Six Giants Report on Earnings Season's Opening Day: Goldman Profit Jumps 29%, JPMorgan Posts a Rare Miss, Citi Books Its Best Third-Quarter Revenue in a Decade
New York — The U.S. third-quarter earnings season officially opened on Tuesday, October 13, with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Citi — four big banks — reporting before the bell on the same day as Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth. The six companies' numbers did not draw a consistent picture: trading and investment banking generally made money in turbulent markets, but 'beats' and 'misses' appeared on the same day, and interest-rate and bond-market volatility is repricing bank stocks.
Goldman Sachs was the day's standout. Third-quarter net income of $5.29 billion, or $17.01 a share, was up from $4.10 billion and $12.25 a share a year earlier and far above the LSEG analyst consensus of $13.02 a share; net revenue of $18.68 billion was the second-highest quarterly level in the company's history, with an annualized return on common equity of 18.7%. The engine was equities trading: Middle East conflict, a September Fed rate hike and a chip-stock selloff made markets swing violently, investors repositioned heavily, and Goldman's equities revenue jumped 72% year on year to $6.44 billion, while fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) revenue eased 1% to $3.47 billion. Chief Executive David Solomon said in a statement that despite a complex environment, clients continue to seek Goldman's advice and financing, and the firm is able to keep delivering. A background figure is worth noting: LSEG data show global M&A volume fell 41% quarter on quarter in the third quarter to $993 billion, below $1 trillion for the first time since the second quarter of 2025 — the trading boom happened against a backdrop of cooling deal-making.
JPMorgan, by contrast, delivered a rare 'miss.' Third-quarter net income was $15.3 billion, or $5.57 a share (a year earlier: $14.4 billion and $5.07), with markets revenue up 15% and investment banking fees up 14% year on year; but earnings per share came in below the $5.90 consensus and revenue of $50.91 billion also missed the expected $51.22 billion, with fixed-income trading revenue about $550 million lighter than expected. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned the same day that if interest rates rose by another percentage point, the financial pain across America would deepen further — a remark that carries weight while bond yields sit at elevated levels.
Citi's story was 'profits up sharply, shares down.' Third-quarter net income of $5.25 billion, or $2.85 a share, jumped 40% (a year earlier: $3.8 billion and $1.86, a base dragged down by a goodwill impairment on the divestiture of Banamex in Mexico); revenue rose 8% to $23.85 billion, which Chief Executive Jane Fraser called Citi's best third-quarter revenue in a decade. Investment banking revenue rose 9% to $1.35 billion, but trading revenue rose only 2% year on year and fell 27% from the previous quarter, and the shares slipped about 1.4% in premarket trading. Citi returned $4.1 billion to shareholders in the quarter, with buybacks for the year reaching $13.3 billion, and its return on tangible common equity of 11.5% has already run ahead of its 11% annual target.
Wells Fargo took the balance-sheet repair route: net income of $5.95 billion, or $1.87 a share (a year earlier: $5.59 billion and $1.66), with net interest income up 5% to $12.52 billion; with the asset cap lifted, room for loan growth has opened up, and wealth management net income rose 19% to $603 million, with client assets rising to $2.45 trillion.
The two non-banks had highlights as well. Johnson & Johnson posted revenue of $25.4 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.59 a share, both slightly ahead of expectations; psoriasis drug Tremfya sales surged 68% to $2.4 billion while legacy drug Stelara fell 54% to $716 million, and the Middle East conflict dragged on overseas sales of its medical devices. UnitedHealth's adjusted earnings of $4.69 a share clearly beat the expected $4.14, and it raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance from 'at least $19.50–$20' to 'at least $20.50'; its medical cost ratio of 88.4% was better than 89.90% a year earlier, and the shares rose about 4.5% in premarket trading.
Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are scheduled to follow with their third-quarter results on Wednesday, October 14.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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