Wall Street giants, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are set to see strong second-quarter earnings, largely driven by their involvement in the SpaceX initial public offering (IPO), which raised nearly $86 billion. Banks collectively earned around $500 million in fees from the SpaceX IPO, contributing significantly to revenue growth for cash-equities desks and investment banking divisions. While SpaceX reportedly offered a low gross spread of 0.75% or less to its underwriters, among the lowest on record for a conventional IPO, the sheer size of the offering meant banks still secured a substantial dollar fee.
The blockbuster SpaceX IPO is a primary engine behind an expected minimum 15% year-on-year increase in market revenue for the largest global banks. Investment banking revenue globally hit an impressive $61.4 billion in the first half of 2026, marking a 24% increase from the previous year. JPMorgan leads in overall investment banking revenue, while Goldman Sachs is the top M&A advisor, having advised on over $1 trillion in announced mergers and acquisitions in 2026 alone.
Several major U.S. banks have provided optimistic outlooks for their Q2 earnings. JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon projected a 10% or more rise in investment banking fees for the quarter. Bank of America anticipates exceeding its initial forecast of 15% growth in markets revenue, propelled by its equities business. Citigroup expects trading revenue to climb by high-single to low-double digits and investment banking revenue to increase by a mid-teen percentage. Beyond SpaceX, other significant deals in Q2 included Cerebras' $6.4 billion IPO and Google-parent Alphabet's $85 billion share sale.
