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Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: JPM, BAC, C and WFC
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 9, 2026 – Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "Total Q2 earnings for the S&P 500 index are currently expected to be up +24.0% from the same period last year on +11.3% higher revenues, with 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors expected to enjoy positive earnings growth."
A Positive Outlook as Q2 Earnings Get Underway
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week’s Earnings 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 Q2 earnings for the S&P 500 index are currently expected to be up +24.0% from the same period last year on +11.3% higher revenues, with 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors expected to enjoy positive earnings growth.
Excluding the significant upward revisions to Energy sector estimates, aggregate Q2 earnings estimates for the remainder of the S&P 500 index would still be in positive territory since the start of April.
The Tech sector has been a critical growth pillar since 2023 Q3 and is expected to continue playing that role in 2026 Q2, with expected earnings growth of +48.5%. Excluding the Tech sector’s substantial contribution, Q2 earnings growth for the rest of the S&P 500 index would be +12.2% (vs. +24.0% otherwise).
Q2 earnings for the ‘Magnificent 7’ group of companies are expected to be up +28.5% from the same period last year on +24.4% higher revenues. Excluding the ‘Mag 7’ contribution, Q2 earnings for the rest of the index would be up +22.5% (vs. +24.0%).
Bank Earnings in Focus as Q2 Earnings Season Takes the Spotlight
JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) , Citigroup (C - Free Report) and Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) kick off the June-quarter reporting cycle for the Finance sector on July 14th. Bank stocks in general and these four stocks in particular have enjoyed a decent but otherwise unspectacular run this year, as some of the earlier geopolitical risk factors have eased lately. Banks are cyclical businesses, so any real or perceived reduction in economic risk is positive for their outlook.
The revisions trend is positive as a whole, with Q2 estimates for JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup modestly moving higher, while the same for Wells Fargo are going down a bit.
JPMorgan is expected to earn $5.49 per share on $48.7 billion in revenues in Q2, representing year-over-year changes of +10.7% and +8.5%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate for JPMorgan has increased +1.9% over the past month and +3% over the last three months. Q2 estimates for Bank of America and Citigroup have increased +2.8% and +4.7% over the last three months, while the same for Wells Fargo have decreased by -1.1%.
Total Q2 earnings for the Zacks Investment Banks/Managers industry, of which JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are a part, are expected to increase by +11.1% from the same period last year on +11.4% higher revenues.
The growth in Q2 will come from the core banking and trading franchises, with investment banking activities largely stable. On the core banking side, loan growth is expected to accelerate further from the very strong numbers in the preceding quarter, with industry-wide data suggesting that Q2 loan growth will reach its highest level in three years. Growth is expected to expand into higher-margin categories such as commercial & industrial (C&I), autos, credit cards, and others.
For context, loan growth has trended below historical averages over the past three years, but the growth pace began improving in 2025, and the trend continued into 2026 Q1. The favorable outlook for loan portfolios bodes well for net interest income in Q2 and beyond, even though the yield curve lost some of its steepness in Q2. We remain skeptical of the consensus Fed view of a rate hike later this year, but renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf will keep the inflation debate alive and kicking.
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 Q2, with mid-quarter updates 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, Q2 earnings are expected to increase by +12.7% on +8.3% higher revenues, following the sector’s +25.6% earnings growth on +9.8% 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 16.4% of the index’s expected forward 12-month earnings.
Keeping Track of the Revisions Trend
The expected decline in Energy sector estimates notwithstanding, the overall revisions trend continues to be positive, with estimates for 2026 Q2 and full-year 2026 increasing.
The sectors enjoying positive estimate revisions since the start of April included Energy, Tech, Basic Materials, Utilities, and Business Services. Aggregate Q2 earnings estimates would still be positive since the start of the period, even without favorable revisions for the Energy sector, but aggregate estimates would be down if we exclude the increases in the Energy and Tech sector estimates.
The Tech sector has been enjoying positive estimate revisions for more than a year now, so the sector’s ongoing positive revisions trend is basically more of the same. We have discussed in this space the positive revisions that the Mag 7 group has been experiencing.
On the negative side, Q2 estimates were under pressure for the Transportation, Autos, Medical, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and other sectors.
As with estimates for Q2, estimates for full-year 2026 have also been steadily going up, particularly since the start of March.
Full-year 2026 earnings estimates have increased for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of March, with the most pronounced gains at the Energy, Basic Materials, Tech, Industrials, Utilities, and Business Services sectors. On the negative side, estimates have been under pressure for the Transportation, Autos, Medical, and Consumer Discretionary sectors since the start of March. History suggests that these favorable revisions will get a boost from the Q2 earnings season and updated management guidance.
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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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: JPM, BAC, C and WFC
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 9, 2026 – Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "Total Q2 earnings for the S&P 500 index are currently expected to be up +24.0% from the same period last year on +11.3% higher revenues, with 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors expected to enjoy positive earnings growth."
A Positive Outlook as Q2 Earnings Get Underway
Note: The following is an excerpt from this week’s Earnings 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 Q2 Earnings Season Takes the Spotlight
JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) , Citigroup (C - Free Report) and Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) kick off the June-quarter reporting cycle for the Finance sector on July 14th. Bank stocks in general and these four stocks in particular have enjoyed a decent but otherwise unspectacular run this year, as some of the earlier geopolitical risk factors have eased lately. Banks are cyclical businesses, so any real or perceived reduction in economic risk is positive for their outlook.
The revisions trend is positive as a whole, with Q2 estimates for JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup modestly moving higher, while the same for Wells Fargo are going down a bit.
JPMorgan is expected to earn $5.49 per share on $48.7 billion in revenues in Q2, representing year-over-year changes of +10.7% and +8.5%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate for JPMorgan has increased +1.9% over the past month and +3% over the last three months. Q2 estimates for Bank of America and Citigroup have increased +2.8% and +4.7% over the last three months, while the same for Wells Fargo have decreased by -1.1%.
Total Q2 earnings for the Zacks Investment Banks/Managers industry, of which JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are a part, are expected to increase by +11.1% from the same period last year on +11.4% higher revenues.
The growth in Q2 will come from the core banking and trading franchises, with investment banking activities largely stable. On the core banking side, loan growth is expected to accelerate further from the very strong numbers in the preceding quarter, with industry-wide data suggesting that Q2 loan growth will reach its highest level in three years. Growth is expected to expand into higher-margin categories such as commercial & industrial (C&I), autos, credit cards, and others.
For context, loan growth has trended below historical averages over the past three years, but the growth pace began improving in 2025, and the trend continued into 2026 Q1. The favorable outlook for loan portfolios bodes well for net interest income in Q2 and beyond, even though the yield curve lost some of its steepness in Q2. We remain skeptical of the consensus Fed view of a rate hike later this year, but renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf will keep the inflation debate alive and kicking.
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 Q2, with mid-quarter updates 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, Q2 earnings are expected to increase by +12.7% on +8.3% higher revenues, following the sector’s +25.6% earnings growth on +9.8% 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 16.4% of the index’s expected forward 12-month earnings.
Keeping Track of the Revisions Trend
The expected decline in Energy sector estimates notwithstanding, the overall revisions trend continues to be positive, with estimates for 2026 Q2 and full-year 2026 increasing.
The sectors enjoying positive estimate revisions since the start of April included Energy, Tech, Basic Materials, Utilities, and Business Services. Aggregate Q2 earnings estimates would still be positive since the start of the period, even without favorable revisions for the Energy sector, but aggregate estimates would be down if we exclude the increases in the Energy and Tech sector estimates.
The Tech sector has been enjoying positive estimate revisions for more than a year now, so the sector’s ongoing positive revisions trend is basically more of the same. We have discussed in this space the positive revisions that the Mag 7 group has been experiencing.
On the negative side, Q2 estimates were under pressure for the Transportation, Autos, Medical, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and other sectors.
As with estimates for Q2, estimates for full-year 2026 have also been steadily going up, particularly since the start of March.
Full-year 2026 earnings estimates have increased for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of March, with the most pronounced gains at the Energy, Basic Materials, Tech, Industrials, Utilities, and Business Services sectors. On the negative side, estimates have been under pressure for the Transportation, Autos, Medical, and Consumer Discretionary sectors since the start of March. History suggests that these favorable revisions will get a boost from the Q2 earnings season and updated management guidance.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
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 access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
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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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.