Wall Street's Biggest Banks Are Splitting Into Winners and Losers This Earnings Season.
Big banks make money two ways, by lending it out and by working markets for clients. This quarter those two engines pulled in opposite directions. The first batch of Q3 2026 reports landed Tuesday from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup.
Markets desks did the heavy lifting
Goldman posted earnings per share of $17.01, beating the $13.09 consensus by nearly 30%. Its equities and fixed-income desks benefited from elevated volatility and client activity.
JPMorgan's markets revenue climbed 15% year over year. Equity markets jumped 49% while fixed income slipped 4%.
Citigroup's fixed-income desk recorded its best third quarter in at least a decade, at $4.4B. Equity markets revenue there rose 14% to $1.7B on prime services growth.
Dealmaking woke up too. Citi's investment banking revenue grew 9%, led by a 77% surge in equity capital markets. Wells Fargo logged M&A revenue increasing 30%, and JPMorgan's investment banking fees rose 14%, led by advisory.
Wealth management kept compounding
Fee income from managing rich clients' money proved the steadiest line in the group. JPMorgan's asset and wealth management revenue reached $6.9B, up 14%, with assets under management of $5.2T, up 13%.
Wells Fargo's wealth and investment management revenue grew 12% from a year ago. Citi's wealth unit delivered steady, broad-based growth, and its services division generated $6.6B, a 15% gain.
Lending revenue is the soft spot
Two of the four missed on the top line. JPMorgan reported revenue of $50.17B against a $51.23B forecast, and earnings per share of $5.75 came in about 3% below the $5.93 consensus.
Wells Fargo's revenue of $21.87B fell about 2% short of estimates, even as earnings per share of $1.87 edged past by $0.03. Consumer and commercial lenders with heavy interest-income exposure are finding revenue growth harder.
Wells Fargo's net interest income, the gap between what a bank earns on loans and pays on deposits, came in at $12.52B. Noninterest income was $9.35B.
Average loans at Wells rose 11% to $1.03T and average deposits rose 11% to $1.48T.
Expenses are the other squeeze. JPMorgan's costs hit $27.3B, up 12% year over year, and Goldman's expenses rose even through its beat. Citi ran the other way, trimming total operating expenses 2% to $13.95B.
Credit, capital, and the next reports
Consumer spending held up. Debit and credit card sales volume at JPMorgan grew 10% year over year.
Still, reserves are building. JPMorgan booked credit costs of $2.7B, including $2.2B of net charge-offs and a $539M net reserve build, with a card services charge-off rate of 2.91%.
Wells Fargo's provision for credit losses rose to $1.03B from $681M a year earlier.
JPMorgan also pulled back on buybacks, and chief executive Jamie Dimon said the bank can redeploy that capital at good returns over time. He flagged sticky inflation and elevated asset prices as risks, and said credit terms have gotten a little loose.
Citigroup finished the quarter with a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 12.8% and book value per share of $115.61.
Wells Fargo's chief executive Charlie Scharf pointed to AI infrastructure investment, high employment, and steady wage growth as forces that outweigh the risks, and he called worries about AI-driven deposit flight overdone.
The second wave arrives Wednesday. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and BlackRock report, and the same split applies. Morgan Stanley and BlackRock lean on markets and fee income, while Bank of America carries the biggest consumer lending book of the group.
