Banks reported another quarter of strong profits, with deal activity and market volatility boosting revenue at major Wall Street investment banking units, but executives used earnings calls to warn that oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty could undermine consumers and growth as 2026 progresses. In the latest results, JPMorgan and other large banks tied their upbeat performance to a resilient U.S. economy and to continued momentum in mergers, acquisitions and capital markets activity.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the outlook for the rest of the year reflects what he described as “an increasingly complex set of risks,” pointing to wars, energy prices and trade wars as part of the global picture. He said those tensions are “significant and they reinforce why we prepare the firm for a wide range of environments,” and JPMorgan slightly lowered its full-year profit forecast in response to the updated risk view.
The strongest quarter-to-quarter drivers for several big banks came from investment banking. JPMorgan reported a 30% jump in investment banking fees, while Citigroup reported a 12% rise in advisory fees, as the industry benefited from a flurry of deals. Bank executives also said trading activity rose alongside markets’ early-year volatility, giving trading desks more opportunity as stocks and other assets moved sharply in the first three months.
Despite the earnings strength, executives highlighted how energy costs can feed into household behavior. Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo said the bank was seeing customers spending 30% to 40% more on gas using debit cards while cutting back on discretionary purchases. Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf added in a call with investors that higher energy prices were putting pressure on some lower-income customers, and Dimon said that the effect of higher oil prices would likely take time to show up more broadly if prices remain elevated.
Banks also pointed to continued consumer credit use as another strain and another indicator of demand. JPMorgan said credit card loans were up 7% from a year earlier, while Citigroup reported credit card loans up 2%. The companies’ remarks linked the consumer picture to how energy prices can shift spending even as banks still benefit from market activity.
JPMorgan’s profitability reflected that mix of deal revenue and broader financial performance. The bank posted a profit of $16.49 billion, up 13% from a year earlier, and reported $5.94 per share. Wells Fargo reported a profit of $5.25 billion, and Citigroup reported a profit of $5.79 billion.
Executives also addressed investor concerns about exposure to private credit, a type of lending that has grown in popularity in recent years. Wells Fargo said it had roughly $36 billion in exposure to private credit loans but that those loans were still performing well. JPMorgan and Citigroup said they had $50 billion and $22 billion, respectively, in exposure to private credit loans; in a call with investors, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Barnum said the bank remains “broadly comfortable” with the private credit loans on its books.
In related developments, Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter net earnings of $5.6 billion, or $17.55 per share, on net revenue of $17.2 billion, as strength in its trading and investment banking businesses lifted its results.