JUL · ISSUE 29 · July 16, 2026
EARNINGSBig banks post a record quarter
Goldman and JPMorgan beat hard. Trading, fired up by AI-linked activity, is the star of the show.
GOLDMAN EPS
$20.98
vs $10.91 a year ago
JPM REVENUE
$58bn
+27% year over year
GS ROE
23.5%
standout efficiency
THE NUMBER
+72%
year-over-year jump in Goldman's equities trading
Goldman posted record Equities revenue of $7.42bn, up 72% from a year earlier. Investment banking rose 55% and fixed income 32%. JPMorgan beat across every line of business.
THE DATA
ZOOM IN+72%
+72%
▲ Goldman's Equities revenue, a cycle record
When markets move a lot, the banks in the middle of every trade collect a toll on each one.
Goldman's equities trading grew 72% year over year. Volatility and AI-linked flow filled the desks.
- TRADING
- — Buying and selling assets for the bank and its clients.
- VOLATILITY
- — How much prices swing: more movement means more business for the desks.
TAKEAWAY
EDITORIALThe engine is the market, not the street
“The consumer didn't write these results. The capital markets did, and they're having their best moment of the cycle.”
Record investment banking and trading say more about risk appetite than about the health of the consumer.
- INVESTMENT BANKING
- — Advising on mergers and issuing new shares and debt.
- CAPITAL MARKETS
- — Where companies and governments raise money by issuing stocks and bonds.
BY LINE
GROWTHThe banks' quarter, line by line
This isn't a good quarter: it's an exceptional one across nearly every line at once.
Each bar is a business line's year-over-year growth. A strong quarter usually averages around 15%.
- FICC
- — Fixed income, currencies and commodities: another big trading desk.
- YEAR OVER YEAR
- — Compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
HEAD TO HEAD
GS vs JPMTwo giants, two ways to win
GOLDMAN SACHS
The markets bank
- Earnings per share of $20.98, almost double a year ago ($10.91).
- ROE of 23.5%: it earns a lot per dollar of shareholder money.
- Record Equities of $7.42bn, investment banking up 55%.
JPMORGAN
The diversified colossus
- Earnings per share of $6.14, beating estimates by 9.8%.
- Revenue of $58.02bn, up 27% year over year.
- Record results across every business line at once.
Goldman shines on trading and dealmaking; JPMorgan on sheer size and diversification.
- EPS
- — Earnings per share: profit divided by the number of shares.
- DIVERSIFICATION
- — Having many income sources so you don't depend on just one.
COMPOSITION
WHERE IT CAME FROMWhere Goldman's record came from
$7.42bn · +72% YoY
$4.59bn · +32% YoY
$3.40bn · +55% YoY
Asset management and banking
Trading rules: more than a third of the quarter came from the equities desk.
We split the quarter's revenue to see which line really drives the result.
- FICC
- — Fixed income, currencies and commodities: another trading desk.
- ASSET MANAGEMENT
- — The business of managing other people's money for a fee.
WATCHLIST
5 TO WATCHFive names in the financial sector
| XLF | 52 | ▲ +0.6% | US financials ETF: the sector's thermometer, lifted by these results. |
| GS | 620 | ▲ +1.5% | Record profit and a 23.5% ROE. The trading leader this cycle. |
| JPM | 305 | ▲ +1.0% | Record revenue of $58bn, up 27%. The most diversified of them all. |
| MS | 145 | ▲ +0.8% | Another Wall Street giant: benefits from the same trading and dealmaking boom. |
| KRE | 62 | → 0.0% | Regional banks: they live on lending, not trading. A different story. |
Illustrative levels. They show who lives on trading and who lives on lending.
- ETF
- — A listed basket that bundles many stocks into a single ticker.
- LENDING
- — Making loans: the traditional business of retail banking.
WRAP-UP
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- ROE
- — Return on equity: a bank's efficiency scorecard.
- TRADING
- — Buying and selling assets: the engine of this quarter's results.