Talk is cheap, but this season’s bank earnings are anything but — delivering figures that investors can’t seem to get enough of. After being teased with modest downgrades and poor-sounding investor notes, Wall Street has been eager to see how financial institutions performed this quarter — and hear their outlooks for the industry, consumers, and the economy.

Banks are back: On Friday, three of America’s financial titans read out the first cropping of bank profits — marking the unofficial start of earnings season. In the third quarter, JPMorgan ($JPM), Wells FargoWFC

, and BlackRock ($BLK) generated beefier income from investment banking activities — and mostly delivered despite concerns about lofty expectations, rising credit delinquencies, and anticipated declines in net interest income (NII).

• JPMorgan and Wells Fargo saw investment banking fees rise by 31% and 37%, respectively. However, their NII diverged, withJPM
  seeing a 3% increase whileWFC
  dropped 11%.
• Meanwhile, BlackRock reported record inflows of $221B, boosting its total assets under management to $11.5T, significantly contributing to fee-based revenue.

Bank for your Buck

Initial results have provided some optimism, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR FundXLF

rising 2% on Friday — setting the stage for other major banks, like Goldman SachsGS

, Morgan StanleyMS

, and Bank of AmericaBAC

, set to report this week. However, while past results are important, investors are just as focused on what banking leaders expect for the future.

• As interest rates decline, many financial giants could report weaker revenues and profits, but those with large unrealized losses from real estate and low-yield bonds could benefit.
• Analysts will also be on the lookout for metrics like asset inflows, investment banking fees, and borrowing activity — factors that might offset higher interest rates and lower NII.

Signs of stress: Investors are also looking for insights into the state of the consumer and economy, which could have a bigger impact on earnings as the season progresses. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf noted “pronounced stress” among its lower-income consumers but said overall consumer health remained steady in the third quarter. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon took a broader view, declaring that the economy had finally achieved a soft landing — but warned of “treacherous” geopolitical tensions that appear to be “getting worse.”