Bank stocks had run up ahead of the start of the Q4 earnings season, on favorable trends in treasury yields and the market’s Fed expectations.

The pullback in the stocks following the quarterly releases looked like a sell-the-news type of development. But there has been legitimate worries about some of these bank quarterly releases as well. For example, the cost outlook provided by JPMorgan (JPM Quick QuoteJPM - Free Report) and Goldman Sachs (GS Quick QuoteGS - Free Report) was higher than consensus estimates, but we didn’t see this issue with Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS Quick QuoteMS - Free Report) .

This suggests that  the cost issue at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and a few others may be a result of company specific factors.

The cost issue will be key across different industries in this reporting cycle, as it will determine near- and long-term margin trends.

For more details about the Q4 earnings season and evolving expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>> Big Wall Street Banks Provide Mixed Start to Q4 Earnings Season