The five largest US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, collectively achieved $49 billion in profits during the second quarter of 2026, shattering previous records. JPMorgan Chase alone reported a record quarterly profit of $21.2 billion, up 41% year-on-year. Goldman Sachs saw its profits surge by almost 80% to $6.2 billion (£4.9 billion using the historical exchange rate provided in the articles) for its best quarter in five years, while Citigroup's profits rose 45% to $5.4 billion (£4.3 billion). Bank of America experienced a 27% increase to a record $8.6 billion (£6.8 billion), and Wells Fargo delivered a 17% increase to $6.1 billion (£4.8 billion).
These unprecedented earnings were largely attributed to a perfect storm of factors. Geopolitical uncertainty and technological advancements, particularly in AI, fueled a trading frenzy that significantly boosted Wall Street's trading divisions. The hot IPO market, highlighted by SpaceX's historic public offering, also contributed substantially to the banks' revenue streams through fees. Investment banking fees saw a rise due to increased takeover activity, including US firms targeting London-based companies.
Bank executives, while celebrating the record profits, expressed cautious optimism about the longevity of this boom. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stated, "It's getting close to as good as it gets. We just don't know how long it's going to last." His finance chief, Jeremy Barnum, admitted it would be "naive" not to worry about a potential market bubble, despite the current "very healthy, active, exuberant market." Other executives, like Bank of America's Alastair Borthwick and Gabelli Funds' portfolio manager Macrae Sykes, also acknowledged the extraordinary nature of the results.
The extraordinary performance was also driven by record equities trading revenues. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America reported a combined $19.4 billion in equities trading revenue, nearly doubling their Q2 2024 figures and surpassing analyst expectations by 72% year-on-year. This surge was fueled by speculative interest in AI-linked companies, significant index rebalancing, and facilitating trades for specialist firms, capitalizing on market volatility around AI and semiconductor stocks. The banks are also increasing spending, notably on AI tools, though JPMorgan cautioned against "incredibly expensive" AI models.
