JPMorgan exceeds profit expectations on $1.5 billion boost from better-than-expected loan losses

JPMorgan Chase exceeded expectations for third quarter profit on a $1.5 billion boost from better-than–expected loan losses.

The boost came after the bank released $2.1 billion in reserves and had $524 million of net chargeoffs in the quarter, New York based JPMorgan said Wednesday in a release.

“We released credit reserves of $2.1 billion, as the economic outlook continues to improve and our scenarios have improved accordingly,” CEO Jamie Dimon said in the release.

Here are the numbers:

• Earnings: $3.74 per share vs. estimate $3 per share, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $30.44 billion vs. estimate $29.8 billion.

JPMorgan Chase, the first big bank to report third-quarter earnings, will be closely watched for signs of an inflection point in the industry’s weak loan growth.

Consumers and businesses have been flush with cash this year thanks to government stimulus efforts, paying down credit card balances and taking out fewer commercial loans. That prompted Dimon to call loan demand “challenged” in April.

Another area of interest will be the firm’s Wall Street trading and advisory division. For most of the pandemic, booming trading, IPO issuance and mergers have led to robust fees for JPMorgan’s investment bank.

That is expected to moderate in the third quarter. Last month, JPMorgan executive Marianne Lake said that trading revenue will be 10% lower than a year ago, which was an unusually strong quarter.

Dimon will likely be asked about the bank’s acquisition strategy after a string of recent deals. Last month, the bank acquired restaurant review service the Infatuation and college-planning platform Frank. That followed three acquisitions of fintech start-ups in the past year.

Shares of JPMorgan have climbed 31% this year, trailing the 38% increase of the KBW Bank Index.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.