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By Valuentum Analysts
JPMorgan’s (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon:
The Firm delivered strong results in the first quarter, reporting net income of $16.5 billion.
Performance was strong across our businesses. In the CIB, revenue grew 19%. Markets revenue reached a record $11.6 billion, while IB fees increased 28% due to stronger advisory and ECM activity. Additionally, Payments continued to deliver very strong results, with double-digit growth in deposits and fees. In CCB, revenue rose 7%. We continued to acquire new customers at a robust rate across the franchise, including achieving record net inflows in self-directed investing and opening more than 450,000 net new checking accounts. Finally, in AWM, revenue increased 11%, and flows remained healthy with $54 billion of long-term AUM net inflows.
Regarding capital, we were pleased to see that the recent capital re-proposals mitigated the most severe consequences of the 2023 proposals. However, there are still aspects of the proposed rules that need to be addressed. We have ample amounts of capital and liquidity, with $291 billion in CET1 capital, $572 billion in total loss-absorbing capacity and $1.5 trillion in cash and marketable securities. We hope that regulators prioritize well-designed regulation and address these aspects of the proposed rules to allow banks of all sizes to deploy their resources to support the real economy.
The U.S. economy remained resilient in the quarter, with consumers still earning and spending and businesses still healthy. Several tailwinds are supporting this resiliency, including increased fiscal stimulus, the benefits of deregulation, AI-driven capital investment and the Fed’s asset purchases. At the same time, there is an increasingly complex set of risks—such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices. While we cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately play out, they are significant and they reinforce why we prepare the Firm for a wide range of environments.
I want to express my deep gratitude to our employees across the globe for how they work to support our customers and communities every single day.
Wells Fargo’s (WFC) CEO Charlie Scharf:
We saw continued positive impacts from the investments we have been making with diluted earnings per share increasing 15%, revenue increasing 6%, loans increasing 11%, and deposits increasing 7% compared to a year ago. Revenue growth was driven by both a 5% increase in net interest income and an 8% increase in noninterest income. Credit performance remained strong with net loan charge-offs stable at 45 basis points. We returned $4 billion to shareholders through common stock repurchases while continuing to operate with significant excess capital.
Our consistent focus on investing across all of our businesses helped contribute to broad-based revenue growth, with each of our operating segments increasing revenue from a year ago. Consumer Banking and Lending revenue grew 7% and Commercial Banking grew 7% as well. Within our Corporate and Investment Bank we saw an 11% increase in Banking revenue and a 19% increase in Markets revenue. Wealth and Investment Management grew 14%.
In our credit card business, we launched two new cards in the first quarter, and the product enhancements we have made over the past five years drove higher card fees and purchase volume. Auto originations and balances increased, and new consumer checking account openings were higher. We continued to see momentum in our Wealth and Investment Management business with client assets growth of 11% to $2.2 trillion. Strong customer engagement helped to drive higher loan and deposit balances in Commercial Banking. We continued to grow our Investment Banking business, including increasing market share in Equity Capital Markets in the first quarter, and we ended the quarter with a strong investment banking pipeline.
While markets have been volatile, we still see continued resiliency in the underlying economy and the financial health of the consumers and businesses we serve remains strong, though the impact of higher oil prices will likely take some time to materialize. We will continue to monitor trends and respond accordingly, and we are well positioned to support our customers across a range of economic scenarios. We have clear strategic plans in place that are focused on growing returns by using our broad set of capabilities. I am encouraged by the momentum we are seeing and confident in our ability to continue to grow across our businesses.
Morgan Stanley’s (MS) CEO Ted Pick:
Morgan Stanley reported a record quarter. Strong execution resulted in net revenues of $20.6 billion, EPS of $3.43 and a ROTCE of 27.1%. Institutional Securities benefited from robust client engagement and strength globally. Wealth Management demonstrated continued momentum, with net new assets of $118 billion and fee-based asset flows of $54 billion. These results affirm the capabilities of our Integrated Firm as we deliver a higher plane of operating performance.
Goldman Sachs’ (GS) CEO David Soloman:
In the first quarter, we delivered a very strong performance, generating net revenues of $17.2 billion, net earnings of $5.6 billion and earnings per share of $17.55. All three of which were the second highest in the history of Goldman Sachs. As a result, we delivered a return on equity of 19.8% and an ROTE of 21.3%. These results reflect the strength of our global franchise and the depth of our relationships, and our ability to execute for clients, while maintaining a strong focus on risk management in a highly dynamic environment.
2026 began with a degree of optimism. Markets hit record highs and confidence continued to build with most clients focused on growth, strategic activity and capital deployment. As we’ve said, things rarely move in a straight line. And as the quarter progressed, the macro environment started to weigh on sentiment, volatility increased meaningfully amid concerns around AI-driven disruption in sectors like software, heightened uncertainty in parts of private credit and the conflict in the Middle East. Against this backdrop, our performance underscores the importance of having a scaled, diversified and global franchise that can support clients across a wide range of market conditions.
Bank of America’s (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan and CFO Alastair Borthwick:
Earnings per share rose 25% year-over-year, starting 2026 with strong momentum. Net income of $8.6 billion reflected the team’s disciplined execution. The team produced 290 basis points of operating leverage. This resulted in strong year-over-year improvement in returns on equity and assets. Revenue growth of 7% year-over-year included net interest income that was better than we expected, up 9%, as well as double-digit growth in sales and trading revenue, investment banking fees and asset management fees. We remain watchful of evolving risks. However, we saw healthy client activity, including solid consumer spending and stable asset quality, indicating a resilient American economy.
With our efficiency ratio improving nearly 170 basis points year-over-year to 61%, we once again demonstrated our flexibility to invest for growth, while practicing good expense discipline. Average deposits of more than $2 trillion grew for the 11th consecutive quarter, while loans were up 9% year-over-year, improving across every segment. In addition, our strong liquidity, and CET1 capital comfortably above regulatory requirements, helped enable us to return more than $9 billion to shareholders through common stock dividends and share repurchases. We believe our diversified business model, durable balance sheet and commitment to Responsible Growth continue to be sources of strength.
Citigroup’s (C) CEO Jane Fraser:
We’re off to an exceptionally strong start in 2026, with revenue up 14% and net income growing 42%. Services had an outstanding quarter with revenue up 17% and Markets crossed $7 billion in revenue. Banking continued to build momentum with fees up 12% amid a record first quarter in M&A. Wealth saw revenue grow 11% and continued to improve its returns and U.S. Consumer Cards saw 4% revenue growth and returns of nearly 20%. Our diversified business model continues to drive consistent revenue growth and we remain a source of financial strength and trust for our clients during uncertain times.
We’ve entered into the final phase of our divestitures and 90% of our Transformation programs are now at or near our target state. We demonstrated our commitment to returning capital by repurchasing $6.3 billion shares during the quarter. We remain very much on track to deliver the 10-11% RoTCE target this year. I’m excited for next month’s Investor Day where we’ll discuss our path forward and how we will realize the significant upside Citi offers.
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Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, QQQM, DIA, VOT, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, QQQM, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, RSP, SCHG, QQQ, QQQM, and VOO. Some of the other securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact Valuentum for more information about its editorial policies.
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