Big Bank Earnings on Tap: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Wells Fargo to Report Quarterly Figures

• Big banks to kick off earnings season on Tuesday, October 13.
• JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Wells Fargo to offer barrage of earnings data.
• Global uncertainty and a volatile trading landscape amid the earnings releases have investors watching these bank earnings closely.

Big banks set to kick off earnings season—JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Wells Fargo to report quarterly figures

Big banks are set to kick off the earnings season on Tuesday, before the market opens. JPMorgan (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citi (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) are scheduled to release quarterly results that come amid heightened market volatility.  

Stocks were slammed lower on Friday as market focus shifted back to the trade war between the United States and China. President Trump threatened a massive increase in tariffs against China, sending the S&P 500 (/ES) nearly 3% lower. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) lost over 2%. 

Markets recouped some of those losses on Monday after tensions faded following a post from President Trump that appeared to downplay Friday’s messaging. Still, the recover wasn’t 1-for-1 and volatility, via the VIX, remained elevated from last week. The U.S. government shutdown is also in its third week, adding uncertainty to the macro backdrop. Will bank earnings provide the market enough motivation to move higher?

What do investors expect?

JPMorgan

According to TradingView, JPMorgan (JPM) is expected to report third quarter earnings of $4.85 per share on revenue of $45.47 billion. That would compare to an EPS of $4.37 and revenue of $43.3 billion a year ago. Last quarter, JPM reported an EPS of $5.24 on $44.9 billion in revenue. 

On Monday, the bank announced that it would invest $1.5 trillion into critical sectors of the United States economy over the next ten years. The news follows an escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China in which China decided to heighten export controls for critical minerals. 

JPM stock managed to stay above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) during Friday’s market turbulence, with prices going on to rebound above the 9- and 21-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) on Monday, regaining a bullish technical posture. The implied volatility rank (IVR) was at 27.9 at the close on Monday. The options market shows an expected move of +/- 11.41 points, or 3.7% of the stock price. 

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs (GS) is expected to report an EPS of $11.02 on $14.12 billion in revenue. Last year, GS reported earnings of $8.40 per share on $12.7 billion in revenue. In the second quarter, GS saw its EPS at $10.91 on $14.58 billion in revenue. 

The bank has posted a solid track record of beating EPS and revenue figures, accomplishing such a move in all reporting quarters in the preceding year. However, Reuters reported recently that the investment bank has lost over a dozen of its senior bankers this year following a slow start to the year. This isn’t expected to drag on its broader outlook, with analysts citing that while deals have been fewer, they’ve also been of larger scale. 

Like JPM, Goldman Sachs managed to hold above its 50-day SMA during Friday’s down move. The stock regained its position above the 9- and 21-day EMAs by Monday’s close. GS holds a slightly higher IVR of 29.5. The expected move for GS was at +/- 33.35 points, or 4.3% of its stock price. 

Citi

Analysts see Citi (C) reporting EPS of $1.73 on $21.09 billion in revenue. Citi has managed to outpace its rivals this year, with the stock price up over 40% since the start of the year. Comparatively, JPM is only up about 28% over the same period.

However, this outperformance also subjects the stock to a larger risk of a pullback should earnings disappoint. Citi was up nearly 3% on Monday ahead of its earnings announcement, clawing back most of its losses from Friday’s market sell off. Nonetheless, the stock remains below its September high.  

Citi is in a weaker technical position, with the stock failing to regain its position above the 50-day SMA that it traded at last week. Prices remain below the key EMAs as well, highlighting its move lower from the end of September. The expected move was at +/- 4.20 points, or 4.37% of its stock price. 

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo (WFC) is the laggard of the bunch in terms of market performance this year, with the stock currently up about 12% since the start of the year. Analysts seem unified in seeing bigger returns for the other banks listed in this article.

That doesn’t mean that WFC won’t perform well if it posts strong earnings. Analysts expect earnings to come across the wires at $1.55 per share on $21.15 billion in revenue. Last year, WFC posted EPS of $1.42 on $20.37 billion in revenue. 

The bank has managed to beat EPS estimates in every quarter over the last year, but it’s missed on revenue targets in three of the last four quarters. Given its underperformance, a beat on EPS and revenue may send the stock higher, offering the potential for a catchup trade.

Wells Fargo is in perhaps the weakest technical position, mirroring its underperformance against its bank peers. The stock has traded below its 50-day SMA since earlier this month, and the EMAs are now in a downward trend. A rebound would have to reestablish its position above the moving averages to regain a technical footing. Options show an expected move of +/- 3.13 points, or 3.97% of Friday’s stock price.