For JPMorgan Chase & Co., last quarter’s volatility appears to have been just right.
Revenue and profit for the first three months of 2018 rose to all-time highs, the bank said Friday, spurred by record results from stock trading. Revenue jumped at nine of the bank’s 11 largest business lines, according to a statement Friday.
Like Goldilocks sampling her porridge, bankers who last year griped about the lack of volatility suddenly had the opposite complaint: Wild market swings were threatening to push wary investors to the sidelines. But all told, the first-quarter mix wasn’t too hot or too cold.
Traders benefited as interest rates rose and stocks at one point had their worst single-day plunge in seven years. The results bode well for the rest of Wall Street, including Citigroup Inc., which reports earnings later Friday.
Equities trading contributed $2.02 billion of revenue, a 26% gain that beat analysts’ estimates. Bond-trading revenue rose 8% in the quarter to $4.55 billion, while the bank said fixed-income revenue was flat excluding one-time gains.
Based on estimates released in February, JPMorgan’s profits for all of this year may be a third higher than 2017, thanks in part to new corporate tax cuts. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is planning to invest some of that in technology, a new headquarters in midtown Manhattan and 400 new branches.
“2018 is off to a good start with our businesses performing well across the board,” Dimon said in the statement.
JPMorgan shares climbed 0.7% to $114.15 at 7:02 a.m. in early trading in New York. The stock increased 6% this year through the close of trading on Thursday.
Here’s a summary of JPMorgan’s results:
Quarterly profit rose to $8.7 billion, or $2.37 a share, from $6.45 billion, or $1.65, a year earlier. Revenue rose 10% to $28.5 billion, while expenses increased 5% to $16.1 billion. Investment-banking fees declined 10% to $1.7 billion.
