Jul 14, 2026 · 7 min
Trading revenues and expense worries split major bank stocks after earnings
Bank of America Beats, JPMorgan Lower, Wells Fargo Extends Gains
Second-quarter bank earnings reveal how shifting trading volumes and rising operational costs are reshaping profitability at Wall Street's largest institutions.
- 1Bank of America beat estimates behind strong equity trading revenue and solid net interest income.
- 2JPMorgan Chase shares fell as higher trading volumes forced the bank to raise its expense guidance.
- 3Wells Fargo led pre-market gains on the strength of its wealth management and investment banking divisions.
Don't miss
Dan Curtis explains how higher trading volumes counterintuitively dragged down JPMorgan Chase by driving up its expense guidance.
The brief
Wall Street's earnings season kicked off with contrasting fortunes for the nation's largest banks, as strong trading and wealth management performance clashed with rising operational expenses.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo saw positive market momentum driven by surging equity trading and wealth fees, while JPMorgan Chase faced downward pressure after lifting its expense guidance.
Beyond the major domestic banks, international volatility flared up as SK Hynix ADRs stabilized in US pre-market trading following a dramatic wave of retail margin calls in South Korea.
What was said on this episode
2 statements · 1 positive · 1 negative
Higher trading volume increases JPMorgan's expenses.
“with higher volume comes higher expenses”
Listen at 2:00
Forced liquidation of leveraged positions can stabilize SK Hynix stock.
“after those events, sometimes flushing out some of these more leveraged positions can stabilize the stock”
Listen at 4:19
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
Wells Fargo & Co.Listen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.