Even as President Trump’s tariffs and trade restrictions have upended industries and generated a swirl of economic uncertainty, Wall Street keeps humming along.
Some of the nation’s biggest banks reported strong quarterly earnings on Tuesday, mostly topping analyst expectations and showing broad growth across their key lines of business. While bank leaders warned about the growing risks of a slowdown, “resilient” was the word many chose to describe the economy.
For the three months through September, JPMorgan Chase reported a 12 percent year-over-year increase in profit to $14.4 billion on revenue of $46.4 billion. Investment banking fees rose 16 percent, and credit card and auto lending revenue rose 12 percent, a sign of solid business on both Wall Street and Main Street.
But the bank added more padding to its reserve for credit losses, as charge-offs on soured loans ticked upward.
“While there have been some signs of a softening, particularly in job growth, the U.S. economy generally remained resilient,” Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan, said in a statement. “There continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation.”
A surge in deal making helped Goldman Sachs earn $4.1 billion in the third quarter, a jump of 37 percent from the same quarter last year. The bank recorded its highest-ever revenue for the third quarter, which totaled $15.2 billion. Its investment banking fees surged by more than 40 percent to about $2.7 billion, allowing the division to easily exceed analyst expectations.
Wells Fargo reported a profit of $5.6 billion, up 9 percent from the same quarter last year, on revenue of $21.4 billion. It, too, profited from growing credit card spending and balances — as well as higher fees for managing wealthy customers’ assets.
The bank celebrated a long-sought milestone last quarter, as the Federal Reserve freed it from the asset growth cap it imposed seven years ago as punishment for extensive misconduct, including the creation of sham bank accounts and improper home foreclosures.
“While some economic uncertainty remains, the U.S. economy has been resilient and the financial health of our clients and customers remains strong,” Charlie Scharf, the bank’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Since Mr. Trump’s re-election, a wide range of companies have announced plans to invest billions in the United States, often drawing praise from the president.
JPMorgan joined those ranks on Monday, saying that it would facilitate $1.5 trillion in financing and investments over the next 10 years, focused on industries “critical to national economic security and resiliency” in the United States. The plan includes up to $10 billion in direct equity and venture capital investments by the bank in a group of mostly American companies.
“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing,” Mr. Dimon said in a statement.
Stacy Cowley is a Times business reporter who writes about a broad array of topics related to consumer finance, including student debt, the banking industry and small business.
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