The earnings drop was caused by a massive $6.8-billion addition to the bank’s credit reserves. The move signals that management expects a surge in defaults across the company’s lending businesses, from credit cards in its consumer division to energy, real estate and retail sector loans in its commercial operations.
The bank posted quarterly earnings per share of 78 cents, compared with analysts’ $1.84 estimate. Profit of $2.87 billion plunged 69% from a year earlier, driven mostly by the provisions, while revenue proved to be more resilient, slipping 3% from a year earlier to $29.07 billion.
The pandemic caused sharp declines in profit across three of the bank’s four main divisions; only the asset management business was spared.
Another bright spot: JPMorgan’s trading division posted a 32% increase in revenue to a record $7.2 billion.
Bond trading revenue surged to $5 billion, a full $1 billion higher than analysts expected, on stronger client activity in government bonds, currencies and emerging markets. Equities trading of $2.2 billion edged out the estimates as well on rising derivatives revenue.
Said CEO Jamie Dimon, “In the first quarter, the underlying results of the company were extremely good, however given the likelihood of a fairly severe recession, it was necessary to build credit reserves of $6.8 billion, resulting in total credit costs of $8.3 billion for the quarter.”
Shares popped $2.59, or 2.6%, to $100.78