier.
Trading Revenue: Fixed income $4.16 billion, Equities $2.31 billion, according to FactSet.
Investment Banking Revenue: $3.1 billion.
