JPMorgan's profit fell 7% but still beat expectations. Shares fell 3%

JPMorgan Chase's profit in the fourth quarter of 2025 declined by 7% due to a fall in fee income of the investment bank and an increase in provisions for possible credit losses. At the same time, the result was slightly above market expectations, with growth in trading income partially offsetting weakness in the investment banking division. JPMorgan has started a new reporting season: its main competitors will present their results in the next two days.

Profit of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, fell by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2025 amid an unexpected drop in income from investment banking business and an increase in loan loss provisions, according to reports. Net income of the bank amounted to $ 13 billion for the quarter - this is nevertheless slightly higher than analysts' expectations ($ 12.8 billion), but below the result a year earlier, when the profit amounted to $ 14 billion, writes Financial Time.

For all of 2025, JPMorgan reported net income of $57 billion - down 2% from 2024. Nevertheless, this is the second year in a row that the bank has made more than $1 bln in profit per week, the newspaper notes.

The investment banking division disappointed the market, with fee income down 5% to $2.3 billion, about $210 million below the StreetAccount estimate cited by CNBC. The decline in revenue was due to a drop in both underwriting and mergers and acquisitions advisory revenue, Bloomberg notes.

In particular, JPMorgan Chase's debt placement unit reported weaker results, with revenue down 2.5 percent - contrary to expectations of nearly 20 percent growth. Investors had expected Wall Street to be at the start of a recovery in deal activity after a three-year slump, the FT notes.

The bank's results were also impacted by a $2.2 billion provision for credit losses related to JPMorgan's agreement to acquire Apple's card portfolio from Goldman Sachs.

Shares of JPMorgan at the trades on January 13 cheapened by more than 3%. At the same time, over the last 12 months they rose in price by 27%.

In comments after the publication of reporting, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon commented on the US Department of Justice's investigation of Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. According to Dimon, the attacks by US President Donald Trump's administration on the Fed may have the opposite effect to what Trump is seeking, the FT reports.

"Any action that undermines that independence is probably a bad idea. In my view, it would have the opposite result: inflation expectations would rise and interest rates would probably rise over time," Dimon told reporters on a conference call following the reports.

The U.S. economy "remains resilient" and the labor market, while weaker, "shows no signs of further deterioration," Dimon also reported. "These conditions may persist for some time - especially against the backdrop of continued fiscal stimulus, the effects of deregulation and the Fed's recent monetary policy," he said.

JPMorgan's adjusted earnings came in at $5.23 per share for the fourth quarter versus a consensus forecast of $5, according to LSEG data cited by CNBC. The bank's total revenue rose 7% to $46.8 billion versus expectations of $46.2 billion (LSEG).

Equity trading revenues rose 39% to $2.9 billion, while fixed income revenue increased 7.5% to $5.4 billion.

JPMorgan also said it expects net interest income in 2026 of about $103 billion and adjusted expenses of about $105 billion, emphasizing that both figures will depend on market conditions.

JPMorgan has opened a new reporting season in the banking sector. Its largest competitors - Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - will publish their results on January 14 and 15. The combined profits of the largest banks are expected to be the second largest ever - largely due to changes in U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, Bloomberg notes.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor