JPMorgan, Citigroup Kick Off Big Bank Earnings

Several banks reported earnings today with JPMorgan beating analysts' estimates for trading and investment-banking fees, driven by a pickup in dealmaking and underwriting. Similarly, Citigroup Inc. beat Wall Street revenue estimates across all five of its major business lines. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted record third-quarter revenue, though shares were down after the bank reported higher compensation costs and plans for an additional round of job cuts. Also, Wells Fargo & Co. raised a key profitability metric after the removal of regulatory restraints it had operated under for more than seven years, though the projection comes as the bank reported net interest income that slightly missed analysts’ estimates. Bloomberg's Sri Natarajan and Alison Williams joined Carol Massar and Matt Miller on 'Bloomberg Businessweek Daily' to break it all down.

Citigroup Inc. beat Wall Street revenue estimates across all five of its major business lines, a haul that’s helping the firm manage rising compensation costs and a plan to sell its retail unit in Mexico.

Total revenue jumped 9% as the firm’s markets, banking, services, wealth and US retail divisions all set records for a third quarter, the New York-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Traders in both equities and fixed-income products surpassed analysts’ projections, pulling in a total of $5.6 billion — or 15% more than a year earlier.

Expenses also climbed 9%, mainly driven by costs stemming from the agreement Citigroup announced late last month to sell a stake in Banamex ahead of a public stock offer.

The firm also pointed to higher spending on compensation and benefits. Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser has green-lit flashy hires from across Wall Street, including a wave of bankers recruited in the past few months to bolster dealmaking desks.

Fraser is investing across the company to make it more competitive and fix systems that have drawn regulatory penalties. The stock has outperformed all of the firm’s main US peers in 2025.

“The cumulative effect of what we have done over the past years – our transformation, our refreshed strategy, our simplification – have put Citi in a materially different place in terms of our ability to compete,” Fraser said in the statement.

The bank added that its programs to solve its key remediation problems — which it calls its “transformation” agenda — are making strong progress. More than two thirds or those are “at” or “mostly at” the bank’s target state, it said.

Citigroup shares rose 0.5% at 9:33 a.m. in New York,

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted record third-quarter revenue boosted by a rapid pace of growth in its investment bank that eclipsed Wall Street rivals.

The firm reported $2.66 billion in investment banking fees, a 42% surge on the same period last year, the bank said Tuesday. That pace beat rivals and helped the company as a whole report revenue of $15.18 billion, its largest haul for that quarter in its history and its third highest overall for all quarters.

But with the jump in fees came higher compensation costs, which helped drive a 14% increase in operating expenses to $9.45 billion. The bank is planning an additional round of job cuts this year, telling staff to expect a “limited reduction in roles,” Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Goldman’s shares were down about 1.9% at 12:11 p.m. in New York trading after paring earlier losses amid broader market declines. Before the market opened on Tuesday, the bank’s stock had outperformed its biggest peers this year, as it continued to lift expectations by surpassing estimates.

A rush of sizable mergers and acquisitions is lifting dealmakers across Wall Street after trade uncertainty had stifled activity. Global deal values topped $1 trillion in a third quarter for only the second time on record, helped by a slew of headline-grabbing transactions, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Goldman appeared to benefit in particular. Its fee growth outpaced a 16% rise at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup’s 17% jump.

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