--- title: "America's Biggest Banks Post Record Second-Quarter Profits, Led by a Trading Surge" description: "JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all reported higher second-quarter profit on July 14, powered by booming stock-trading desks and a rebound in investment banking. But JPMorgan's headline record leaned partly on a one-time gain, a reminder to read past the top line." category: "Companies" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/companies author: "Sofia Marchetti" published: 2026-07-14T13:26:00.000Z updated: 2026-07-14T13:26:00.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/america-s-biggest-banks-post-record-second-quarter-profits-led-by-a-trading-surg tags: ["banks", "earnings", "jpmorgan", "goldman-sachs"] --- # America's Biggest Banks Post Record Second-Quarter Profits, Led by a Trading Surge JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all reported higher second-quarter profit on July 14, powered by booming stock-trading desks and a rebound in investment banking. But JPMorgan's headline record leaned partly on a one-time gain, a reminder to read past the top line. America's five largest banks all reported richer second-quarter profits on Tuesday, July 14, in a rare single-day cluster of results that offered a broad read on the health of markets, dealmaking and the consumer. Trading desks and a revival in investment banking did most of the heavy lifting. The standout number, JPMorgan Chase's record quarterly profit, also came with an asterisk worth understanding. ## JPMorgan's record, read carefully JPMorgan Chase reported net income of $21.2 billion, or $7.70 a share, on managed revenue of $58.0 billion, up 27% from a year earlier, [the highest quarterly profit in the bank's history according to results carried by TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:c17fc929ae690:0-jpmorgan-chase-posts-2q26-net-income-21-2b-managed-revenue-58-0b-eps-7-70/). The headline figure, though, was flattered by one-off items: a $4.6 billion gain on the bank's stake in Visa and about $1 billion in gains on other equity investments. Stripping those out, [net income was $16.9 billion, or $6.14 a share, still a strong result at a 23% return on tangible common equity, per the same disclosure](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:c17fc929ae690:0-jpmorgan-chase-posts-2q26-net-income-21-2b-managed-revenue-58-0b-eps-7-70/). The operating story was the trading floor: equity-markets revenue jumped 86% from a year earlier to $6.0 billion. The bank also raised its full-year guidance for net interest income, the gap between what it earns on loans and pays on deposits, to roughly $105.5 billion from $103 billion. ## Goldman Sachs and the trading boom The trading theme ran through Goldman Sachs, which is the most markets-driven of the group. It reported net earnings of $6.63 billion and earnings of $20.98 a share on net revenue of $20.34 billion, [with an annualized return on equity of 23.5%, according to its own earnings release](https://www.goldmansachs.com/pressroom/press-releases/2026/2026-07-14-q2-results). That earnings figure ran well ahead of the roughly $14.50 a share analysts had expected, a beat driven by record revenue in its global banking and markets division. ## Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup Bank of America posted net income of $9.1 billion, up 27% from a year earlier, and earnings of $1.21 a share on revenue of $31.6 billion, [topping analyst estimates as equities-trading revenue rose 70% to $3.6 billion, per results reported by TipRanks](https://www.tipranks.com/news/bac-earnings-bank-of-america-stock-slips-despite-q2-beat-on-banking-and-trading-profits). Its shares still slipped after the report, a sign of how high expectations had climbed going in. Wells Fargo earned $6.4 billion, or $2.00 a share, on revenue of $22.6 billion, up 9%, [ahead of the $1.72 a share analysts had penciled in, with investment-banking fees up 35% to $939 million](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/wells-fargo-q2-2026-earnings-111157789.html). Citigroup reported revenue of $24.8 billion, up 14% from a year earlier, and net income of $5.8 billion. ## Why bank earnings matter beyond the banks Big-bank results double as an economic scan, because lenders touch nearly every transaction in the economy. The strength this quarter was concentrated in capital markets, where volatile prices and a busier pipeline of mergers and share sales lift trading and advisory fees. That is good news for Wall Street, but it is also the most cyclical part of banking, and can fade as fast as it arrives. The signals on the everyday consumer and business borrower were steadier than spectacular. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon described the US economy as showing "notable resiliency," while pointing to risks including geopolitics, sticky inflation and high asset valuations. For investors, the quarter reinforced a familiar lesson: the headline profit number is where the reading starts, not where it ends. ## Sources - [JPMorgan Chase posts 2Q26 net income $21.2B, managed revenue $58.0B; EPS $7.70](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:c17fc929ae690:0-jpmorgan-chase-posts-2q26-net-income-21-2b-managed-revenue-58-0b-eps-7-70/) - [Goldman Sachs Reports 2026 Second Quarter Earnings Per Common Share of $20.98](https://www.goldmansachs.com/pressroom/press-releases/2026/2026-07-14-q2-results) - [Wells Fargo Q2 2026 earnings beat on wealth, investment banking](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/wells-fargo-q2-2026-earnings-111157789.html) - [BAC Earnings: Bank of America stock slips despite Q2 beat](https://www.tipranks.com/news/bac-earnings-bank-of-america-stock-slips-despite-q2-beat-on-banking-and-trading-profits)