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Smilin’ Dimon (Ludovic Marin/Getty Images)
Nothin’ but net income

JPMorgan jumps after posting better fourth-quarter results than anyone on Wall Street dreamed

America’s largest bank crushed analysts’ expectations.

Luke Kawa

Shares of the largest US bank are moving slightly higher in the premarket after net income soared by 50% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2023.

On many key profitability metrics, JPMorgan not only surpassed the median projection, but exceeded every analyst’s expectation, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

  • Adjusted earnings per share: $4.81 (consensus $4.10, high estimate $4.43)

  • Net interest income — the spread between the interest payments made by borrowers and how much the bank spends funding its deposits — of $23.35 billion (consensus $22.9 billion, high estimate $23.1 billion)

  • Net interest margin — the difference between those aforementioned interest rates — was 2.61% (consensus 2.53%, high estimate 2.58%)

  • Investment banking fees of $2.48 billion (consensus $2.41 billion)

  • Return on equity — the net income as a share of shareholders’ equity (assets less liabilities) — of 17% (consensus 14.12%, high estimate 15.76%)

  • Trading income: $7.05 billion (consensus $6.66 billion, high estimate $6.8 billion)

Figures related to credit quality were a little more mixed: total loans borrowers haven’t made scheduled payments on were higher than any analyst on the Street thought, but the amount of money the bank has given out that it doesn’t expect to get back was basically in line with expectations, and the cash it set aside in reserve to cover these bad loans was lower than anticipated.

The stock was initially trading nearly 4% higher before paring those gains.

“Businesses are more optimistic about the economy, and they are encouraged by expectations for a more pro-growth agenda and improved collaboration between government and business,” CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon said.

He did, however, warn that stubborn inflation and fraught geopolitical tensions served as key risks to the outlook.

Oh, and you might recall when shares of the bank and its peers were battered in September when President Daniel Pinto said that analysts’ projections for 2025 net-interest income were “not very reasonable” and “will be lower” than $89.5 billion.

Well, the bank’s guidance for this key metric in 2025 from this morning: about $90 billion, and roughly $94 billion if you include its trading business.

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Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan is surrounded by NBA Championship trophies after his team defeated the Utah Jazz 90-86 to win the 1997 NBA Finals at the United Center in Chicago, IL.

Stock climb on US-Iran peace deal; semiconductors rally

This morning, President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war.

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Intel surges after Trump announces US chip deal with Apple

Intel is soaring in early trading after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to work with the semiconductor giant to design and manufacture its chips domestically.

President Trump positioned the agreement as the latest victory for his administration’s industrial policy after the federal government acquired a 9.9% equity stake in Intel last year.

"Stupid Presidents took our Economy for granted, and let Taiwan and others steal our Semiconductor Factories," Trump wrote in the post. "We design everything, but we need to BUILD it here, NOW! So I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America... and, finally, Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America."

Intel reportedly reached a preliminary agreement back in May to manufacture chips for the Apple, which has been facing supply constraints for its iPhone as well other products. The deal could help Apple reduce its reliance on longtime partner TSMC by bringing more of its chip manufacturing stateside.

"This partnership helps Apple with chip development and manufacturing on US soil with greater focus on reducing dependence on Asian manufacturing facilities." Wedbush's Dan Ives commented in a company report. He has a $400 price target for Apple this year.

The timing aligns with Intel's technical roadmap. Earlier this week, Intel confirmed that its advanced, performance-boosted 18A-P process node officially entered its risk production phase. This move serves as a blueprint for both Intel chips and processors the company plans to build for foundry customers.

“The current capacity crunch is probably emboldening customers to give Intel a harder look at this stage than perhaps they might ordinarily be inclined to do as the prospect of more advanced capacity will take on higher value in a constrained environment,” wrote Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. “We are sure that Trump’s encouragement is at least not going to hurt though.”

Momentum was built around Intel Foundry services as surging global AI demand continuously outpaced capacity. Earlier this month, Google reportedly placed an order with Intel to manufacture more than 3 million of its increasingly popular tensor processing unit chips in 2028. According to the report, Nvidia is also testing to see if Intel could manufacture its next-gen Feynman chips.

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Stocks rise after US, Iran sign peace plan

Stocks rose Thursday morning after President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, in another sign that a months-long war that caused energy prices to spike could be coming to an end.

Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France on Wednesday evening. The president previously announced that a deal had been reached on Sunday evening, saying that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would resume and that the US naval blockade would be lifted.

The deal comes after both sides exchanged attacks last week, escalating tensions to some of the highest levels since the US and Israel struck Iran in late February.

The price of Brent Crude ticked even lower after dropping on Sunday, sitting at about $76 a barrel. Oil giants like Shell, Chevron and Exxon fell on the news, as average gas prices in the US dropped below $4 for the first time in months.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Last week, inflation readings for May showed both wholesale inflation and consumer prices rose in large part because of higher energy costs.

Signs of the peace deal have also lead to buying of momentum stocks this week. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETFrose another 1.46% in premarket trading.

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