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Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 9, 2026– Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "Estimates for 2026 Q1 and full-year 2026 remain positive, with the favorable revisions trend firmly in place even after the start of the Middle East conflict."
What Can Investors Expect from Bank Earnings?
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week'sEarnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>
Here are the key points:
Total S&P 500 earnings in the first quarter of 2026 are currently expected to increase by +13.0% from the same period last year on +9.2% higher revenues. This would follow the +14% increase in earnings on +9.1% higher revenues in the preceding period (2025 Q4).
Estimates for 2026 Q1 and full-year 2026 remain positive, with the favorable revisions trend firmly in place even after the start of the Middle East conflict.
Estimates for the Energy sector notably moved higher in March, but estimates have also increased for 7 other sectors, including Tech, Finance, Construction, Basic Materials, and Transportation.
Companies with fiscal quarters ending in February have been reporting quarterly results that get counted as part of the March-quarter tally. To date, we have seen such February-quarter results from 19 S&P 500 members. Total earnings for these 19 index members are up +79.7% from the same period last year on +15.6% higher revenues, with 73.7% beating EPS estimates and 84.2% beating revenue estimates.
Bank Earnings in Focus as Q1 Earnings Season Takes the Spotlight
JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Citigroup (C - Free Report) and Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) kick off the March-quarter reporting cycle for the Finance sector on April 14th. Bank stocks, in general, and these three stocks in particular, have enjoyed a strong rebound following the Iran war ceasefire announcement, which has raised hopes that threats to the economy from high oil prices will be resolved. Banks are cyclical businesses, so any real or perceived reduction in economic risks is positive for their outlook.
The revisions trend is mixed for these three banks, with Q1 estimates for Citigroup and JPMorgan modestly down in recent weeks, while the same for Wells Fargo are a tad higher.
JPMorgan is expected to earn $5.41 per share on $48.2 billion in revenues, representing year-over-year changes of +6.7% and +6.4%, respectively. Citigroup and Wells Fargo are benefiting from easy comparisons, helping their expected Q1 earnings to show growth rates of +34.2% and +23.6%, respectively.
Total Q1 earnings for the Zacks Investment Banks/Managers industry, of which JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are a part, are expected to increase by +6.1% from the same period last year on +9.8% higher revenues.
In terms of these banks' business mix, most of the growth will be coming from the core banking franchises, with investment banking activities largely stable. On the core banking side, loan growth is expected to show noticeable improvement in Q1, accelerating the trend that started in 2025. Individual loan portfolios at these banks will grow at different rates, but they will show the growth pace accelerating from what we saw in the preceding period.
Aggregate Fed data shows loan balances increasing by +7% in Q1 for the entire banking industry. For context, loan growth has been trending below historical averages over the past three years, but the pace has started to improve in 2025 and appears on track to return to historical growth rates this year. The favorable outlook for loan portfolios bodes well for net interest income in Q1 and beyond, even though the yield curve has lost some of its steepness in recent weeks.
On the investment banking front, we should get solid numbers from the capital markets side of the business, particularly on the equity capital markets front. But M&A activities have been underwhelming, reflecting the effects of geopolitical uncertainties. Trading revenues remained robust in Q1, with mid-quarter updates in February indicating growth rates in the +10% to +15% range.
Aggregate trends on the credit quality front have been benign, as reflected in household and commercial delinquencies, bankruptcies, debt-service, and other metrics. But the market's focus will be private-credit exposure for banks, as the space has been in the spotlight lately for its exposure to the software and data-center industries.
For the Finance sector as a whole, Q1 earnings are expected to increase by +19.6% on +9% higher revenues, which will follow the sector's +17.3% earnings growth on +7.4% higher revenues in the preceding period.
The Finance sector is the second largest earnings contributor to the S&P 500 index, behind only the Tech sector, accounting for 17.3% of the index's expected forward 12-month earnings.
The Earnings Big Picture
An interesting development on the revisions front has been the evolution of full-year 2026 estimates since the start of the Iran war. No surprises in the trend reversal in Energy sector estimates since the start of March, but estimates for 8 other sectors have also moved higher in that time period. The Tech sector's positive revisions trend has continued in this period, while the revisions trends for the Basic Materials and Consumer Staples sectors shifted from negative to positive since the start of March.
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Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 9, 2026– Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "Estimates for 2026 Q1 and full-year 2026 remain positive, with the favorable revisions trend firmly in place even after the start of the Middle East conflict."
What Can Investors Expect from Bank Earnings?
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week'sEarnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>
Here are the key points:
Bank Earnings in Focus as Q1 Earnings Season Takes the Spotlight
JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Citigroup (C - Free Report) and Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) kick off the March-quarter reporting cycle for the Finance sector on April 14th. Bank stocks, in general, and these three stocks in particular, have enjoyed a strong rebound following the Iran war ceasefire announcement, which has raised hopes that threats to the economy from high oil prices will be resolved. Banks are cyclical businesses, so any real or perceived reduction in economic risks is positive for their outlook.
The revisions trend is mixed for these three banks, with Q1 estimates for Citigroup and JPMorgan modestly down in recent weeks, while the same for Wells Fargo are a tad higher.
JPMorgan is expected to earn $5.41 per share on $48.2 billion in revenues, representing year-over-year changes of +6.7% and +6.4%, respectively. Citigroup and Wells Fargo are benefiting from easy comparisons, helping their expected Q1 earnings to show growth rates of +34.2% and +23.6%, respectively.
Total Q1 earnings for the Zacks Investment Banks/Managers industry, of which JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are a part, are expected to increase by +6.1% from the same period last year on +9.8% higher revenues.
In terms of these banks' business mix, most of the growth will be coming from the core banking franchises, with investment banking activities largely stable. On the core banking side, loan growth is expected to show noticeable improvement in Q1, accelerating the trend that started in 2025. Individual loan portfolios at these banks will grow at different rates, but they will show the growth pace accelerating from what we saw in the preceding period.
Aggregate Fed data shows loan balances increasing by +7% in Q1 for the entire banking industry. For context, loan growth has been trending below historical averages over the past three years, but the pace has started to improve in 2025 and appears on track to return to historical growth rates this year. The favorable outlook for loan portfolios bodes well for net interest income in Q1 and beyond, even though the yield curve has lost some of its steepness in recent weeks.
On the investment banking front, we should get solid numbers from the capital markets side of the business, particularly on the equity capital markets front. But M&A activities have been underwhelming, reflecting the effects of geopolitical uncertainties. Trading revenues remained robust in Q1, with mid-quarter updates in February indicating growth rates in the +10% to +15% range.
Aggregate trends on the credit quality front have been benign, as reflected in household and commercial delinquencies, bankruptcies, debt-service, and other metrics. But the market's focus will be private-credit exposure for banks, as the space has been in the spotlight lately for its exposure to the software and data-center industries.
For the Finance sector as a whole, Q1 earnings are expected to increase by +19.6% on +9% higher revenues, which will follow the sector's +17.3% earnings growth on +7.4% higher revenues in the preceding period.
The Finance sector is the second largest earnings contributor to the S&P 500 index, behind only the Tech sector, accounting for 17.3% of the index's expected forward 12-month earnings.
The Earnings Big Picture
An interesting development on the revisions front has been the evolution of full-year 2026 estimates since the start of the Iran war. No surprises in the trend reversal in Energy sector estimates since the start of March, but estimates for 8 other sectors have also moved higher in that time period. The Tech sector's positive revisions trend has continued in this period, while the revisions trends for the Basic Materials and Consumer Staples sectors shifted from negative to positive since the start of March.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
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Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.