Wall Street's major banks are set to report a robust second quarter in 2026, with trading revenue anticipated to reach almost $39 billion. This surge is significantly bolstered by the blockbuster SpaceX mega IPO, which generated approximately $500 million in fees for banks involved, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Overall market revenue for the largest global banks is expected to increase by at least 15% year-on-year, according to Angad Chhatwal of Coalition Greenwich.
Equities trading is identified as a primary driver of this growth. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan are all projected to achieve record-breaking equities trading revenues for the quarter, largely due to high client activity around the SpaceX IPO, the AI boom, and increased investor demand. BCG Expand forecasts a 31% rise in equities revenues for the first half of 2026, reaching $67 billion. Bank of America's Co-President Jim DeMare indicated that the bank's markets revenue could exceed an initial 15% growth forecast, fueled by its equities business.
The overall strong performance in trading and dealmaking is also attributed to persistent market volatility stemming from geopolitical tensions, such as the Iran war shock, and uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence disruption. While trading revenue is strong, some analysts, like Sean Dunlop of Morningstar, suggest it might slow compared to the first quarter, which saw unusually high volatility. However, executives from banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase have expressed optimism, with Citigroup's CFO expecting high-single to low-double digit growth in trading revenue, and JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon anticipating markets revenues to be "a little better" than analyst estimates of 11% year-on-year growth.
Beyond trading, investment banking revenue is also expected to rise by a mid-teen percentage in the second quarter. Global investment banking revenue hit $61.4 billion in the first half of 2026, a 24% jump from the previous year, with JPMorgan leading in overall investment banking revenue and Goldman Sachs dominating M&A advisory. Goldman Sachs, for example, advised on over $1 trillion worth of announced mergers and acquisitions in 2026, a record pace. Morgan Stanley's CEO Ted Pick also noted a "pretty good time to be in the capital markets business" due to significant core investment banking activity.
