NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profits rose 9% on an adjusted basis, as the bank continues to benefit broadly from a strong economy in both its consumer and investment banking divisions.
The bank earned $13.03 billion, or $4.63 a share. The results included a one-time hit of 60 cents per share to its results from JPMorgan Chase’s purchase of the Apple Card credit card portfolio from Goldman Sachs. This is because
the bank added $2.2 billion in loan-loss reserves to its balance sheet to cover the risk of taking on Apple Card, effectively money the bank socks away to cover potential losses.
Excluding the loan-loss reserves, Chase earned a profit of $5.23 a share. Analysts expected $4.85 per share, according to FactSet, but some analysts did not update their forecasts after Chase bought the Apple Card portfolio last week.
In a statement, Dimon remained optimistic about the overall health of the U.S. economy.
“While labor markets have softened, conditions do not appear to be worsening,” he said. “Meanwhile, consumers continue to spend, and businesses generally remain healthy. These conditions could persist for some time, particularly with ongoing fiscal stimulus, the benefits of deregulation and the Fed’s recent monetary policy.”
The bank’s revenues were $45.8 billion in the quarter, up 7% from a year earlier.
JPMorgan, along with The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., start off bank earnings session this week. While investors will be listening closely to the health of Wall Street, recent developments in Washington may split their attention. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would like to cap credit card interest rates at 10% and supports bills in Congress to do so.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations.
The move represents an unprecedented escalation in Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers.
