JPMorgan profit rises on deal-making, stock trading windfall
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- JPMorgan posted Q2 profit of $21.2 billion ($7.70 per share), up from $14.99 billion ($5.24 per share) a year earlier — a record quarter for the largest U.S. lender.
- Investment banking fees jumped 30% year-over-year to their highest level since 2021, fueled by a rebound in U.S. IPOs led by SpaceX's history-making listing; JPMorgan was among the lead underwriters.
- Markets revenue surged 35% year-over-year, with equity trading revenue up 86% and fixed-income trading up 6%, as Middle East conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruptions drove asset-class swings.
- Profit got a $4.6 billion boost from a gain tied to JPMorgan's stake in Visa.
- Net interest income (excluding markets) rose 4% to $23.7 billion on average loans up 10%; JPMorgan raised its 2026 interest income forecast to $96.5 billion from $95 billion.
- Shares fell 2% in volatile premarket trading after the bank hiked its 2026 expense forecast to $107.5 billion from $105 billion.
- JPMorgan retained the No. 1 spot in global investment banking league tables and was co-adviser on NextEra Energy's $67 billion Dominion Energy merger and lead active bookrunner on Alphabet's $85 billion equity offering; global M&A announced this year has surpassed $3 trillion.
Why it matters: JPMorgan's results show Wall Street's deal-making revival — anchored by SpaceX's historic IPO — is now a revenue windfall, with equity trading alone up 86%. Investors flinched at the higher 2026 expense guide ($107.5B vs. $105B) rather than the record quarter, sending shares down 2% premarket despite Dimon flagging 'elevated asset prices' as a risk.
