A return to the forefront for initial public offerings (IPOs) and a relentless stock market rally, highlighted by a massive run by the Magnificent 7 tech stocks, in tandem with the Gold Mining stocks and Utilities, have led the stock market to print new all-time highs this year for all of the major indices. The initial third-quarter earnings results come from the large-cap money center banks, all of which posted outstanding results. Led by investment banking, a return to the market for IPOs, and huge trading profits, all of the major players in the finance sector blew away third-quarter earnings expectations, with all citing similar reasons for the strong quarter.
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
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The large-cap money center banks always lead off the earnings season by being the first to report results for the quarter.
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While the finance sector has done well in 2025, the major Wall Street banks are much cheaper than the overall S&P 500, which trades at 30 times earnings.
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With strong and dependable dividends, much lower price-to-earnings metrics, and a long history of success, buying the large-cap banks makes sense now in a very overbought and nervous stock market.
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Based on the latest earnings results, here are some of the Q3 2025 earnings for major Wall Street banks:
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JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) delivered strong third-quarter results, crushing analyst expectations with earnings per share of $5.07 versus expected $4.84 and revenue of $47.12 billion compared to expectations of $45.4 billion, driven by stronger-than-anticipated trading and investment banking revenue of roughly $700 million above forecasts.
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Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) also topped Q3 2025 earnings estimates with earnings per share of $1.73 and revenue of $21.44 billion, with the stock gaining as the bank raised profitability targets following relief from asset cap restrictions.
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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported net income of $3.8 billion, or $1.86 per diluted share, on revenue of $22.1 billion for the quarter, compared to $3.2 billion, or $1.51 per diluted share, on revenue of $20.2 billion a year earlier.
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The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reported net revenues of $15.18 billion and net earnings of $4.10 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, with diluted earnings per common share of $12.25 and an annualized return on average common shareholders’ equity of 14.2%. The results beat expectations. Earnings per share of $12.25 exceeded the expected $11, and revenue of $15.18 billion surpassed the expected $14.1 billion. Profit surged 37% from a year earlier, and revenue rose 20%.
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BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) delivered one of its strongest quarterly flow results, with net inflows of $205 billion, powering 10% organic base fee growth in the third quarter and 8% over the last twelve months. The company reported third quarter diluted earnings per share of $8.43, or $11.55 as adjusted. BlackRock reported revenue of $6.51 billion, surpassing estimates. Despite this, the company saw a 25% revenue increase year-over-year, even though GAAP income was lower.
Given the powerful results for major banks and financial giants, it makes sense for investors to consider adding top companies like these to their portfolios. All of them pay reliable and rising dividends, and all the major Wall Street banks have stock buyback programs in place. Earlier this year, almost all of the major banks significantly increased their buyback activity, with some reporting their biggest repurchase levels in years, as high as $40 to $50 billion, signaling confidence despite economic uncertainty. With Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) set to report tomorrow, it’s a strong start to the quarterly earnings results from Wall Street.
After a few years of virtually no IPO activity, the market has come alive in 2025 with multiple high-profile deals that have soared to new heights. 2025’s IPO boom included, among others, Figma (NYSE: FIG), CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV), and Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), all of which have delivered tremendous gains for investors. With a ton of retail and institutional demand, and a bursting pipeline of deals in the queue, you can bet that the trend will stay in place the rest of 2025 and next year.
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