Earnings season is now fully underway, and the major Wall Street banks have kicked things off.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all reported first quarter 2026 results. And the numbers? In general, they came in better than expected, but beneath the surface there is a mix of records, warnings, and uncertainty that is worth unpacking.
GOLDMAN SACHS
Let’s take them one by one, starting with Goldman Sachs, which posted earnings of $17.55 per share, while analysts had been expecting $16.39.
At the same time, total revenue reached $17.2 billion, also above forecasts.
And this is where things get even more interesting. The Global Banking & Markets division delivered record revenue of $12.7 billion. Equities alone brought in $5.3 billion, another record. Investment banking fees rose 48% compared with last year.
"But wait, what went wrong? Why did the stock fall?" you might be wondering. Net interest income came in at $3.56 billion, below estimates of $3.67 billion. And provisions for credit losses? $315 million, nearly double what analysts were expecting.
CEO David Solomon spoke of a "very strong performance" but also issued a warning. Geopolitical uncertainty, war in the Middle East, and instability in private credit remain key concerns.
At the same time, Goldman is now stepping harder on the gas with cloud migration and AI. CFO Denis Coleman said the firm is accelerating investments to unlock artificial intelligence capabilities across the company. Return on equity reached 19.8%. The bank also returned $5 billion through buybacks, a record.
JPMORGAN
Now, the world’s largest bank did not disappoint on the headline numbers. Earnings came in at $5.94 per share, versus expectations of $5.51.
Revenue reached $50.5 billion, above forecasts, with growth broad-based: investment banking fees rose 28% year over year, Markets climbed 20%, and Wealth Management grew 11%.
But there is a big catch. JPMorgan lowered its guidance for net interest income this year to around $103 billion, down from the previous $104.5 billion. And operating expenses rose 14% year over year. In other words, revenue is rising, but costs are rising even faster, which is obviously not something investors like to see.
Jamie Dimon, as always, was direct. He said the US economy remains resilient, consumers are still spending, and businesses are healthy. But he also listed several risks: geopolitical tensions, volatility in energy prices, trade uncertainty, massive fiscal deficits around the world, and high asset prices. At the same time, he acknowledged tailwinds as well, including fiscal stimulus, deregulation, and capital investment in AI. In other words, a very mixed picture.
In terms of capital returns, JPMorgan distributed $4.1 billion in dividends and $8.1 billion in buybacks. Assets under management reached $4.8 trillion, up 16% from a year ago.
WELLS FARGO
Next is Wells Fargo, where earnings per share came in at $1.60, just $0.02 above estimates.
Revenue, however, missed the target by $340 million.
The key issue here is net interest margin. Analysts had expected stabilization at around 2.60%. Wells Fargo reported 2.47%. In other words, pressure on margins is still not easing.
Net interest income did rise 5% year over year, but still came in below expectations at $12.1 billion.
"So why is net interest margin falling?" you might ask. Competition for deposits remains intense, and repricing has not yet offset the compression. Analyst Luca Socci put it very clearly: "Net interest margin compression is becoming the new narrative that investors will be watching."
Of course, not everything was negative. Wealth Management rose 14%. Provisions for losses came in at $1.14 billion, up 22% year over year, but slightly below estimates, while the bank maintained its net interest income guidance at around $50 billion for the year. CEO Charlie Scharf said the economy still looks resilient, but warned that the impact of higher oil prices may take time to show up.
CITIGROUP
And this is where Citi shifts the tone. Earnings came in at $3.06 per share, while analysts had expected $2.63. That is a big beat.
At the same time, revenue reached $24.6 billion, versus forecasts of $23.6 billion.
Markets revenue surged 19% year over year to $7.25 billion. Wealth rose 11%. Net interest income increased 12% year over year to $15.7 billion, well above expectations. And most importantly, Citi fully reaffirmed its guidance: net interest income growth of 5 to 6% this year and an efficiency ratio of around 60%.
CEO Jane Fraser sounded confident. She said 90% of the bank’s transformation programs are now in the target state or close to it. The bank returned $6.3 billion through buybacks during the quarter. And as if that were not enough, it is now in the final phase of its divestitures, shedding non-core assets in order to become leaner.
Of course, provisions for losses rose to $2.81 billion from $2.72 billion a year ago. That shows that even the most optimistic bank of the quarter is still preparing for possible deterioration.
