Four Big Banks Made $32 Billion in a Quarter. Jamie Dimon Says He Doesn't Know When It Stops

The four banks that reported Tuesday earned big on trading and AI lending. Then their bosses spent the calls warning that higher rates could end the run.

By Sean Anees Saifi · Capital Wealth · Published Friday, October 16, 2026 · Source: The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, October 14, 2026, whose market figures are the Tuesday, October 13 close (Page One)

Key Points

JPMorgan (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) earned a combined $32 billion in the third quarter, up 14%. Revenue rose 9% to $115 billion.
JPMorgan missed. It earned $5.57 a share against the $5.93 analysts expected. A $658 million loss on securities it holds did the damage.
Goldman's revenue from trading stocks rose 72% from a year ago. Only one quarter in its history was better for that business. Bond trading slowed at all four banks after September's jump in yields.
Card spending is still strong. JPMorgan's card spending rose 10%, Wells Fargo's 11% and Citigroup's 12% from a year earlier.
Investors sold anyway. Citigroup fell 5.6%. The KBW bank index dropped 1.4% Tuesday and is down 6.8% since the quarter began in July, while the S&P 500 is up 4.1%.

$32 billion

combined third-quarter profit of the four banks, up 14%

$5.57

JPMorgan's earnings per share; analysts expected $5.93

72%

jump in Goldman's equities revenue from a year earlier

5.6%

Citigroup's drop on Tuesday, Oct. 13

Through a heavy wooden door, an empty wood-paneled meeting room with long tables, leather chairs, marble columns, tall windows and an American flag.

Four of the six biggest banks earned $32 billion in a quarter, and the bank index still fell 1.4% on the day.

In one line: Four big banks earned $32 billion in a quarter, their bosses warned about rates, and we hold JPM and GS at weight.

Jamie Dimon runs the biggest bank in America. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported a $15.31 billion quarterly profit. Then he said the quiet part. “We just don't know when it's going to stop,” he told analysts. He meant the good times. The stock fell anyway.

Four of the six biggest banks reported Tuesday. Between them, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) made $32 billion, 14% more than a year ago. Their combined revenue grew 9%, to $115 billion. The engines were stock trading and lending to the AI build-out. Goldman's revenue from trading stocks rose 72%. Only one quarter in its history was better for that business. Its total revenue rose 23% to $18.68 billion and profit rose 29% to $5.29 billion. Citigroup's profit jumped 40% to $5.25 billion. Its revenue rose 8% to $23.85 billion, its best third quarter in ten years. Wells Fargo's profit rose 6% to $5.95 billion.

JPMorgan was the odd one out. It earned $5.57 a share. Analysts wanted $5.93. Revenue rose 8% to $50.17 billion, short of the $51.23 billion expected. A $658 million loss on securities the bank holds did the damage. A bank's securities book is mostly bonds, and high rates are hard on bonds, even a bank's. Bond trading slowed at all four banks after September's jump in yields. Deals and IPOs stalled too. Bankers are waiting for the midterms to bring some calm, the Journal reports.

The warning inside the win

Higher rates help a bank and hurt it at the same time. Loans earn more. Deposits cost more, and a slower economy brings more bad loans. Wells Fargo's chief, Charlie Scharf, said inflation and higher rates are headwinds, and the longer they last, the more pressure they put on customers. The good news sits in the card data. JPMorgan's card spending rose 10% from a year ago, Wells Fargo's 11% and Citigroup's 12%. Lower-income households feel the rates more, Wells said, but they're stable. Investors heard the warning louder than the numbers. Citigroup fell 5.6%. The KBW bank index dropped 1.4% on the day. It's down 6.8% since the third quarter began, while the S&P 500 is up 4.1%.

Our read

This is Investments/Risk (IN04). The practice holds JPMorgan in 26 books and Goldman in 19, at weight, nothing added. Citigroup and Wells Fargo aren't held. Bank of America (BAC, 11 books) and Morgan Stanley (MS, 16) reported later in the week and belong to Part 2. Our stance doesn't change on one quarter. A bank earning $32 billion in three months is a healthy bank. A bank CEO who can't say when it stops is an honest one. Both things are true, and neither one is a reason to buy more.

Here's your check this week. JPMorgan took a $658 million loss on securities it owns, in a quarter when yields jumped. Your bond fund likely felt the same move, in smaller numbers. Open your 401(k) app and look at the bond fund's one-year return. If it's negative, that's mostly rates, and it's why the house keeps safe money in short bills. Then look at your own card statement. The banks say spending is still up 10% to 12%, and some of that is you. The time to tighten the budget is before the bank's warning turns into the news. Bring the fund's name and that number to your next review. Find the umbrella while the sky's still only gray.

What It Means For Your Portfolio

Hold. Banks at weight; check your bond fund's year

Banks are held at weight in the books. The quarter came with a warning on rates and a $658 million securities loss at JPMorgan, a lesson for any bond fund.

General planning principles, not advice for anyone in particular. Bank stocks do well when the economy and trading run hot, and they often fall first when rates bite. Keep them at a set weight and rebalance, rather than chasing a record quarter.

Check the one-year return on any bond fund you own. Long maturities lost money as yields rose this year. Short Treasury bills kept their value and paid around 4%.