JPMorgan stock in focus after Q3 results beat estimates on dealmaking surge

JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly outperformed Wall Street predictions for its third quarter, ending 30th September 2025, driven by a notable pickup in dealmaking and underwriting activity.

“While there have been some signs of a softening, particularly in job growth, the U.S. economy generally remained resilient,” JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

“However, there continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation,” said Dimon.

The US banking giant experienced exceptional growth in its core financial segments:

Investment Banking Fees: A 16% jump was recorded in investment banking fees, substantially higher than the forecasted 11% increase. This was largely fuelled by the busiest quarter for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) since 2021.

• Overall investment banking fees rose to $2.63 billion.
• This was boosted by a staggering 53% surge in equity underwriting.
• Fees for both debt underwriting and advising on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) also saw a healthy 9% rise.
• Markets Revenue: The firm's markets revenue climbed by 25%—comfortably exceeding the anticipated 17% rise—to reach $8.94 billion.
  • Within this, equity trading revenue jumped by 33% to $3.33 billion, whilst fixed income increased by 21%.

• Cautious Outlook

Despite the strong performance, JPMC's financial outlook reflected a degree of caution, as seen in its provisions for potential losses:

• Loan Loss Provisions: The bank added $810 million to its reserves for potentially 'soured' loans, a figure higher than analysts had expected. The majority of this was attributed to its card services, with JPMC citing loan growth and "updates to certain macroeconomic variables" as the reason for the build-up.
• Net Charge-offs: Within the commercial and investment bank, the firm took $567 million of net charge-offs. Part of this was attributed to "what appears to be borrower-related collateral irregularities in certain secured lending facilities."

Net Interest Income and Costs

The bank offered a mixed performance in other key areas:

• Its Net Interest Income (NII) came in at $24 billion, falling just slightly behind the $24.1 billion expectation. However, the bank revised its full year NII outlook upwards to approximately $95.8 billion from its previous guidance of $95.5 billion set in July.
• The bank's operating costs for the quarter was $24.3 billion. It adjusted its full-year estimated expenses to around $95.9 billion, also up from the $95.5 billion forecast in July.
• The biggest US bank kicked off third quarter earnings on Tuesday, reporting alongside rivals Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Citigroup Inc.

JPMorgan Chase shares, which had already risen by 28% this year through Monday, were little change in early New York trading on Tuesday.