Wednesday kickstarted a season to remember, at least if you’re a big bank. Financial giants JPMorgan ChaseJPM

, Goldman SachsGS

, and Wells FargoWFC

were among the banks reporting stunning profits to cap off a bountiful 2024. While the results weren’t necessarily a surprise to investors — who expected banks to capitalize on the hot market and lending demand — the showings still exceeded analysts’ expectations.

• Profits at Goldman Sachs doubled, while JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo’s profits rose 50% and 47%, respectively, in the quarter — even an ailing CitigroupC
  turned a multi-billion dollar profit after massive losses last year.
• Together, the four banks drew in more than $26B in profits, a product of a boom in investment banking, trading, and debt underwriting — and raised guidance for 2025 on new optimism.

Go big or go home: Basking in their performance, the Financial Select Sector SPDR FundXLF

rose nearly 3%, setting expectations high for the dozens of large banks reporting next — including Bank of AmericaBAC

, Morgan StanleyMS

, and U.S. BancorpUSB

. As you can imagine, investors are expecting those results to be equally outstanding.

But there’s a catch… While expectations for big banks remain robust, investors are widely anticipating results from regional banks — which have shown signs of a rebound in recent weeks — and community banks, which have been suffering from higher rates and could be affected by the ongoing LA Fires.