Wall Street Q3 2026: Six Banks, $43.5bn Profit, Equities Up 72%

Key Takeaways:

The six largest US banks earned a combined $43.5bn in the third quarter of 2026 on revenue of roughly $165bn, with every one of them reporting on 13 or 14 October.
Equities trading was the quarter’s engine: up 72% at Goldman Sachs, 49% at JPMorganChase, 41% at Morgan Stanley, 14% at Citi and 11% at Bank of America. Fixed income was flat to down almost everywhere.
Morgan Stanley’s wealth arm took in a record $232.4bn of net new assets in a single quarter, nearly three times the $81.0bn of a year earlier.
Bank of America booked a $1.2bn regulatory settlement charge that took reported earnings per share to $0.91; Citi’s profit rose 40% and its return on tangible equity reached 11.5%.
Capital returns diverged sharply: Bank of America bought back $6.0bn of stock, while JPMorganChase cut net repurchases to $664m and Jamie Dimon said so out loud.

Forty-three and a half billion dollars. That is what JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley earned between them in the three months to 30 September 2026, and the whole lot landed inside 36 hours. Four of the six reported on Tuesday 13 October; Bank of America and Morgan Stanley closed the week’s opening act on Wednesday 14 October. Read as a set, the six releases tell one story with six different endings, and the story is about where the money in American finance is being made right now.

The short version is that stock markets paid for everything. Equities trading and equity financing grew by double digits at every one of the six, and at Goldman Sachs by almost three quarters. Bond trading, the business that carried Wall Street through the rate shocks of 2022 and 2023, went flat or backwards. Wealth management kept pulling in money at a pace that surprised even the people running it. And the consumer banks, the branches and credit cards that most people actually touch, grew in the low single digits while provisions for bad loans crept higher.

Below, the numbers for each bank from its own earnings release filed with the SEC, then what they mean for the brands behind them. This follows our analysis of Goldman Sachs’ third quarter, published the morning after the firm reported.

The six at a glance

Bank
Revenue
Net income
Diluted EPS
Equities trading
ROTCE
CET1

JPMorganChase
$50.2bn
$15.3bn
$5.57
$5.0bn (+49%)
20%
13.9%

Bank of America
$30.0bn
$6.9bn ($8.1bn adj.)
$0.91 ($1.08 adj.)
$2.5bn (+11%)
12.6% (14.9% adj.)
10.9%

Citi
$23.8bn
$5.2bn
$2.85
+14%
11.5%
12.8%

Wells Fargo
$21.9bn
$5.95bn
$1.87
n/a
16.3%
10.0%

Morgan Stanley
$20.3bn
$4.9bn
$3.03
$5.8bn (+41%)
22.6%
14.9%

Goldman Sachs
$18.7bn
$5.3bn
$17.01
$6.4bn (+72%)
n/a
n/a

Sources: each bank’s third-quarter 2026 earnings release filed with the SEC on 13 or 14 October 2026 (links below). Revenue is as reported by each bank; JPMorganChase’s managed revenue was $50.9bn. Wells Fargo does not break out an equities trading line in its release. ROTCE is return on tangible common equity; CET1 is the common equity tier 1 ratio.

JPMorganChase: $50bn of revenue and a deliberately smaller buyback

The biggest bank in the United States reported revenue of $50.2bn ($50.9bn on a managed basis), net income of $15.3bn and earnings per share of $5.57. Strip out a $658m loss on investment securities and the profit was $15.8bn, or $5.75 a share, for a return on tangible common equity of 21%. Net interest income rose 13% to $27.1bn, which is the single largest number in American banking and the clearest sign that higher loan balances are still outrunning deposit costs.

Markets revenue was $10.3bn, up 15%, but the split is the point. Fixed income fell 4% to $5.4bn. Equities rose 49% to $5.0bn. Investment banking fees climbed 14% to $3.0bn. Expense rose 12% to $27.3bn, and credit costs were $2.7bn, including $2.2bn of net charge-offs and a $539m addition to reserves.

The sentence that will be quoted back at the bank for months was Jamie Dimon’s: “In line with our hierarchy, we reduced share repurchases this quarter.” Net buybacks were $664m, a fraction of recent quarters, with the CET1 ratio at 13.9%. JPMorganChase is choosing to hold capital rather than return it, and it is saying so in plain language. Source: JPMorganChase earnings release, 13 October 2026.

Goldman Sachs: the equities quarter

Goldman’s $18.68bn of net revenues was up 23% on the year, net earnings of $5.29bn were up 29%, and earnings per share of $17.01 beat the $13.02 that LSEG’s consensus had pencilled in, according to Reuters. Equities revenue of $6.44bn rose 72%, with equities financing up 96% to a record $3.37bn. Fixed income, currencies and commodities was flat at $3.47bn. Advisory fees of $1.65bn were a quarterly record, and total investment banking fees rose 21% to $3.22bn. Asset and wealth management grew 14% to $5.05bn with assets under supervision at a record $4.1tn. A $450m accelerated charitable contribution trimmed about a dollar from earnings per share. The full breakdown is in our Goldman Sachs analysis.

Citi: a 40% profit rise and a return target within reach

Citi has spent three years telling investors that its restructuring would show up in the returns. This quarter it did. Revenues of $23.8bn rose 8%, net income of $5.2bn rose 40%, and earnings per share of $2.85 were up 53% as reported, or 27% once a goodwill impairment in the prior-year quarter is excluded. Return on tangible common equity reached 11.5%, up 350 basis points on a year earlier and inside the 11% to 13% range the bank has set as its near-term goal.

Every one of Citi’s five businesses grew revenue except US consumer cards, which was flat at $4.7bn. Services rose 15% to $6.6bn and remains the crown jewel, earning $2.6bn of net income on its own. Wealth rose 15% to $3.3bn with net income up 93%. Markets rose 6% to $6.1bn, led by equities (+14%) with fixed income up 4%, which makes Citi the only one of the six to grow bond trading. Investment banking fees rose 9% to $1.35bn on a 77% jump in equity underwriting. Expenses fell 2% to $14.0bn, cost of credit was $2.6bn, and $4.1bn went back to shareholders, an 85% payout.

Chief executive Jane Fraser said the quarter “reflects the continued disciplined and consistent execution of our strategy” and that the bank expects to “exceed this year’s return target”. Source: Citigroup earnings release, 13 October 2026.

Wells Fargo: loans and deposits up 11%

Wells Fargo’s quarter was the least dramatic of the six and in some ways the most interesting, because its growth came from the balance sheet rather than the trading floor. Average loans rose 11% to $1,033bn and average deposits rose 11% to $1,483bn, growth rates the bank could not have printed while it was still under a regulatory asset cap. Revenue rose 2% to $21.87bn, net interest income rose 5% to $12.52bn, and noninterest expense fell 1% to $13.74bn.

Net income was $5.95bn, which the bank notes was 7% below the second quarter, and diluted earnings per share of $1.87 rose 13% on the year. Return on tangible common equity was 16.3%. The one number moving the wrong way was the provision for credit losses, $1.03bn against $681m a year earlier. The bank repurchased 28.6 million shares for $2.5bn and ended with a CET1 ratio of 10.0%, down from 11.0% a year ago as the balance sheet grew. Charlie Scharf summed it up as “broad-based growth, higher earnings, and stronger returns”. Source: Wells Fargo earnings release, 13 October 2026.

Bank of America: a $1.2bn charge and a $6bn buyback in the same quarter

Bank of America’s headline numbers need a second look. Revenue rose 3% to $30.0bn and net interest income rose 8% to $16.4bn, the best growth rate in that line among the big consumer banks. But a $1.2bn regulatory settlement charge pushed noninterest expense to $19.7bn and reported net income down to $6.9bn, or $0.91 a share. On the bank’s adjusted basis the quarter was $8.1bn and $1.08 a share, with return on tangible common equity of 14.9% rather than the reported 12.6%.

The divisions tell a familiar story. Consumer Banking revenue rose 4% to $11.6bn. Global Wealth and Investment Management rose 13% to $7.1bn with client balances of $5.1tn. Global Banking was flat at $6.2bn as investment banking fees fell 11% to $1.8bn. Global Markets fell 6% to $5.9bn because fixed income trading dropped 17% to $2.6bn while equities rose 11% to $2.5bn. Deposits stood at $2.04tn, loans at $1.25tn. Despite the charge, the bank bought back $6.0bn of its own shares and paid $2.2bn of dividends, leaving CET1 at 10.9%, the lowest of the six. Source: Bank of America earnings release, 14 October 2026.

Morgan Stanley: $232bn of new money in one quarter

Morgan Stanley’s net revenues of $20.3bn rose 12%, net income was $4.9bn, and earnings per share of $3.03 compared with $2.80 a year earlier. Return on tangible common equity was 22.6%, the highest of the six. Institutional Securities earned $10.0bn, with equities up 41% to $5.8bn and fixed income down 7% to $2.0bn. Investment banking brought in $2.36bn.

The number that stands out is in wealth. Net new assets were $232.4bn in the quarter, against $81.0bn a year earlier, and fee-based flows were $80.5bn. Wealth Management revenue of $9.1bn was a record, fee-based client assets reached $3.16tn, and chief executive Ted Pick put total client assets across wealth and investment management at $10.5tn. The firm bought back $1.54bn of stock and declared a $1.15 quarterly dividend, with CET1 at 14.9%. Non-interest expenses rose to $13.7bn, with non-compensation costs up almost a fifth to $5.7bn, which is the one line analysts will press on. Source: Morgan Stanley earnings release, 14 October 2026.

What the six quarters have in common

Equities paid for the quarter. Add up the equities lines and the pattern is unmistakable: +72% at Goldman, +49% at JPMorganChase, +41% at Morgan Stanley, +14% at Citi, +11% at Bank of America. Equity financing, the business of lending to hedge funds against their stock positions, was the fastest-growing piece inside that, up 96% at Goldman. This is a market-structure story as much as a market-level one. More money is being run by multi-strategy funds, and those funds pay the banks for leverage.

Fixed income has stopped growing. Bond trading fell 4% at JPMorganChase, 7% at Morgan Stanley and 17% at Bank of America, and was flat at Goldman. Only Citi grew it, by 4%. After three years in which rates desks carried the industry, the baton has passed.

Wealth is the growth business everyone wants. Morgan Stanley’s $232bn of net new assets, Bank of America’s 13% wealth revenue growth, Citi’s 15% and Goldman’s 14% all point the same way. Managing money for the already-wealthy is steady, capital-light and growing faster than lending.

Credit is normalising, not cracking. Provisions rose at Wells Fargo and reserves were built at JPMorganChase and Citi, but net charge-offs at Bank of America were actually a touch lower than a year earlier. Nobody used the word “deterioration”.

Capital decisions have started to diverge. Bank of America bought back $6.0bn with a 10.9% CET1 ratio. JPMorganChase bought back $664m with 13.9%. One bank is confident about the capital rules ahead; the other is keeping its powder dry and telling investors why.

The case for and against the banks as brands

The case for. Six of the most valuable financial brands in the world just reported record or near-record revenue in the same week, with returns on tangible equity between 11.5% and 22.6%. Wealth and equities businesses are growing without needing much new capital. Citi has proven its restructuring works. Wells Fargo is growing again. Morgan Stanley’s client assets have passed $10tn.

The case against. The quarter leaned heavily on equity markets near record highs, and equity revenue is the first thing to fall when markets do. Expenses are rising by double digits at JPMorganChase and by almost a fifth in Morgan Stanley’s non-compensation line. Bank of America’s $1.2bn settlement is a reminder that regulatory costs have not gone away. And the industry’s most careful capital allocator just cut its buyback, which is not what a bank does when it expects a smooth year ahead.

What to watch next

The regional banks. The next fortnight brings the mid-sized lenders, where loan growth and deposit costs matter more than trading. If their net interest income follows Bank of America’s 8% and Wells Fargo’s 5%, the whole sector re-rates.
Equity financing balances. Goldman’s 96% growth in equities financing is the number that most depends on hedge-fund leverage. Any sign of de-leveraging shows up here first.
Capital rules. JPMorganChase’s buyback cut and Bank of America’s buyback surge cannot both be right about where US capital requirements are heading. The fourth-quarter releases in January will show who blinked.

Read next: Goldman Sachs’ third quarter in detail, the custodian banks holding the world’s wealth, and why money market funds are near $8tn.

Frequently asked questions
Which US bank made the most money in the third quarter of 2026?

JPMorganChase, with net income of $15.3bn on revenue of $50.2bn. Bank of America was second on net income at $6.9bn reported ($8.1bn adjusted), followed by Wells Fargo at $5.95bn, Goldman Sachs at $5.3bn, Citi at $5.2bn and Morgan Stanley at $4.9bn.

Which bank had the highest return on tangible common equity?

Morgan Stanley, at 22.6%, followed by JPMorganChase at 20% (21% excluding a securities loss), Wells Fargo at 16.3%, Bank of America at 14.9% adjusted and Citi at 11.5%. Goldman Sachs does not report the figure in the same way in its headline release.

Why did equities trading grow so much faster than fixed income?

Stock markets were active and volatile through the quarter, and the banks’ equity financing businesses, which lend to hedge funds against their positions, grew even faster than trading itself. Bond trading, by contrast, has returned to more normal volumes after three unusually strong years.

What was Bank of America’s $1.2bn charge?

The bank described it as a regulatory settlement charge. It is excluded from the adjusted figures of $8.1bn net income and $1.08 earnings per share. The bank did not name the settlement in its release.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every figure is taken from the third-quarter 2026 earnings release each bank filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 13 or 14 October 2026, linked in the relevant section above. Consensus figures for Goldman Sachs are LSEG estimates as reported by Reuters.