JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM, ETR:CMC) posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations to kick off bank earnings season in strong style.
The largest US bank by assets reported progress for all its divisions, led by a 49% rise in investment banking fees and record revenues from asset management.
Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon called for balanced regulation for the banking sector and heralded the optimism from corporations who are "encouraged by expectations for a more progrowth agenda and improved collaboration" with the incoming Trump administration.
JPM reported earnings for the fourth quarter came in at $4.81 a share, up 10% sequentially and 58% year-on-year, plus beating the $4.11 expected.
Revenue of $43.74 billion was up 10% on a year ago and better than the $41.73 billion average Street estimate.
The commercial & investment bank (CIB) increased revenue 18% and net income 59%, with investment banking revenues up 49% to $2.6 billion, which was in line with expectations, but fixed-income sales and trading up 20% to $5 billion, which was higher than predicted, and markets revenue rising 21% to $7 billion.
Dimon said for the CIB "clients were active" and for the consumer banking, cards and wealth management arms "we continued to acquire new customers", with nearly 2 million net new checking accounts opened during 2024.
Client asset net inflows into the wealth and asset management arm totaled $486 billion in 2024, bringing cumulative net inflows over the past two years to $976 billion, he highlighted.
With Donald Trump about to return to the White House next week, Dimon had a few words to say regarding regulation, calling for the rules to be "designed to effectively balance promoting economic growth and maintaining a safe and sound banking system. It is possible to achieve both goals.
"This is not about weakening regulation," he said, "but rather about setting rules that are transparent, fair, holistic in their approach and based on rigorous data analysis, so that banks can play their critical role in the economy and markets."
While he felt businesses are more optimistic about the economy and encouraged by growth expectations from the new government, he acknowledged significant risks: that inflation "may persist for some time" and that geopolitical conditions "remain the most dangerous and complicated since World War II".
JPM shares climbed 1.1% to $250 in early trading on Wednesday.