Banskters are profiting bigly off tRumps pump and dump stock market

Eye-popping trading revenues, across the board. Together, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley hauled in nearly $34 billion in trading revenue this quarter, a 17% jump over the same period last year. Equities and FICC (fixed income, currencies, and commodities) desks up and down the Street have feasted on tariff-induced churn. Goldman alone reported a 36% surge in equities trading revenue and posted earnings per share of $10.91, far above forecasts.

JPMorgan, which kicked off earnings season Tuesday, also blew past expectations with $14.2 billion in profit. Trading revenue hit records in both equities (+15%) and fixed income (+14%), while its consumer division notched a 23% rise in profit — evidence that upper-income Americans, at least, are still spending.

Citigroup joined the parade with its best second-quarter trading haul since 2020. Equities trading rose 6%, while FICC jumped 20%. Even BlackRock got a boost, hitting a record $12.5 trillion in assets under management, though a single $52 billion client withdrawal raised eyebrows – because at some point, it's possible, the tide is going to turn. Blackrock framed the redemption as a single, low-fee, nonrecurring event, but it’s a possible signpost for markets nonetheless.

Perhaps that is why the banks’ CEOs issued rather downbeat warnings alongside their upbeat results. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon flagged “a number of uncertain forces,” including trade instability, geopolitical tension, and elevated asset prices. Goldman’s David Solomon echoed the concern, noting that “developments rarely unfold in a straight line.”

https://qz.com/wall-street-banks-earnings-beat-fees-tariffs